Forget about trying to give up a daily latte if it really makes your morning or is an essential part of your coffee shop networking. It’s easier to just save money doing it.
Here are two basic tips for making the most of your latte money at Starbucks.
Misto Instead of Latte: Save $0.50
Your latte is one or two shots of espresso, then filled with steamed milk (or soy milk). Did you know you can get the same caffeinated effect by opting instead for a “misto” instead of a latte? It’s a good fifty to seventy cents cheaper. On a daily basis, that really adds up.
A “misto” (sometimes called a “London Fog” or even, in some other coffee retailers, lumped in with the “cafe au lait;”) is basically half coffee, half steamed milk (or soy milk). From my own experience, I can tell you it tastes the same as a latte for up to a third of the price.
Interestingly, most Starbucks menus don’t advertise the misto. I found out about it when I was explaining the kind of drink I wanted one day. I’ve never ordered a latte since! If you drink soy instead of cow, ask for a “soy misto.”
Milk “Top Up” Instead of Misto: Save Additional $0.60
After you’re used to ordering a misto instead of a latte, you can save an extra sixty or so cents (prices vary by region) by simply ordering your usual size coffee but asking for a milk “top up” (if you need soy milk) or just topping your coffee up yourself at the bar.
A misto is about 50% coffee, 50% milk. But that’s a lot of calories coming from the milk. A great, simple way to cut back on calories is to stop drinking them in all your beverages. Coffee contains next to no calories. So you’ll want to pare back on your milk product intake.
If you only want about 25% soy milk in your coffee, just ask for a top-up. You won’t get steamed soy milk, but does it really make much of a difference to the taste anyway? I find it doesn’t. If you drink milk with your coffee, realize that simply topping up your coffee with one-quarter milk can usually get you the same basic taste (and caffeine!) as a latte, for well over a dollar cheaper each time. Plus, you’ll save a considerable amount of calories at the same time.
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{ 3 comments }
As a non coffee drinker, I’m constantly perplexed by how people are willing to stand 5 minutes in line and spend $5 on a drink. Is this rational? Is coffee an addiction?
I don’t get it. Everybody knows time is money, money is money, and drinking 1,000 calories in a cup is bad for your health, but people still do!
Perplexed,
FS
If we’re going to follow that type of argument, coffee drinking should be the least of our worries (*ahem:* smoking, meat-eating, drinking alcohol, gambling, investing with options, …) the whole advertising industry, also, wouldn’t exist if people were solely logic-processing machines! Whatever your “vice” is, might as well find a way to save money on it!
I agree that most people have a vice and coffee seems to be one of the least harmful ones. I try alternating coffee and tea in the morning to save a few calories and pennies.
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