I really enjoy lattes, whether they are from Starbucks, Arabica or McDonalds.
Yes McDonalds! While the lattes from McDonalds aren’t as good as Starbucks, they are still very good, but are they worth it? I drive past McDonalds on the way to work, so naturally, I’ll go thru the drive-thru for a quick liquid treat in the morning occasionally.
Lately, I’ve been getting a small coffee with two creams, and ironically, this combo isn’t that far off from a regular latte (at least from McDonalds). The different is the price, the small coffee with two creams is half the price of a latte. So I have taken it upon myself to switch to the small coffee with two creams for my occasional treat instead of the slightly better, more expensive latte.
After thinking about it, a latte is just coffee with steammed milk. But just because it’s steamed doesn’t make it that far off from a coffee with a decent amount of cream in it. Oh sure, I’m missing out on the foam, but does that really make the coffee worth twice as much? I’ve decided not!
While I have the craving for McDonald’s latte under control, I still find myself getting a latte at Starbuck whenever I’m near one. Luckily, to get to Starbucks, I have to drive out of my way to get there, so it’s not as tempting as McDonalds.
After thinking about it, do you think lattes are worth the extra money versus a coffee with two or three creams?
MR
Isn’t that true of everything? If you think about the cost/value of everything you spend money on, you could make some significant changes .
Yes, that is true. Most of the things that we think are near needs are really just wants. And to think, I could go real cheap and just drink the free coffee from work (bringing in my own milk or cream of course).
I’ve traded in starbucks for 7-eleven coffee. it doesnt taste as good but I like their wide variety of flavored creamers and tiny marshmallows.
Then again even that is expensive. Nothing beats saving money like brewing your own coffee at home.
Flavored creamers could make a great treat and for a much cheaper price! Good call!
There’s one other alternative – a misto. It’s regular coffee with steamed milk. On a really chilly day, instead of my espresso shots over ice with vanilla, I order a vanilla misto. It’s under $2.50 and totally worth it. You could always ask McDonald’s to add steamed milk w/foam to your regular coffee. It may not cost that much more. 😉 (ask me anything about coffee!)
Hmmm, Great tip, I’ll have to check it out!
Thanks 🙂
I’m retired, so I fix my own lattes and iced coffees at home. I’m very happy with my versions, but I do treat myself to a Starbucks about 8 times a year. That’s enough for me to enjoy it. I like McDonald’s iced coffee for about $2 & that’s affordable for me now & then.
Nice plan, I wouldn’t know how to make my own lattes at home, but that makes sense! Beats driving for 5 to 10 minutes for one then driving back home again…
I don’t know if lattes are worth the extra money but I don’t think that coffee with lots of extra cream is a close comparison. Latte uses espresso shots which are much stronger than drip coffee. I imagine coffee with extra cream would taste very watered down.
As someone who drinks lattes at least once a week, good coffee with a few creams put in is pretty close. Lattes don’t really taste like expresso because a good percentage of the mix is steamed milk.
I do this with scotch. I like the next step up but the price difference is never worth it to me.
Actually a scotch on the rocks is cheaper (unless you do the expensive version of Johnny Walker). As a scotch man, you gotta love that stuff 🙂
You can save money on lattes by not drinking them :p
Yes, but I enjoy coffee and lattes, and life is short then you die. So live a little, tomorrow you won’t be here (nor will I).