Perkdup

Confession.   Yours truly ran out of the "good stuff."  It's true.   The only "microroasted coffee" I had in the house was flavored. So, I did what people have done for decades.  I picked up a bag of Dunkin' Donuts Dark Roas t coffee at my local CVS. Guess what?  It's delicious.  For the last three days, I've brewed a pot and my family didn't even notice that they were drinking good honest coffee for a super reasonable price.  It was on sale for 5.99 for the bag. The morale of the story - it's not the price - but the product. It's all good. Highly recommended. Dunkin' Donuts Dark Roast.  Delightful.

In an odd twist of the times, Starbucks has shuttered its online store. I heard about it last week when I was out of town.  I can't remember if I was notified by email or read it on twitter.  Whatever, it was a surprising move. To be honest, I've only recently began to accept the millenial way of life (meaning, never ever go into a brick and mortar store lest you are a dinosaur) and had recently begun spending a lot more online. What makes it even more disappointing is that many of the items that were offered online are not offered in stores. I'm hoping this means that Starbucks will return to days of old when you could find everything you ever wanted and more in the store - especially during holiday time.  There were years when I bought half my gifts from Starbucks.   Just when you get used to a new concept, they turn around and change it up on you. Good thing I drink a lot of coffee.  It helps to keep your eyes open.

I was just surfing the web yesterday trying to decide which micro-roasted coffee to try next. As it would happen, I became distracted and moved onto a bunch of other things before I had a chance to make a purchase. While shopping for detergent in CVS, I stumbled into the coffee aisle (always looking for new coffee products) and the Cafe Bustelo Espresso Ground "yellow brick" caught my eye.  It was $5.99 for the 8 ounce brick and so I thought, "Well, you love their K-cups, why not try this?" It was a great Sunday morning when I brewed up a pot of what turned out to be some of the best grocery store coffee I've ever had. Good coffee doesn't always come in cafes, sometimes it's in your neighborhood supermarket.

Remember not too long ago when I was complaining that the mobile ordering system is ruining the coffee shop experience? Well, I still think that's true.  But if you can't beat them. . .join them! Today, I ordered my very first drink through the Starbucks app.  Nothing fancy.  Just an Americano.  But boy did I feel cool when I picked it up. My usual barista gave me a thumbs up.  Maybe the mobile ordering doesn't bother the baristas as much as it bothers people like me who are not exactly millennials. At any rate, it was easy and fun.  But I still miss the time that I spend in line checking twitter and social media and making new friends as we wait. I won't be using the mobile app every day, but I am pretty sure this won't be my last time.

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.