I have a confession to make. I love Tim’s. (If you are a Canadian like myself, you know what I am talking about.) Having lived my entire life within blocks of the original location, I find it my patriotic duty to patronize this establishment. Unfortunately, my bank account feels quite the opposite. I swear I have spent the equivalent of purchasing a franchise location myself.
Ice caps are my downfall, for both my wallet and my waistline. Believe me I have tried to break the morning habit of driving to Tim’s, buying my poison and sitting in the parking lot, wincing at the first brain freeze and letting the caffeine jolt me into my day. I think one of the reasons it was so hard for me to stop going was because I loved the quiet alone time to journal in my car probably as much as the creamy cold goodness.
If you have read my last few posts, you may have noticed a lot of them are focused on taking control of your finances and planning for retirement. Exactly two years from today, my husband will retire and if we don’t get our crap together fast, we may not be able to travel the way we would like to. And although I have made a lot of changes, like meal planning, budgeting and using cash envelopes, the one thing I have clutched to like a well loved baby blanket has been that morning Ice Cap. But I can not fool myself anymore. If I’m going to realize the retirement of my dreams, I have to stop the leaking wherever I can.
The take out Ice Caps have to stop.
Wow, it hurts me just to say that. Welp.
But notice I qualified that with “take out”? I can still have my Ice Cap, if I make it at home myself. Yay!
It really is so easy, cost pennies a glass and seriously, it taste just the same. No really. I am a very hard customer to steal away from Tim’s. If I say it is just as good, you have to believe me.
The only thing that worries me is the possibility that Tim’s will go out of business now that I have this awesome recipe for making my own Ice Cappuccino. Sorry!
What I really like about this recipe is that it uses the excess coffee you would normally pour down the drain. You simply pour your leftover coffee into an ice cube tray and freeze. This is one of the tricks for ensuring your home made Ice Cap costs you next to nothing to make.
Enjoy!

3 Ingredient Ice Cappuccino Just Like Timmies
What is your latte factor? Mine is definitely Ice Capps from Timmies! This copycat Ice Cappuccino recipe saves me hundreds of dollars a year and has the exact same great taste. You will be pleasantly surprised!
Ingredients
- Iced Coffee cubes
- Milk (or cream)
- Chocolate Sauce
Instructions
- Place 7 to 8 large iced coffee cubes into a glass. Depending on your hand blender, it may be easier to use a tray that makes small ice cubes. Which ever size cubes you use, they should fill just under 3/4 of the glass. Any more and you will have overflow when you blend.
- Pour in milk (or cream) till it covers approximately 3/4 of the iced coffee cubes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of your favourite chocolate sauce. Use more sauce if you like a more chocolate taste as opposed to a coffee one. Another option is to use chocolate milk in the previous step and eliminate the sauce all together.
- Blend until smooth. I usually use a pulsing action to get all the cubes to break down.
- If the straw stands upright in your drink when you are done, you did it RIGHT!
Notes
Want to fancy it up? Here are some topping suggestions:
- Add whip cream
- Chocolate chips
- Shaved chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Caramel
- or be really naughty and add Irish Cream!
What is your Latte Factor?
David Bach, financial author and motivational speaker, coined and trademarked the phrase “Latte Factor”. He deems that it is the small, day-to-day purchases that we make without thought that keep us from saving and accumulating wealth. If you can identify and eliminate $5 a day, you will be surprised how much easier it is to make ends meet.
My Ice Cappuccino’s were most definitely my latte factor. At $4 a pop, that translates to $1460 a year! What a disgusting waste of money that I literally flush down the toilet.
What will you do with that money saved?
It isn’t enough to just cut out your latte factor. If you don’t make a plan for that money, it will probably be eaten up somewhere else in your budget. It is so easy to do isn’t it?
You have to make a plan and tell that money where to go.
Personally, I want to see that $1460 in my bank account by the end of the year. That would be so nice wouldn’t it?
Every pay, I transfer the amount I would have spent on drive-thru’s and transfer it to my savings account. I love seeing that amount grow instead of my weight. lol
I hope you love and use this recipe often. But most of all, I hope my journey spurns you on to find your latte factor, find a cheap substitute and save tons of money.