Roll Your Own Frappuccinos
This evening Karianne and I experimented with making our own version of a frappuccino! The Starbucks bottles in this picture are filled with "Kurfee" (yes, that's Kurth + coffee. The marketing campaign practically writes itself! "Gimme anuther gal-dang Kurfee, Lorna Gene! I gotta stay up tonight and catch them possums!").
First, here's how we did it:
1. Sterilize some bottles. We boiled 5 Starbucks bottles (and their caps) for about 10 minutes.
2. Brew 12 oz. of vanilla flavored coffee.
3. In a pot, mix coffee with 6 cups of whole milk, 1 cup of sugar, and a little less than 1 tsp of powdered cocoa mix (might work fine with Hershey syrup, but we used Nestle's Carlos V mix).
4. Stir it up and ladle it into the bottles. Done in less than 20 minutes!
This completely filled 5 bottles and would have mostly filled a 6th if we'd had that many. It tastes really good! Not exactly like a frap, but it's our first batch, and it's got its own personality.
Now, the cost: A regular 4-pack of fraps at the grocery store costs $5, or $1.25/bottle. A single bottle at a gas station is around $1.79.
Our total cost for all 5 bottles was $1.85. That's $0.37/bottle. Unbelievable. It tastes even better when you know that!
As I was mixing it, I was amazed at how much milk there was. When you buy a frappuccino, you're basically buying a bottle of milk with tiny amounts of other flavorings in it.
The next time we try this, we'll cut back on the sugar a little (maybe 3/4 cup) and make the coffee a little stronger. Now that we know how easy, fun, and cheap it is, I'm sure we'll make more batches of Kurfee in the future, dadgummit.
posted by Derek | 7:30 PM, Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Next time try adding a little bit of pectin. Usually it is used for canning but in this case it will give the texture of the drink a smoother, creamier feel.
Thanks, we'll give that a try!
Also, a big Texas "Howdy" to fellow lifehackers. Welcome!
Excellent! Now can you make the Double Shot version? That would be a treat.
Thanks for the info! Anyone who has worked in a coffee bar before has experimented with making their own unique drinks. I've worked in two, and have used my experience to make some awesome quick-fixes at home.
The great thing about coffee is that it supports such a wide array of flavors and combinations. Stuff you might not think of, like fruits, make awesome flavored drinks (though not all of them).
To take your instructions even further, it's pretty simple to make flavor combinations, like Caramel and Vanilla. Coffee flavoring syrups are readily available at most grocery stores and coffee bars, and you can buy small individual-sized bottles to experiment.
I recommend adding a touch of chocolate, caramel, and praline syrups or flavorings to make an awesome Milky Way drink. And if possible, try to use espresso, or perhaps a french-pressed dark roast, as it gives it a much richer coffee flavor.
Jesse
One thing that you may want to do is to post Nutritional Content. That's what separates a lot of us "novelty coffee" drinkers.
Substitute things like Non-Fat milk, Splenda, etc.. see how it comes out!
Instead of pectin you could also add a little corn starch. This is a common ingredient in off the shelf chocolate milk mixes as well.
coolness... this tastes awesome!! so much for the $4 a morning spent on fraps!!
I make a similar drink sans dairy. I mix 3 cups of vanilla soymilk (Silk brand) with 1/4 cup coffee (I like a richly-brewed French Roast) then add sugar to taste.
I found this because I brew half a pot of French Roast for myself almost every day, and sometimes when I use a smaller mug I end up with a little sitting in the pot that gets cold.
This is a great way to use "leftover coffee" - just don't let it sit on the burner too long.
Thanks for your post!
Try left over coffee and flavored coffee lightener in a SOBE bottle. I store them in the 'frig
Good stuff. Agree about the nutritional content. I was cured of drinking Frappucinos when Starbucks made the nutritional content available on their website. The bottled version isn't so bad.
well, i tried to make ur frappuccino, was disappointed. its "plain milk with a pinch of coffe powder and cocoa", and for that u could follow this simple procedure:
mix 3 gram each of any insant coffee, vanila powder and cocoa in 20 ml hot water. stirr well and mix with two glasses of milk, serve!
For a Frappacino...a true frapp, the key is to freeze espresso into ice cubes. Then mix with a little sugar, Ovaltine and milk in a blender. Perfect.
I drank vats of the stuff while writing my PhD dissertation. It got me through 300 pages.
Todd Finley
eeprof.com
I'm convinced there is evaporated milk in the Starbuck$ recipe. I haven't tried to replicate it yet though.
Double-shot espresso drinks are pretty easy to duplicate...
Ingredients
2 shots of espresso
1 sweetened condensed milk can.
bit of regular milk
Mix the 2 shots of espresso with sweetened condensed milk (not too much). Use the milk to cut it. Put it in teh fridge and then shake up before use.
If you remove the milk, and pour it over ice, you have a vietnamese ice coffee. :-) They're the same thing pretty much.
Hope that helps.
Lets see try using Starbucks coffee to start with, brew it, let it cool down, then add reduced fat milk, cocoa, sugar and pectin.... that does it for me!!!
Great idea here! One thing I'd change is don't brew the coffee. Use a Toddy style to make the coffee. That way it won't get that stale taste that brewed coffee gets after awhile, it's also doesn't have the acid that brewed coffee gets.
