YUM!

Warm delicious coffee. ohh companion of companions!

Today I found out that Dunkin’ Donuts k-cups are finally available. ALLELUJIA! ALLELUJIA! I have been anticipating this moment since early May when Dunkin released their S1 and in the business plan mentioned that they would introduce a k-cup.  However at the time they did not disclose a date for the release.  No, I did not buy Dunkin IPO stock because I don’t have a brokerage account.  Currently, all my money goes to living expenses, savings (because I have an irrational fear of getting laid off), student loans, weddings and baby showers.  However, I am almost finished paying off my car so I will start trading and my blaugience will be the first to know.

I drink all kinds of coffee.  I am not a coffee elitist nor am I loyal to only one brand.  How can you have it all if you stick to the same brand?? I can’t say I haven’t met a coffee I didn’t like… it’s true, I find iced coffee to be… well kind of like dirt water with ice chunks. But does that even count as coffee?

In pondering my coffee obsession I found that various phases of my life can be defined by my coffee drinking habits.  Come to think of it, my long-time romance with the bean could be responsible for the fact that I’m the shortest person in my family… whatever.

In high school, my drip of choice came from 7-11.  They were the first ones to really step it up and brew a variety of fresh pots every morning.  It wasn’t just “regular” and “decaf”, there were usually 4 coffee brews to choose from, French Roast, Columbian (which was usually a dark roast), and Another that would fluctuate and of course they also had decaf (which I wouldn’t touch at the time). 

I usually partook in the French Roast and dressed it up with some hazelnut or vanilla and a little sugar.  Whenever they had the faux Baily’s flavor creamer I would load up on that!  While I was getting my coffee, everyone else was stopping in for their morning routine.  The construction workers were stocking up for the day, purchasing their sandwiches and drinks.  Some also had coffee.  The white collar citizens were getting coffee as well, and some snacks for the day.  Other people came in just to pay for gas.  When I got coffee at 7-11 it made me feel like part of the “real world”, people that were actually doing something that day would come to 7-11 and I was there with them.  Of course, that was probably the more interesting part of my day because I really hated high school. 

Grotto cappuccinos.  If you know what I’m talking about then you are craving one right now!  Ohh so creamy and frothy. But not too creamy and frothy as I have found many cappuccinos to be in the US.  Before class, after class, during breaks there was always a coffee for me at the grotto.  Nothing was better than a grotto cappuccino with my girl MN (I love and miss her).  Cappuccinos in the morning evolved into espressos in the afternoon.  Sometimes I had to keep it real and order an Americana. 

In college I really stepped up my coffee drinking game.  Coffee is everywhere in Europe and I love coffee everywhere.  This was where I was first introduced to coffee vending machines.  Bar Caruso had delicious coffees in addition to a fine panino selection.  Café Parigino on “the hill” was also a favorite; it was very European and crowded so I enjoyed having coffee there and trying to “blend in”.  When I was feeling particularly fancy, or trying to keep up with my high-tone friends, I would get coffee at Grand Café.  Lugano was also where I tried my first McCafé, not bad! They were all special and delicious in their own rite.

One of my fav professors at Franklin gave me her coffee maker when she decided to leave Lugano.  Interestingly I never took a class from her, but she was very kind and I got to know her as a freshman.  It was a regular style brewed coffee machine and I would pick up some Café Chico d’oro from Manor and make coffee for all of my friends.  This easily transitioned into coffee with Bailey’s: my study-drink of choice.  Coffee and Bailey’s is the right combination of caffeine, to keep you going, and alcohol, to keep you relaxed and happy.  My friend JD was my first convert.  He would purchase the largest size bottles from duty free in different flavors.  We would drink them all semester.  Yu-um!  One thing I never mastered was the perfect blend of Red Cup, which is a type of instant coffee that was kind of popular in Switzerland.

Voi un café? Si! Grazie.

After college my life became a litany of office coffee and trips to Starbucks.  My first job didn’t have a Starbucks, or any other type of coffee bar, in the building.  That was okay though because I enjoyed many trips to Starbucks with my colleagues.  One thing Europeans have not thought of yet is drive through coffee! We would pile into a mid-sized sedan and sit in the drive through line at sbux to order coffee for ourselves and others at the office. What happened if there was a mistake in the order?? Did we forget the cookies??? Back to the car! This order will be rescued.

Now I work in a fancy building downtown and we have a variety of coffee options and horrible office coffee.  I go to Starbucks most mornings and order a tall bold (the way I like my men).  If you order a drink in the morning you can get a refill in the afternoon for 50₵.  On the weekends I usually brew coffee and I maintain a pretty decent selection of Dunkin donuts coffee, grocery store blends, and some fancier coffees that people have given me as gifts.

My boyfriend introduced me the Keurig.  I didn’t like it at first because I thought the individual-size plastic pods were a bit wasteful.  I still believe that is true, but if you recycle the plastic then it’s justified.  I also didn’t feel like coffee from the k-cups tasted as good as regularly brewed coffee.  I have found some acceptable brands such as Emeril’s brand k-cups and “Jamaica-me-crazy”.  Also, as I have gotten older I have begun drinking decaf in the evenings.  Pretty much any decaf in the Keurig tastes the same so you can’t go wrong there.  And, to be honest, if I’m making coffee at night it will be a fancy coffee with some special ingredients.  

 

Anyways, I’m excited about the Dunkin k cups.  Sbux will have a k-cup in November and I will try those too! 

Readers (aka Chelsea and Lacey), please tell me about your coffee habits. Do you love it as much as I do??