Meet the Barista/Bartender
Hi! I'm Lauren Pacek, the creator of Libations and Lattes and the resident barista and bartender. I'm also the recipe creator, photographer, writer, etc. It's a real one woman show around here.
I wear many hats in my personal life, too: I'm a 30-something scientist, mom, and wife. Basically, I'm busy as heck and really understand the value of having a caffeinated kick to get you going in the morning and a boozy beverage to help you wind down in the evening.
My goal is to help you to feel empowered to create delicious and impressive, yet totally approachable, beverages right in your own kitchen. I'm self-taught, but have loads of experience developing recipes for and drinking delicious beverages over the years.
Fun Facts About Me
- I'm kind of a basic bitch. And I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, I'm leaning in. In stereotypical almost-forty-years-old-millennial-woman fashion, I love vegetable gardening, backyard birdwatching, and house plants. I dabble in sourdough bread-baking, too, though that's a bit of a work in progress.
- I'm a homebody. My house is my favorite place to be. Why would I ever want to leave?
- I'm high key obsessed with my espresso machine. It brings me so much joy on a daily basis. My only regret is that I waited as long as I did to buy one.
- My dog >>>. She's our second Boston Terrier, and I'm enamored with the little gremlin. I love nothing more than to be snuggled up with her on the couch under a big blanket.
- I've been blogging since 2011. That feels kind of crazy to type, but it's true. I started blogging as a way to have a non-academic creative outlet while I was in grad school, and it evolved from there. I pivoted to blogging solely about beverages and beverage-related content in 2022.
What You'll Find on Libations and Lattes
On Libations and Lattes, you'll find recipes for a variety of delicious cocktails, mocktails and non-alcoholic drinks (because everyone should have something tasty to drink!), and coffee drinks (including plenty of Starbucks copycat recipes). PLUS I have a ton of flavored syrups and infused alcohols to help you make all of your beverages, as well as recipes for drink garnishes to really put the presentation over the top.
Basically, if it's beverage-related, you'll find it here!
In general, I'm a big believer in using fresh ingredients and making drinks and their component parts from scratch whenever possible, without making things overly complicated or fussy. The majority of the ingredients used in recipes on Libations and Lattes will be accessible and common. I'm not likely to recommend that you go out and buy a bottle of obscure liquor that you'll use for one recipe and then have it sit on the shelf gathering dust for the rest of eternity.
Basically, you'll be able to find the necessary ingredients at your local liquor and grocery stores. And if they're a bit harder to find, I'll share some links to help you find them online.
In short, when browsing Libations and Lattes, you'll find tons of really good, no matter the time of day.
Most Popular Recipes on Libations and Lattes
For business or consultation information, please email me. Media Kits available upon request.
I can be reached at lauren [at] libationsandlattes [dot] com
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