Monday, October 19, 2009

Back from the Big City

The older I get, the less I like crowds and traffic. There were plenty of both when we visited the city this weekend for a family wedding. I did all the driving and even though we got home last night, it's only now that I'm beginning to relax - I have no idea how people can drive in those busy conditions all the time!
One good thing about visiting the city is that I can visit some coffee and tea stores for new things to try and this weekend, I ended up at Starbucks twice. I've been a big fan of their coffee ever since I visited Seattle in the 1990s. I used to be a coffee drinker until my tummy started to rebel against the stronger caffeine of coffee; now I have a cup or two of decaf on a daily basis. And yes, I know decaf isn't as good as the real thing but Starbucks decaf comes pretty darn close, in my opinion.
I bought a pound of their Sumatran decaf and I just finished drinking two cups. Oh yum. It's delish! I bought some of my favorite cookies, the Starbucks chocolate covered grahams. Two bucks for two small cookies - and worth evey penny. I also bought a three-pack of the new Starbucks instant coffee more out of curiosity than anything - I will try it on one of those days when I need extra artificial stimulation. I can't remember the last time I had instant coffee - despise the stuff but apparently this is suppose to be pretty good. I picked the Italian Roast flavor. In the shop, I had a Pike's Peak decaf which was good and an Earl Grey latte. Quite tasty although I don't know if it's tasty enough to want another. I may try to make up a home version though. Before we left on Friday, I did make a home version of a pumpkin spice latte - let's just say it did not inspire me to buy one at the store.
I also visited a magazine store and got the latest Tea Time and Tea A Magazine - can't get them here. So despite the awful traffic, it was a good trip. The best part was coming home and making myself a nice pot of loose decaf English Breakfast in a proper pot. I'm all about no stimulants these days.

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