For almost 22 years (only about 15 of which I can actually remember), I would see the Starbucks logo everywhere. As someone who was blessed to travel a lot and go on plenty of vacations as a kid, I noticed that wearied logo everywhere I would go. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was in 8th grade and what a revelation it was. At the time, it might as well have been sugar milk. I would fill up the cup at least 25% of the way full with creamer and with at least 2 MASSIVE spoons full of sugar. This wasn’t really coffee, by any definition.
Over time though, I’ve come to appreciate less creamer and less sugar, mostly because of how unhealthy it is. However, I also just enjoy the taste of coffee more. I am by no means a frequent coffee consumer, rather someone who takes a cursory dive into the coffee rabbit hole every now and again (2–3 times per week). Over the course of my 22 years on this earth, I’ve acquired the knowledge that coffee comes in many different shapes and sizes. I thought coffee was just coffee, but no. I guess it's not.
After the revelation that there are over 10 different types of coffee, and having only drank Keurig cups, I took the ultimate plunge and tried something different. I’d always wanted to try a frappuccino, but I knew damn well I wasn’t going to attempt to make one myself. It was a hot summer night and I had just finished moving some stuff to the attic for my Grandma. Is there not a better time to go and try a frappucino? So I pulled up the secret menu that I’d heard so much about and found one that seemed appealing. It was the Cookies and Cream one. So I pulled up to the drive-thru and was just overwhelmed by the board. Why are there so many options? Can you even get normal coffee here? So I read off the recipe that I had salvaged from the menu. It sounded like a different language when I read it off.
- Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino
- Blended with white mocha sauce instead of regular mocha
- Top with your choice of chocolate or regular whipped cream
“I hope that made sense” I said to myself. To my surprise, she actually understood what I meant. She then asked what size. I said large. BIG MISTAKE. We have Short , Tall , Grande, Venti, and Trenta.
Uhhhhhhh I guess Venti? $5.59 sir. She probably knew I was a rookie from the first time I opened my mouth. So I got to the window, paid, and got something that looked like this:
Dude, why is this thing so big? No one needs this much. So I took a drink and was blown away. It tasted really good. “S***. Am I addicted?”, I asked myself. Cue 5 days in a row of going back every morning at the end of August 2020 and realizing that I have a problem. So I stopped.
However, there is a new devil in my ear. This Pumpkin Spice Latte. I had heard so much about it from memes and young women in my classes. So I went and tried it last week. Good lord is it good. I haven’t gone back, but the Starbucks literally 2 minutes away is calling my name to go back. And I’ll probably go today.
So yeah, Starbucks is actually pretty good.
