7 posts tagged “starbucks”

Man, things have been crazy the last four days.

I've been revisiting my old artwork, trying my hand at writing short stories, sleeping close to seventeen hours in one day, drinking different kinds of tea (Green, Oolong, Chamomile), trying (and failing) to finish leftover coffee beans that have stayed in rotation for a little bit too long. I mean, after the novelty wears off, who really wants to drink pepper-flavored coffee on the regular? Seriously.

I also tried to clean my 4-year old keyboard... which was interesting, to say the least. Okay, it was disgusting. Vacuum, Wipeout,  Soap and Water.  Good riddance, E. Coli.

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I was supposed to attend a coffee seminar at Starbucks Waltermart this morning, but I overslept due to a short story that I had to just bang out 'cos it wouldn't let me sleep. It's about a guy who wakes up in an empty room to find that everyone in his city has turned into a zombie (original, I know). But it's the delivery and the context that matter. Plus, I still don't know if I really want zombies or giant, pink, gene-spliced mutant bunny-roaches with lightsaber carrots. I also plan to insert some socio-political commentary somewhere in there about socialized healthcare. It'll be a hit with the kids, I tell ya.

I managed to roll off my bed and give myself a concussion by falling off the floor, so I'd have no choice but to stay awake or die. Then, I headed off to Origin Cafe to do an interview with Ms. Gina Sy, the proprietress. I expected to do a 15-minute interview, but it was so much fun we ended up talking for 90 minutes. After that, I stole a cappuccino and headed off to Glorietta.

Tumaas nanaman ang pamasahe? Kamote. Kamote kayong lahat. Tse. 11 pesos na sa bus, 8 na sa jeep.

Headed over to Starbucks Makeroom to my homies in the coffee industry (what up Jay, K-rissy, Chai; keep pullin' those shots right and we be down) to pick up my stash (a fudge brownie, decaf drip, and a replacement beaker).

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Went home, unloaded my digicam and the digital audio recorder. Gonna be workin' on those tomorrow. The interview should be up on coffeerev within the next two weeks; still have to transcribe and edit it, make it available as a podcast, and then there's the new Africa Kitamu coffee beans that I have to review.

I've also come to a realization that not all country music (or similar-sounding genres) has the tendency to inflict temporary retardation and/or loss of cognitive and motor functions. Lately, I've been listening to some Carey Ott, Assembly of Dust, and Neko Case... they blend in well with some of the lighter pop/jazz/bossa songs I've got on one playlist (like Better Than Ezra, Coldplay, Jamie Cullum and Miho Hatori).

I'm also now really seriously thinking of a reload.

The next few days will be fun. Now if I can just get some sleep and not die due to lack thereof.

Starbucks has been spoiling me lately. Last week I got two free drink vouchers, which I used yesterday and today. So I've ended the first two workdays of the week with coffee and confections.

Today's Paper, A Free Frappe, and A Soft, Warm, Honey-Glazed Donut.

Gotta love just hangin' out at coffee shops and reading the paper - losing yourself in a calm, stress-free environment while drinking coffee is one of my favorite things to do; to the point of it nearing a vice, if you will.

Delicious food, good coffee, and early 20th century Jazz... tough to beat that combination.

Yesterday: Coffee Jelly Frappuccino. Today: White Mocha Frappuccino. I wonder when I'll be getting another free voucher?

Starbucks Gazebo Blend

I suppose a little update is in order.

The guest comic I'm doing is in the last throes of it's insurgen--- I mean, all that's left is the final 6 pages... pages 22 to 26, and the title page. I should have finished this week, but my insomnia reared it's ugly behind once again. A week of erratic sleeping patterns really screws you up, man.

The good news is that the rewritten ending is much better that what I had originally done. Penciled and scanned it all last week, just got to do the inks and tones.

I've also been studying haiku again, and I've already written a handful of fine ones. That is all.

I'm freakin' tired. 5 cups of coffee does nothing. Oh yeah, hot and more so when cold, I hate Starbuck's Gazebo blend.

I finally cashed my first paycheck this morning, and, it comes as no surprise, but half of it went straight to my coffee fund. It didn't help that there was a Starbucks right across the street from me office building, either. Damn you Starbucks!

Financesheet

I've really made a conscious effort to log all my expenses and create a feasible monthly budget of sorts. Here's what I found out:

• I spend more money on coffee than I do on food.
• But coffee is considered food, innit?
• Then this bulleted list is stupid and redundant and a waste of time typing.

I basically gave coffee it's own column on me spreadsheet since I spend so much on it. That basically drove me to buy my own beans from various coffee shops and brew my own stuff. Right now I buy my beans from Starbucks and Conlin's Coffee, and saving  60%-70% tops (before brewing my own stuff, I'd spend upwards of Php1000+ a week on coffee; a 500 gram bag of coffee beans that goes for Php400 lasts me around 3 weeks to a month).

