A Little Thing Called Coffee...

As I was saying the other day (aka blog), I am a creature of habit. I like what I like and will venture  towards something new usually through the security of others. I don’t like the monetary, mental, physical and emotional pain of disappointment. It burns, sometimes permanently.

So last year sometime my body did this really really truly weird thing of waking up and demanding coffee. The internal conflict went a little like this: Coffee (think Oscar the Grouch or E.T. husky), want coffee now. Huh? Na ah! Ya ha! No! Yes! Nooo, I hate coffee! Well, that might be so but I'm afraid you have to get yourself a cup of hot Joe right now post-haste, yesterday! Oh, that urgent? Okay, I'll humour you for one cup! I mean it was so weird my family called me weird, and they don't usually!

It is also weird because in my 36 years (well more like 22 years since I probably would not have had any before the age of 15 anyway) I have never ever, never, not once, be inclined to want or enjoy coffee. I liked the special occasion Jarrah kind of coffee but nothing more serious or habitual.. It is strange I suppose looking back on it since this is what my mother drinks and many family members enjoy. So it wasn’t that I wasn’t exposed to it, just more that I’m genetically disposed to being like my father (which is genetics not environment since he has lived overseas since I was 2 years old!), and his mother, who like tea.

Thus this whole waking up in desperate need of coffee was a new and wholly scary experience. I am not the type to enjoy the out-of-control, relies on someone/something type, must have (okay not quite true here since some books (nerdy first choice must-have)/shoes/clothes are an absolute undeniable must-have). I can only but assume there was something that my body really needed (though I cannot actually imagine what health benefit coffee has aside from reducing stress but then that would be if I was in the habit of actually drinking coffee I would assume). It’s not like it’s a banana after all!

Since I certainly wasn't pregnant and couldn't put this down to a weird craving, I humoured myself and made a coffee. It started out like this: I now drink coffee, the white with one sugar kind, though nothing less than Moccona French style mind you and full cream milk.

This progressed to the same with an Equal sugar tab...and then down to half a sugar tab.

The next phase of my coffee habit moved to trying the sachets of flavoured coffees like Hazelnut Latte and Cappuccino and Mochaccinos. I went this route because I wasn't yet at the point of needing cafe-made perfection coffee (though I am now at the point....). I have managed to whittle this down to no longer being able to drink any Moccona or other instant coffee and can only accept Nescafe’s Caramel Latte and the occasional Cappuccino if at home.

I believe I might now require a home brand cafe-style coffee machine....remember the line in You’ve Got Mail (sorry but I will refer to this movie often as it is the quintessential Starbucks film): Patricia: “Did you push it?” Joe: “Yeah, yes I pushed it!” as the importance of her morning espresso maintains its innate right over the early morning conversation and the only thing that can apparently intervene in her routine madness.

It’s a hard life this coffee drinking thing and being none too shabby on the choice front certainly doesn’t lessen the degree to which this is true. I am determined to try a different drink every week, with perhaps a break here and there in order to be sure I am happy and will retreat to enjoying my usual Venti Green Tea Frappuccino with cream. This absolutely reminds me of the line in You’ve Got Mail (I want to live in Greenwich Village and get my Starbucks every morning after dropping the kids to school and then heading to the museum but that’s a different story (i.e. blog)) where Joe says so poignantly:

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall! Decaf! Cappucino!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG1qceS9NM4

All this talk of Starbucks and coffee....it’s just all too hard for a girl who often has little will (such as when it comes to the angelic faces of her children ‘can I have this please Mama?’ ouch, this ‘no’ thing is just all too hard!), I’m off to procure (so hunter-gatherer sounding!) me a Venti Green Tea Frappuccino and while I’m there I will make my choice for my next visit, something obscure and totally brave! I’m quite excited actually and who knows, perhaps I will just go with starting this whole trying-every-coffee-Starbucks-offers thing today! Actually I’m going to peruse the pages of Starbucks first so that I don’t keep dear little two-year-old waiting in the cold and rain while I make decisions (yes Starbucks indoors but when it rains in Auckland it rains!).

Goodbye rain, you may not stand in my way of coffee – let’s just not go there!

Ed. xx

p.s. do you know how expensive (I mean really know just how expensive) coffee is? Good coffee at least, I'm sure you could pay a buck for coffee strained through old sneakers or a rusty bucket brewery!

May 5th 2011

So I might have indicated that I was considering trying a new coffee-style drink each week to emerge out of my cocoon of comfort, my four (metaphoric) walls of friendly, my ZONE.

Well I did just that! While it was not so far from my comfort zone it was a completely new drink that I haven't tried before. I had a venti coffee frappuccino (with cream (visualise me poking my tongue out in pure cheek))! I will venture as far as to say I liked, I liked it well enough to try it again another day after my trial of all drinks new at Starbucks!

I am actually impressed with my not blinking an eye and just going for it. Of course had the outcome been negative I might not be so impressed with myself!

Anyway, all's well that ends well, as they say (whoever they are!).

Ed. xx

p.s. it's a shame STARBUCKS NEW ZEALAND (yes you!) that you have decided to drop your perks of loyalty cards, I could have enjoyed a fair few new choices for free (which might have lessened the pain of any negative trials!).

June 5th 2011

Sigh.....I skipped all pleasures of fine coffee last week but this week I indulged. I have come to realise that a good cup of coffee is actually decidedly cheaper than my frappuccinos. Dammit! This week I went into our newly renovated and looking-all-pretty-but-not-as-private-as-before Starbucks and contemplated the menu while Persia got our straws and waited in anticipation for her share of our usual frappuccino (before you ask the answer is yes I let Pershi have a little green tea frappuccino and she thoroughly enjoys it). Anyhow I digress. After contemplating the menu I saw nothing out of the ordinary whereas usually there is a cherry-chocolate something on offer to warm those wintery lips. So I asked the girl serving me what interesting winter drinks they were currently serving. Nothing she said really, though we are trialling a new raspberry hot chocolate but it hasn't been made 'official' yet. Hmmm - not-made-official-yet = challenge of early taste testing. Double tick for me I believe!

...it tastes like marshmallows she continued - like that would likely be enticing and the deciding factor (actually put me off but sadly once I decide there is no going back....well...double dammit!). I was determined that I would try something new, though I didn't think I wanted to drink marshmallows so I did the next best thing. I ordered my usual AND a raspberry hot chocolate. I figured Persia would be happy with both or either.

Well, there wasn't any 'hot chocolate' in the raspberry hot chocolate so it was more like a warm strawberry milk (yuck). Perhaps it was white chocolate....most probably I believe they forgot the chocolate part of hot chocolate! Persia and I shared both and finished both, though she gave up on the strawberry....oh I beg your pardon....raspberry warm milk....ooops my bad again....hot chocolate. Tick for me at least, another brave Starbucks moment (never to be repeated though....no... not the brave Starbucks moment silly...I mean the warm raspberry milk - which incidentally tasted nothing, I mean NOTHING like marshmallows....thank goodness!). I'm heading down their latte aisle next week so let's see how that pans out.....might start with my favourite home drink caramel latte to get my feet wet!

I should perhaps ask Starbucks for some sponsorship since they have removed their rewards cards :p

Ed. xx