Perkdup

I thought Monday might be a good day to try my very first Affogato.   I know.  It's hard to believe that someone who loves coffee as much as I do, has never tried this coffee-based gelato dessert.   Truth is, I love gelato.  I love coffee.  But enjoying them simultaneously seemed kinda weird. You pour the espresso into your gelato.  Sort of like "putting the lime in the coconut and mixing it all together." And while this one combined butterscotch and biscotti gelato with a steaming espresso, something tells me it wasn't as "authentic" as it should have been. Which means, I have to begin my quest to find the best Affogato in my area.  And considering my office is pretty close to North Beach, that might be both possible and fun.

I didn't actually see the eclipse from where I was, but I didn't miss out on Starbucks' East Timor Tatamailau Coffee . And while this rare coffee might come around more often than an eclipse, it's still hard to get your hands on so don't miss it. If you know me, you know that I love dark roast coffee.  This one has a hint of cocoa.  The packaging says "herbal notes," but I can't tell.  I'm drinking it too fast to notice. To be honest, I would buy it based on the packaging alone. Available for a limited time.

I know that I haven't shown as much love to tea drinkers on my blog.  So, after I heard the sad news this week that Starbucks is closing all of its Teavana stores, I thought it only appropriate that I dedicate this post to the tea lovers in the house. I also thought it only appropriate that I replace the " Teavana Perfect Tea Maker " of my daughter's that I broke a couple of years ago.  I never really owned one of these but I sure enjoyed making tea in it.  Especially that spicy chai variety - the name escapes me. And, oh how I love that German Rock Sugar that they sell in the Teavana stores. Honestly, I'm going to miss all the free samples at the mall and chatting it up with the "tea experts" in the stores. I was happy to hear that Starbucks will continue to carry Teavana tea products.  It seems like only a couple of years ago when I first got turned onto Teavana stores and now there will be no more. At least I'll have the memories.