Here's what I'm going to try:
1 part cold press: To make take a gallon of water and mix it with about a 1/2 - 3/4 pound coarsely ground strong coffee (look for a full-city roast I think). I really like anything from India or Ethiopia especially the Mysore and Yirgacheffe. Put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours before straining out the grounds through a tight wire mesh strainer.
1 part sweetened condensed milk. I also happen to like the vanilla flavored silk so I'm might try that for healthier option.
Flavor shots to taste.
This is really just a cold Thai coffee as mentioned in another comment, but using cold press instead. Much higher in caffeine and it has a much longer shelf life than brewed coffee.
Ok, I'm going to give this a try, but from the 16 comments I've just read, I'm going to add more cocoa, make the coffee stronger (a Starbucks roast), and cut back on the sugar? I'll let y'all know how she turns out. Thanks, for some reason, I forget sometimes that I can make things at home :) Georgia.
www.glchoate.com
Well I'm back. My first try was a little disappointing. I made the coffee much too strong. My husband actually thought they were pretty good, but I think I've gotten too picky.
For my next try, I'm going to use my espresso machine instead. And maybe some pectin for the smoothness. We'll see.... Georgia.
guys, glad to see others are experimenting to come up with a close facsimile to such an overpriced beverage, that I happen to LOVE. I am anxious to attempt the recipe I found for a frappe on the reverse of a Mexican Nescafe jar that called for simmering low fat condensed milk with the instant coffee on the stove and serving over ice or chilling. Sounds like it would cut out a few steps. Look on the Nescafe Classico jar found in the Latin Food Section of most grocers.
the recipe was great.. our whole house love dit ( we added pectin) besides we have been staying away from starbucks ( but boy we missed these fraps.... so again thanks for teh recipe) just remeber make you own is always better especially since Starbucks doenst support the troops!
i make homemade fraps alot and i have experimented alot. At the moment instead of using pectin i use a small scoop of vanilla ice cream
I just purchased a Carmel Frapp at Starbucks this morning and asked what kind of coffee they used in the carmel frapp. He told me they actually used a Starbucks instant mixed with the sweetend dairy base. He also told me Starbucks does not sell this instant so I guess we will have to stick with the grocery store instant. I just thought I would pass this along since I think Brian of Birmingham may have found the perfect recipe!
In two years I have gained 35 pounds only from my addiction to Starbucks Frapps in bottles. I like either the coffee flavor or the vanilla. I drink about 6 per day. Must try one of your recipes using low fat milk and splenda... or perhaps stevia. Thanks.
Great recipe - I'll have to try this version.
I never thought Starbucks bottled fraps tasted the same as frap drink they make at Starbucks.
I came up with my own recipe of the unbottled one - my Caramel Frappuccino Weakness. Yum!
OK, you inspired me to try your recipe and then change it to suit my own tastes. My version of the Frappucino recipe is here. Enjoy, and thanks!
Quick tip: you ca actually buy your favorite Starbucks syrup by the liter; it costs around $7. I bouth the Cinnamon Dulce; it's awesome!
We make frapps in the blender as desserts, especially after a big Italian meal. Use 1 cup strongly brewed coffee, 8-10 ice cubes (depending on the size of cubes) in a strong blender. Blend on "crush ice" setting until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Add 3 heaping serving spoons full of non-dairy creamer, and 2 heaping serving spoons full of brown sugar through top holeof the blender. Continue blending and add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to finish the process. Pour into a tall glass, top with whipped cream, and insert a straw. We add a spoon or two of Ovaltine to make mochas. You can really impress your guests with this recipe.
It's easy to make a "healthy" (well, at least, low-calorie) drink that tastes just like the milk-shakey frappuccino Starbucks sells:
Blend 1 packet Alba diet shake mix (vanilla or chocolate) with a couple shots cold espresso (or leftover coffee, or instant in a pinch) with crushed ice in a blender. Cool and tasty, only about 70 calories, moderate amount of calcium, and if you use plenty of ice it ends up being just as huge as the 700 calorie version. Even better with a little Cool-whip on top.
I tried out your method and the result is definitely nice. I do however like my own way a bit better.
I especially love it with a certain coffee; Etheopian Harrar, because of it's fruity, lingering taste. I suppose any bean or blend can be used depending on your taste.
Pour a double shot espresso in the blender, add a shotglass full of condensed milk, half a shotglass caramel sirup, a teaspoon fine sugar and about 8 large icecubes.
Press blend and presto...
For an alcoholic version I add a shotglass of Captain Morgan's dark rum as well.
Bottled Frap is a different drink than ice Frap.
As a homebrewer, I come at this from a different direction.
I tried it and its good!
Suggested Recipe:
Coffee brewed as *Bucks does. 1.5 more grounds than normal => expresso flavor for expresso mixed drinks.
Whole milk (not sure if it matters)
Sugar
non-flavored Pudding mix
Vanilla extract
Ratio is 4 parts milk to 1 part coffee to 1/2 part sugar. Add 1 tsp thickener (pudding, pectin, etc) and a dash of quality vanilla. I originally used vanilla pudding but it was too strong and not high quality.
I made 3 cups coffee, 12 cups milk, 2 cups sugar (which was too much), and 2 tsp vanilla pudding (which was too vanilly). Made .75 gallon.
I put into sanitized beer bottles, capped and now have a six pack of 12 oz Frap in the beer fringe next to my homebrews!
1. Sanitizer is cheap ($3) and easy. It also lets you do this cleanly.
2. Bottling is easy. Tools are bottle capper ($7) and caps ($2).