‘Tis the season
I’m probably one of the few Americans who’s largely immune to the daily latte regimen. Don’t get me wrong: I love the frothy decadence of it, and I adore coffee. But it doesn’t love me so much, especially in combination with a massive dose of dairy. I grab a decaf now and then, and I usually stick to a locally-roasted option — of which San Francisco has many: Blue Bottle, Ritual, Philz — or Peet’s in a pinch. (Yeah, it’s a chain. But it started here, the coffee is good, and the baristas aren’t automatons.)
My biggest objection to Starbucks isn’t that the coffee “tastes burnt” (I’m too much of a philistine to notice, I guess) or even that they’re a bad corporate bully. Mostly, I just hate the vibe of their shops: the regurgitated music by bland artists; the production line feel of it; the sense as I scoot forward, one shuffle-step at a time, that I am heading meekly down the chute to slaughter, instead of grabbing a quick liquid breakfast.
But all of my trepedation goes by the wayside, a few days after Halloween. When the seasonal menu goes up on the faux-chalkboard and the lipstick-red cups come out of hibernation, I’m drawn in to the Sign of the Mermaid to feed my guilty addiction.
I can’t explain my abnormal attraction to the Gingerbread Latte. I don’t really like sweets, and I’ve taken my coffee without sugar since I was in my early teens. But there’s something about it that grabs me. Even before I’m really ready to acknowledge the holidays are here, I’m lining up for my 280-calorie, 14-fat-gram fix.
Laura
Anita
jen maiser
Kristina
The Inadvertent Gardener
Marisa McClellan
I love that freaking latte, too. And the eggnog latte? Which is even less healthy and more ridiculous? I love even more.
I am so glad I am not the only one. I’ve been trying to talk myself out of a (short, NF, one-pump each) peppermint mocha all morning. But it’s calling my name…!
Personally I’d rather go without coffee than buy Starbucks. I like shade grown and fair trade coffee, neither can be found in a cup in any Starbucks. Many of our local coffee shops sell only fair trade and shade grown coffee for less than Starbucks, it is all about profits for Starbucks.
Not a lot of people even know the deal with shade grown coffee! Shade grown is sustainably harvested coffee grown under the forest canopy, in that forest birds and other inhabitants can live and thrive. Conventional coffee on the other hand removes the forests and wildlife habitat and plants only coffee. The yield of most shade grown coffee is about 80% of what the conventional growers get, less profits but better for our environment.
Randy, I think you might want to consider laying off the coffee entirely! You’re (a) preaching to the converted and (b) attacking someone who admits in the very first paragraph that she doesn’t really drink coffee most of the year.
In case it escaped your attention: This blog is a place where we talk about the things we already KNOW aren’t the right choices, but we make them anyway. Shopping and eating with a conscience is not a religion; nobody is going to hell because they drank a gingerbread latte, especially when they’re buying and consuming exactly the sort of coffee you recommend the other 11.5 months of the year. We’re all doing the best that we can, and sometimes that means we make the occasional indulgence.
But hey, if you want a pat on the back for being better than me: Atta-boy. You win.