We Ran Out of Milk

Not funny:
Don’t bother to show up in Austin for the event today, heater and water main broke. Cold. Then the heater works. Then it doesn’t. And the toilets don’t flush.

To think, I was complaining, despite the Arctic cold, the biggest problem with hotels in the winter? Usually too warm in there.

Best quote?
“If the Cowboys win, they’re going to win the Superbowl.” (Capricorn)

Starbucks:
A long-lost lamentation, in part, for a place that’s no longer there, a coffee shop oddly enough, in San Antonio, that made, arguably, some of the finest coffee, ever. Used an image as a book cover. Pink Cake. A commonplace book.

As a tourist in San Antonio, I’ve grown accustomed to a certain Starbucks, ease of access, all the other small (independent) mom & pop coffee shops closed, and this one Starbucks, the staff is cool. Way cool. Sagittarius, Virgo, Gemini. Pisces. All mutable signs.

Which is how I wound up with some of the Starbucks Instant Coffee. Great for travel. Great for a single cup of coffee, on the fly. Oddly enough, it’s really good coffee. To me, I might be biased, but to me, the instant tastes better than the usual swill. At Bucks, I tend towards iced espresso, or better yet, iced green tea, as a summer beverage, and what I’ve noticed, the rest of the drinks severed there? More milk than coffee. (Should be a dairy tie-in here.)

The title, “We ran out of milk,” refers to a Virgo’s comments one morning, last week, week before maybe. I was getting morning coffee, and she was complaining about the night’s shift problems.

Starbucks introduced an instant coffee, and I got a handful of free samples. I like those things. A lot. Free is good, but when it comes time, I might even part with cash for a couple of those instant coffees. I’ve never been a fan of either Starbuck’s coffee or instant coffee; however, the Starbucks Instant is – to me – better than their regular coffee. Since I tend towards espresso-based drinks, it’s not much of an issue. I shy away from their drip; although, it is supposed to be good, I’m unsure of that. The Starbucks espresso tends to be a little acrid in tastes, but it’s a coffee drink, it’s supposed to be like that. Personally, I find their drip to be absolute swill, but that’s personal, and to be fair, it’s been years since I’ve tried the regular Starbucks “coffee.”

To be sure, I’ve had really smooth coffee, both in San Antonio, TX and abroad, Cafe Richard coffee in Paris, then Nero’s in London, &c.

In my quotidian and ubiquitous travel gear, I squirreled away a few of those instant coffee packets. Couldn’t use them at the show in Austin, and while I was planning on using it at the show in El Paso, I’ve noticed the hotel doesn’t provide plain hot water. Bad coffee, bad decaf, and stale breakfast rolls. Hot waffle maker.

The Starbucks instant, just dump a package into a cup of water and nuke for a minute, and what I get is an exquisite cup of coffee, with the right amount of lather on top, almost a perfect version of an “Americano.”

What’s ironic, in its truest definitions, is how that company makes lousy coffee but excellent instant.

Next time, at Starbucks? Look at the menu. “Blueberry, Rasberry Mocha, Chocolate-Chip, White Peppermint, with whip…” They sell more milk than coffee.

But the instant is good.