Voila, Verismo

So, apparently, Santa knew I loved wine. I received lots and lots of wine glasses and wine for Christmas. No complaints from this girl, but it did leave me without one very desired item on my Christmas list.......

The Verismo. Fortunately, I have the world's best husband who spoils me. Rotten. :)

My husband came home with THIS recently. For you latte lovers out there, I'm sure you can smell the mix of coffee and milk already. And yes, that is Biggby caramel trying to camouflage itself in the picture. The store was out of Starbucks caramel, so we are testing this caramel out for now.     ;-)

So, what is the Verismo, you ask? 

The Verismo, simply put, is a way to bring Starbucks into your home.

I can't quite remember if it was during my mom's campaign and our wedding planning or the beginning of grad school that I started becoming a bit obsessed with Starbucks caramel macchiatos, but the drink has become a dietary staple for me.

 

When I opened up my Verismo, this was the first thing I saw...

How did they know? No, I could not wait to make my first Starbucks beverage!

The setup of the Verismo machine was super easy. (Even for you right-brained people who get slightly annoyed at the thought of even having to read directions. You just want your java--stat!)

The only thing I had to do to get started was:

1. Fill the water tank with water.
2. Plug the machine in.
3. Place a cup on the cup tray.
4. Run the "rinse cycle" seven times. (You only need to run the rinse cycle seven times before the very first use.)

Oh, and the "rinse cycle" is super easy. It consists of pushing this button.

Voila! I was ready to go!

Of course, my first drink of choice was the caramel macchiato.

Four ingredients existed:

1. Milk pod 
2. Espresso pod
3. Vanilla syrup
4. Caramel sauce
 
Here we go!

1. Measure two teaspoons of vanilla syrup and place it in your coffee mug.

2. Place your mug on the tray under the spout.

3. Take a milk pod and place it in the top of the machine. Close lid and press the cup button (top, far right button on display screen).

 

 

 4. Take an espresso pod and place it in the top of the machine. Close lid and press the espresso button (smallest cup icon, top left button).

 

5. Repeat the espresso cycle.

6. Place two teaspoons of the caramel sauce into your cup. 

 

Stir and enjoy!

Oh, and FYI--the caramel macchiato was delicious and very comparable to the store version. Now I can have caramel macchiatos at home. DIVINE. I can't wait to have my mom over for a latte.

Cheers,
Samara