Introduction: College Cafeteria Hazelnut Mocha Latte

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Most college campuses have a big chain coffee house nearby or even built right on campus for the convenience of their students, but many of these places are usually packed full of sleep deprived, caffeine addicted students who need just one more cup to finish their assignments before midnight.

If you are anything like me, you loathe standing in lines. Especially when that line is filled with people who are grumpy, half-awake, delirious, or all of the above. If you are fortunate enough to have a cafeteria or dining hall on campus that is not frequented by the walking dead, then this Ible will show you how to make a fancy-shmancy Hazelnut Mocha Latte on your own with very little effort using ingredients that can be found in most, if not all dining halls and cafeterias, and for a little less than the cost of a tall Starbucks Mocha!



*The price of a Tall Starbucks Mocha is $3.25 as of the creation of this entry.

Step 1: Assemble Your Change!

I wanted to prove to myself (and to some friends) that I could absolutely make a fancy coffee drink with pocket change. If you're feeling up to the challenge, or if coins are all you have then gather them up and let's go shopping! I bought all of the ingredients I needed for exactly $4.99 (yes that is after tax).

Step 2: Grab Some Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread!

Grab a small container of your favorite (or the cheapest) chocolate-hazelnut spread! There are many fine choices, Hershey's, store-brand, organic, but I am a brand loyalist and I stand by my trusty Nutella! Since it was on sale today, that made this drink that much sweeter!

Important: If you can spare the extra buck, buy a small 13 oz container instead of the little snack-pack guys. For your Hazelnut Mocha Latte you will be using 1 Tbs of this stuff, which equates to about $0.12 worth of Nutella in this case. If you buy a 13 oz. container of this stuff and decide you want to make a Hazelnut Mocha again in the future, you will be saving $0.13 for each cup you make instead of buying a mocha at Starbucks! That change adds up!

Step 3: Assemble the Rest of Your Ingredients From the Cafeteria

Head to the cafeteria and buy a half cup of coffee and a bottle of milk (I chose soy milk because I'm a filthy hippy) or grab about 10 creamer containers. Make sure you grab 2 packets of sugar and a spoon, too!

Now you should have:

  • 1/2 Cup of Coffee------------------------------------------------$1.25
  • A 13 oz container of chocolaty-hazelnuty spread---------$2.99
  • A small bottle of milk---------------------------------------------$1.75
  • 2 Sugar packets---------------------------------------------------Free
  • A plastic spoon----------------------------------------------------Free

Or:

  • 1/2 Cup of Coffee------------------------------------------------$1.25
  • A 13 oz container of chocolaty-hazelnuty spread---------$2.99
  • About 10 creamer containers---------------------------------Free
  • 2 Sugar packets--------------------------------------------------Free
  • A plastic spoon----------------------------------------------------Free

Step 4: Mixing Your Ingredients

  1. Take a big spoonful of chocolate-hazelnut spread and start stirring it into your coffee.
  2. Next add your sugar packets and keep stirring until there is nothing (or next to nothing) on your spoon.
  3. Pour your milk into your coffee until the cup is full and stir it again!
  4. Once it looks all nice and mixed together, take a sip and make adjustments as needed.

Let's review the cost of these ingredients!

You needed half a cup of coffee so that cost you...$1.25

You only needed 1 Tbs of Nutella for this one drink and that costs you...$0.12

You needed to add some milk to that sucka so that cost you...$1.75

Unless you used free creamer which cost you....$0.00

You needed some extra sweetening so that cost you...$0.00

And you needed to stir it all together with a spoon and that cost you...$0.00

How Much Did This Cost Me?

  • If you bought abottle of milkthe total cost of this one drink: $3.12
  • If you used free creamer the total cost of this one drink: $1.37

How Sweet is THAT?!

Step 5: Enjoy!

Enjoy your hazelnut mocha latte! Unfortunately for me, my school's coffee wasn't very hot by the time I got to the cafeteria so mine tasted more like an iced Nutella latte, but it's hard to complain about it when it still tastes like hazelnuts and chocolate. Plus it keeps me awake while I study at this gorgeous campus!