it is that time of the year again - when this particular coffee company manages to create a craze - all for a posh but i would have to say pretty useful planner. yes, i am talking about starbucks. and it happens to be home to my favorite iced tall mocha (or short, no foam latte or venti strawberry frappuccino, depending on my mood or on the occasion).they used to have another blend which i really, really favored - it was mango tea frappuccino - and i remember i would sit with my best friend at our favorite branch (in manila pavilion, united nations avenue) talking about anything and everything and loving how it gave me this fruit salad-like aftertaste and stopped getting monette the same thing when she had tummy ache after drinking it. that branch no longer exists and has since been replaced by another store, mrs. fields.
every year, sometimes they start late october or early november, people would begin to crowd every imaginable starbucks branch within three miles of my radar in pursuit of such a planner - which usually comes with posh, little mementos, like a pencil or a pen with the name 'starbucks' etched on it. but what i really love best would be the coupons that give its most loyal partisans discounts on coffee and other freebies, which of course, still relates to coffee.
they say that going to their shop and getting that cup of coffee - done however you want it - is a tradition, and i won't beg to differ. it also has become a lifestyle. it is insane how their coffee (depending on the size and blend) would cost more than two kilograms of rice and a decent viand here in the philippines - but what can you do - people, to some point, and yes it does include me, work their ass off so at the end of the week or during payday, we can all go out and treat ourselves to a nice cuppa joe.
that is if you have been sober and if going to bars isn't really your scene. yes, i was pertaining to myself when i made that note. i haven't been drinking for a little over a year (thanks to my wife) and i never was a big fan of crowded bars where there is nothing to find but faceless strangers making out and clouds upon clouds of smoke. i, myself smoke and i have been trying to cut on the ciggies so i won't exactly be helping myself if i hang out in a place where i would die sooner because of second hand smoking and not because of my own vice.
yesterday, in the company of two close friends, we sought and found comfort in starbucks moa. i got myself a tall toffee nut latte (which happens to be my favorite holiday blend). i was excited but was suddenly confronted by the challenging need to decide - on whether or not i should give into buying a frappuccino instead. i succumbed to getting a warm (that adjective was actually an understatement - my coffee was scalding) cup instead, due to the weather.
so year after year, no matter how mad their coffee costs, i still line up and feel excited to fill this holiday card so after twenty or so cups, i can get the planner. there was a time when, i think two or three years ago, i was able to fill out three cards all on my own - the other two i ended up giving to my sister and cousin as christmas presents.
i did try 'liking' their peppermint mocha blend which tasted like cocoa with mouthwash, so i stopped after asking for it twice. outside of their usual holiday mania, i usually go to starbucks to sit and listen to music and write every week, that is if i have enough sleep or enough energy to even pick myself up from my bed. when i stopped drinking alcohol, i sought a different addiction - coffee - which has been reported to contain a good dose of antioxidants which help prevent cancer and heart disease. and i find that last bit odd because a shot or two of espresso is actually enough to make a medium-built person palpitate.
coffee always have been part of my daily routine. though there would be days when chugging a bottle of energy drink would suffice to keep me awake, i don't suppose i have actually lasted a day without fixing myself coffee. i drink more coffee than water, which drives my wife crazy (and maybe it does the same to my bladder), i am hooked to it that i am already thinking of starting a campaign to make my birthday an official holiday in brazil. or maybe i can just go to japan every october 1st and be honored for being an aficionado.
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