Anyway, the spreadsheet helps me keep me budget in check, and lets me have some financial freedom when it comes to coffee.

I'd love to see what the sheet looks like once I get into blending beans. Oof.

After two tries, I think I finally brewed my first perfect cup (or to be precise, two cups) of coffee on my own. (First I went home and found out I had no measuring cups, and the next I miscalculated the proportions). I can say this: I'm really enjoying the entire process of preparing and savoring the coffee.

The Press, the Beans, and The Grounds

I picked up a bag of Colombian Nariño Supremo from Starbucks, as I wanted to start with something relatively basic, and coffee that I was already familiar with. (I also really like the Civet Coffee that Bo's Coffee Club is offering, but I'll have that on a later occasion). I had a third of it ground, and the rest I stowed to maintain freshness.

So I got me French Press, scooped up the grounds, poured in the hot water, 4 minutes, and then into me mug with it. Took in the aroma, slurp, and let it swirl in my mouth for a moment. The Colombian Nariño Supremo has a nutty, earthy aroma, and as for taste, it's got medium body, bright acidity, a subtly bitter aftertaste, but overall pleasant flavor.

I wish I had a donut from Krispy Kreme or something - the Starbucks baristas usually recommend a walnut or espresso brownie with this coffee, but I don't think either goes well with this blend. (Not to say that it tastes bad, but I'd say the walnut brownie goes best with Café Estima or Café Verona, and as for the espresso brownie, well, personally, I think it tastes awful). At least for me, that is.

4 Minutes Later

I've only been a coffee enthusiast (but by no means an expert) for less than a year, but I guess I can say that I've got a fair handle on the fundamentals of coffee tasting; so far so good. Just have to get into it more.

I'm gonna be looking to try another blend within the next few weeks or so; I'm looking around at the different coffee shops we have at the mall.

While taking in the mid-class break, I decided to scoot over to Le Couer de France for some coffee and croissants for me and some of my friends. So I took the 5-minute walk to the Marketplace mall at the UN Avenue, ordered three of each to go, and paid with my card. That's where the trouble began.

Dude swipes my card. Okay. He seems a bit boggled. The device seemed to be taking too long to print out the receipt. He decides to swipe it again. Finally, it prints - but when it did, I noticed that I was double charged; I was charged for 6 coffees and 6 croissants instead of 3 each. I keep my cool while the manager joined in in trying to solve the problem. He says he has to call the bank and re-swipe my card. It was taking too long, the coffee was getting cold, and the 15-minute class break was nearly up. I just told them I'd be back later to have the problem resolved.

I head back to class, pass the coffee and croissants around, and we finish the class. After agreeing to check out the Fort, I excused myself for a few minutes to try and fix the problem with my card at the café. I scurry over to the mall, hand the manager my card, and he calls up the bank to begin the... whatever it is they have to do. I wait. A. Really. Long. Time.

It seems that their communications equipment was having a really hard time connecting to the bank, and consequently, the transaction/s was/were unable to follow through. That, and the manager was having a hard time speaking with the bank's hotline, since even their phone line sounded like total crap. Eventually, he got disconnected. At that point, I just got completely pissed off, took my card, and told them to just forget about it. I walked away and just ignored the guy calling out after me.

I do not want to deal with people who have no clue as to what they are doing, and as a result cause an incredible number of completely unnecessary and easily avoidable blunders that inconvenience the customer. Why don't you have reliable, working equipment? How come you don't even look like you know what you're doing? I do not have the patience nor the desire to deal with such incompetence.

Regardless of such events that may occur, I make it a point not to dig into the offending parties. Throwing a tantrum will not resolve anything. I just voice my displeasure in a civil manner and try work with them for a solution. In this case, however, it was taking too long, so I just decided to sod off. I had better things to do; they can have their 288 pesos. It's not worth the stress I get from seeing bumbling incompetents try to resolve matters with malfunctioning equipment. I was really pissed off, but at the same time I felt bad for the guy. I didn't lay into him in any way whatsoever, like some assholes might, but I knew the guy felt really bad about it. But I just didn't care that much to waste more time on that. He can deal with it; I didn't bust his chops or anything.

I like Le Coeur de France, I like their coffee and their pastries, but their service sucks. Starbucks will take my card regardless of how much I purchase; LCDF requires a certain amount before they take my card as payment. Starbucks employs reliable, functioning equipment, and I have never seen any of their employees stare at any of those devices hesitantly.

I will still keep coming back to LCDF in the future, since I like their stuff; but until that certain branch cleans up their act, they're staying on my shit list.