Confession: closet coffee lover.

Normally my drink of choice is tea or hot chocolate. In between my water consumption, I down these like it is going out of style. There is an entire cupboard in my kitchen devoted to tea and cocoa. It is packed so tightly that I have to take it all out just to find one I want! Then there is a whole stash downstairs, too! My dear friend, Miss ALK, from Southern Belle in Training, even bought me a sweet travel mug for my birthday so that I can bring my addiction to classes with me. (You know you're an addict when your friends start buying you mugs.) It has gotten a lot of use.

Super sweet traveler's mug modeled here (a cut photo from my latest fashion post "Pretty in Pink").
The quote running horizontally along the mug is a proverb (17:17). "A friend loves at all times..."
Which is so, so true.

A lesser known addiction is my love of coffee. It's no secret that getting a chai latte when I'm at a coffee or tea shop is usually my go-to. (Chai has a special place in my heart and it always will. I own about five or six different chai teas as it stands and have been known to make my own caffeine-free almond milk lattes with them ever since a friend showed me how.) But within the past year I have discovered the wonders of many other kinds of delicious drinks. Mochas, cappuccinos, lattes.

I cannot tell you the number of White Peppermint Mochas I devoured from Whole Foods this past holiday season, or the number of times I have devoured caramel or french vanilla cappuccinos and lattes from there or another coffee shop. Luckily I don't get to Whole Foods often, or find myself in a coffee too frequently. (Ouch! That'd hurt the budget.) But because I don't get the chance too often, I do treat myself whenever I have the opportunity. The stars have to be seriously misaligned for me to walk out of Whole Foods without a fresh cup in my hand and a spiced scone in the other.

This morning, after a week of tea and cocoa, I wanted a change. I wanted to spice things up! So, into our cupboards I went...

And out I came with this scrumptious organic coffee mix. I am starting off my day of homework and studying with organic Ghiradelli Chocolate Crème brûlée coffee with MimicCreme Almond & Cashew coffee cream (French Vanilla). Sooo tasty!

I have spent the majority of my life away from regular milk. I was brought up on rice milk, almond milk and other nut milks. Personally, I prefer their taste to cow's milk. Mom even makes home-made nut milks for drinking in our Vitamix. (Which tastes amazing! I honestly don't know what we'd do without our Vitamix. We use it for everything - soups, green drinks, smoothies, nut milks! They're expensive but worth every penny. We've had ours for around 12 years and it is still going strong!) For most of my baking, though, I use MimicCreme - including pies, whipped toppings and puddings! I'm dying to try it for ice cream this summer. I have never tried the coffee cream, though. (Usually I just poor in my regular almond milk and carry on.) Let me tell you - I am so glad I did! I may have a new addiction on my hands here...

What's your favorite heated beverage?

Even better: what's your closet food-love?

Edit: I am so saddened to hear that, according to its website, MimicCreme will not be producing it's line of products for retail businesses. While I tracked down the website to link to this post I discovered this news. I love their product! It's so delicious and works so well in everything I've tried. Their former website can be found here: http://www.mimiccreme.com/ If anyone knows of another amazing dairy cream substitute, I'd be happy to hear your suggestions! It looks like I'm on the hunt for a new one - or going to be developing my own!