So much more than just coffee..

Whether it's a grande skinny vanilla latte or a tall-medium-roast-in-a-grande-cup, Starbucks has definitely become a huge part of my life in college. People accuse Starbucks of being a cult, and that's totally true. They create personalized drinks for the few who understand how to work the system. Extra hot? No foam? No whip? Extra squirts of flavor? Half-decaf? For the ordinary passer by who just wants a CUP OF COFFEE, Starbucks is not the ideal place (also, their regular brew tastes like mud. I get the tall-in-the-grande-cup so then I can enough milk in it to make it taste decent. And when you're using the calorie-conscious skim milk, that's a lot). You have to learn how to say the right (and strange) words that will make your drink perfect every time. Who knew that just saying the word "skinny" could cut the calories of your drink in half? Coming from a post-communist, highly controlled country, the amount of choices that you have just to pick what type of coffee you want is slightly ridiculous. If I were a more adventuresome person, I would try every single combination of words and try countless flavors of drinks. But I am a person of extreme habit (thanks, Dad :)), and venturing beyond my two drinks of choice is always a challenge. I am currently enjoying a Friday treat, though: grande no whip coffee light frap, because it's just too beautiful outside to drink something hot (and I already had my Seattle's Best coffee this morning). Occasionally, I'll get a grande non fat chai tea latte, because it's Dani's favorite (though I laugh every single time I say I would like a "chai tea"). But as wonderful as it is, and as much as I feel proud of myself for conquering the system in order to get the right flavor and amount of calories that I want in my coffee, I am definitely looking forward to next year, when I will have a coffee machine in our apartment and I will be able to make myself simple, cheap coffee whenever I want. And really, that's all I need.