Of late, I have brought my coffee addiction from one caffiene drug dealer to another, betraying my beloved Starbucks and having an affair with Panera’s I.C. Caramel, and a side fling with the Panera Caramel Latte (both of course with the extra shot of espresso). Also, I have been known to slum it at 7-11, mixing the Chocolate orange “cappuccino” (from a powder, yuck) with regular coffee.
All that changes at Christmas time, though.. as I have returned to my first love, the Starbucks Empire, to enjoy my annual Christmas indulgences – of which there are three..
1) The Grande Skim Triple Mint Mocha. 3 shots of espresso, skim milk, chocolate syrup and peppermint, topped with whipped cream and red and white sprinkles. Tastes like a hot York Peppermint patty.
2) The Tall, 1/3 skim Egg Nog Latte. A grande tends to be too much.. a shot of espresso, and the rest of the 12 oz split between 1/3 skim milk and 2/3 egg nog, topped with whipped cream and nutmeg. I actually like this more than the mint mocha, but I save it for after Thanksgiving – Egg Nog can’t be consumed before in my strange world.
3) The Caramel Apple Cider. More of a fall drink.. I’ll have this one when I don’t want caffiene – Hot apple cider mixed with a shot of vanilla, cinnamon, caramel, a touch of milk and topped with lots of whipped cream. Drinking it down tastes, I kid you not, like a hot apple pie a la mode.
These tastes have become part of my fall and Christmas like pumpkin pie and candy canes. Yum.
I Have To Avoid
$3.00 a day for 300 days a year = $900
$900 into $36,000 (avg. household income) is 2.5%, and I can’t rationalize spending 2.5% of an average household’s budget on flavored coffee.
But yes, the stuff tastes great.
Hello my name is…
I suffer from the same caffine addictions. Although i have strayed from the Starbucks nation and have joined a new cult. There is a Coffee house called Caribou Coffee that is in direct competition to starbucks. It is located the same distance from the office, but on the same side of the street so i don’t have to cross 6 lanes of traffic to get it. They serve the same types of drinks. The difference being my Caramel Machiato at Starbucks is now a Caramel High Rise. Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider is now called a Hot Apple Blast. Caribou seems to have a wider variety of espresso drinks to choose from which is nice when i want to venture out of my rut.
I conceed that i have had to cut back on my intake since i took a pay cut to come to the new job. But i still like to indulge about once a week or so.
My Christmas drink of choice
As a nosy woman, I overheard in a grocery store one day a lady telling another lady that root beer and egg nog are wonderful. Now I’m not one to down a glass of egg nog and I don’t care for milk enough to mix them. So I decided to try this lady’s concoction.
A&W being my favorite kind of root beer, we keep plenty on hand during the holidays to join a glass of egg nog. Mixing them half and half is just about right. Mmm, good. Somebody try some out for me, huh? I won’t be having any this year so have a glass for me, too! —
Christy