The other day I was thinking about a latte. Actually, I was thinking about how much my fancy designer coffee has become a very important part of my life, my day, EVERY day! Am I addicted?
I’ve always liked coffee but seldom drank more than a cup a day. I realized that over the last 3 years I’ve developed quite a dependency on my daily fix – a latte or two.
I plan my errands so I will pass my favorite coffee place. I even drive out of my way to hit the Starbucks drive-in, especially in bad weather so I don’t have to leave my car.
I am getting proficient in ordering my favorite drink and order quickly and accurately: “I’d like a vente, non-fat, decaf, one Sweet and Low latte, please”. The places that know me usually get it right and I get a perfect latte with a thick, fluffy froth. At places that aren’t familiar with my request will, on occasion, forget the sweetener.
Forgetting the sweetener is a disaster, especially if I’ve driven off or left the shop before tasting my drink. This necessitates
pulling off the road, digging around in my glove compartment for a hidden, little pink packet of Sweet and Low and having to sprinkle it over my delicate froth. My latte never tastes as good then. The sweetener clings to the foam making the first half of my coffee too sweet and the second half, not sweet at all.
Splenda and the blue packet sweetener aren’t quite right. Splenda requires a packet and a half to make my coffee taste just right, and the blue packet doesn’t taste right to me at all. I always hate to ask for ‘a pack and a half”. It doesn’t sound quite right: “I’d like a non-fat, decaf, one and a half packets of Splenda latte, please”. I’m sure I’d get a puzzled, ‘huh?’ and have to repeat my order all over again; probably needing to give some additional information too, while the ever-growing line mumbles impatient-sounding words to one another behind me.
I’ve always been a bit embarrassed while at someone’s home or office when asked what I take in my coffee. I’ve felt it was rather an imposition to say, ‘I’d like some milk and a packet of artificial sweetener please.’ They usually don’t have artificial sweetener anyway, and I have to end up using sugar which I don’t like. I’ve grown accustomed to the taste of the artificial sweetener and sugar now is too sweet. I’ve always longed to say, ‘Oh, nothing, thank you. Just black’, but I just can’t.
With the craze of espresso shops serving lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, steamers and all the other designer drinks, I am free to order just what I want without the fear of ‘putting out’ the barista.
Hummmmm . . . just writing about this has started me planning tomorrow morning’s route. Let’s see…do I want to take the highway so I can stop at Starbuck’s, or the country route past the little espresso stand at the side of the road…
