What's in a Latte? A Tea Latte That is!

Let me first say that after realizing that coffee was no longer suitable for me to drink like water on a daily basis, I kicked the addiction and switched over to a much less form of caffeine that my body can tolerate....TEA! I loved tea already, but was definitely more of a coffee drinker. I loved everything about it. Waking up in the morning without the aroma of Arabian Mocha-Java just seemed wrong and horrible. I decided that even if I lived alone and could not drink it, I'd still brew it just to wake up to that smell. Okay, not really, but I did say that. It'd probably turn out to take too much effort and I'd forget it. So back to the tea inspiration. It started with Starbucks...dun dun dun, that big green giant that seduces us into spending half our paycheck. They have this drink called a London Fog. The name sounds inticing doesn't it? My mom first brought this drink to my attention. We both agreed it is the most delightful drink. Earl Grey tea, vanilla syrup and milk. (Soy milk for me). YUM!
Then we went to Coffee Bean and that became our new favorite place to get tea lattes. They have the best variety of teas. Ginseng Peppermint, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Moroccan Mint, you get the picture. Our wallets however, did not care about the wonderful cups of yummy deliciousness. For example, when I wonder where my money is going I check my bank account online. When I scroll down the statement and see entries like: Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Coffee Bean, Coffee Bean, Starbucks....Uh oh...I come to the realization that this is a very financially destructive habbit.
Then came the wonderful gift that my mom brought home. Her co-worker knew she was dealing with a lot of stress, loved those London Fogs from Sbux and gave her a little care package. It consisted of a tin of Tazo Earl Grey tea, Archer Farms Vanilla Syrup from Target and Voila! We can make our own tea lattes at home. Now we begin having a bit more spending cash, the lattes are absolutely delicious and we don't have to go somewhere to make a delicious treat. So we make them morning, noon and night and even though we go through syrup like crazy it's relatively inexpensive to buy more.
Then payday comes and I decide to splurge. I go to Coffee Bean and get a tea latte. First sip, ACK! It tastes like sugary dirty tea water...I drink it anyway. Then I'm out in my ministry and need a little boost being that it is a long day and I stop at Starbucks....first sip, ACK! Gross! What is up with this day!? I calculate that I just spent almost 10 dollars on dirty, sugary water. Then I decide I was better off preparing my own tea latte at home and bringing it with me. Lesson learned. So now I almost never go spend my hard earned money on dirty tea water. If I'm going to spend it, I want a quality beverage that I deem as deliciousness in a cup. That hasn't happened very much lately. Maybe all the baristas are new. I can count on my Riviera Village Coffee Bean though because it's usually the crazy comedian barista who knows what he is doing and heard me call my drink deliciousness in a cup and announced it loudly as such as he placed my drink on the counter.
So now my mom and I purchase the majority of our tea at Trader Joes. It's usually about $1.50 for a whole box, 3 bucks at Target on syrup and milk is about the same there. Yay cheapness! I love spending next to nothing and getting about a months worth of the greatest tea lattes on earth, if I do say so myself.