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My standing order at our local Starbucks is a nonfat caramel macchiato. But come July and August, I go on a mocha frappuccino bender. Few things make me happier than walking out to my hot car with an icy cold frozen coffee drink in hand.

The only thing bad about it (well, besides the sugar and caffeine), is that these fancy drinks are expensive. My husband loathes the smell of coffee, so we’d agreed I’d always leave the house to score my java, thus why I was visiting Starbucks at least twice a day. A few years ago, we were doing our taxes and I was stunned to see how much money got funneled from my check card into Starbucks’ coffers. We’re talking an embarrassing amount of moolah, a sum that would buy me a business-class ticket to Vienna, plus the pastry and coffee when I landed. At this sobering moment, I pointed out it might be cheaper for me to make my coffee in the garage where he wouldn’t smell it in the a.m. He quickly agreed, and since then, Starbucks has been an occasional treat. (Although I do buy Starbucks beans from our local Costco warehouse.)

But lately, I’ve noticed I’ve been making excuses to run in for a mocha frappuccino. Maybe because it’s so damn hot and I’m not interested in drinking the hot coffee I make at home. A few days ago, I watched the barista make my drink. She measured out a pre-made sweetened coffee-and-milk mixture, added chocolate syrup, then blended it with ice.

The lightbulb went off. “My God,” I thought. “How easy that would be to make at home.” We’ve even got the $600 Vita-Mix blender. What the hell was I thinking paying $4.50 for this drink?

I got the formula right on the first pass. When I tested this on our au pair, she said she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. (A true scientific inquiry hasn’t been completed yet, where we compare my version to an official version.) But I’ll happily drink my version for the next seven weeks — and feel smugly economical to boot. Caveat: I strongly suggest a heavy-duty blender to make the ice smooth and slushy. A half-rate blender just won’t cut it here.

Diana’s Frozen Mocha Coffee
Serves 2

1 cup strong black coffee
3 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup milk (skim, whole, part skim — your choice)
3 tbsp. chocolate syrup
2 cups ice cubes

Stir the sugar into the coffee and chill. (You can make several cups of coffee at once and chill, then pour a cup when you need it.)

Pour the coffee, milk, and chocolate syrup into a heavy-duty blender. Blend for about 5 seconds. Add ice cubes and blend until drink is thick and slushy, approximately 20 seconds. Serve in chilled glasses with straws.