Espresso Training School

I've made no secret of the fact that I {heart} a good mocha. Non-fat. Light whip.

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Starbucks receives the vast majority of my business due solely to the fact that most of them have drive-ins. 


It's no fun to unstrap two small children in winter coats from their carseats, drag them into the coffee shop where they will ask repeatedly, "is it our turn yet and can we please have that cupcake and can I take my coat off?!", and then try to carry your coffee out to the car while dragging a two year old who has decided she wants to make a meal out of the sugar packet she found on the floor next to the trash can.


So I was beyond overjoyed when my mother gifted me with my very own espresso machine for Christmas. I promptly ordered a few syrups online so that I could try to make my own mochas at home. I was going to tell Starbucks where to stick it!


Unfortunately, the mochas I made tasted...how can I put this delicately?... disgusting. Like old socks.


Back to the drawing board. I wondered if there was some sort of espresso training school that Starbucks, Panera, and Dunkin' Donuts puts their baristas through. I wanted to enroll. 


So I did the next best thing. I bought a mocha from a kindly looking young lady at the Starbucks in my local Target, waved my cute toddler around to distract her, and got her to tell me her deepest, best, Mocha secrets.


Turns out it's not such a secret, but she was willing to share with me anyways. Starbucks uses a powder that they mix with water to make a syrup before adding it to each espresso drink. It comes in little canisters like this:

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I felt like Luke Skywalker learning all sorts of Jedi tricks from Yoda. Or something.


You know what? 


That $7 canister of powder rocks my world.


It brought me through these dark days of endless snow, repetitious whining and loops of Noggin, and a drugged-up-surgery-recovering husband. 


My mochas taste just as good as Starbucks, and my mug is way cuter!

 Mmmmm....

Now if I can get Panera and Dunkin' Donuts to spill their espresso trade secrets, I'll sell them in an Ebook right here on the blog. 


And I'll give you, my readers, a discount. {wink} I raise my coffee cup to you this morning!


{Is there a restaurant secret recipe you'd love to crack the code on?}


Linking to Jen's Tasty Tuesday Party at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.