C is for...

 

There is no excuse to be sleepy at work.

If I am feeling extravagant in the morning, or a colleague and I are in need of a mid-afternoon break, we have our choice of nearby caffeinated establishments.

 

 

 

Those are just the places within 90 seconds of my desk. I swear there is a coffee shop in every building downtown.

At home in Wisconsin I have a little Krups espresso maker with which I brew myself a grande latte every morning. My version is roughly equivalent to a Starbuck's nonfat quad grande latte (quad = two extra shots). But I am such a plebian; my milk gets hotted up in the microwave, not frothed.

The Kat™ after her morning coffee: 8-)

This coffee shop is popular with the folks in my office.

 

After I took that photo, I turned 180 degrees and took this one:

 

For some unknown reason most of the folks in my office walk right past this Starbucks to go to the Caribou that is 20 feet farther away and down four steps. Maybe these accountants are rebelling against megacorporations? Maybe because Caribou is a local franchise? Just one of those unexplained phenomena that bedevil us at 2 a.m. when we can't sleep..

All those coffee palaces are after I get to work. On my way to the freeway every morning I pass this one (recognize it, Dale-Harriet?)

 

I also pass a Starbucks that is even closer to my house, but I didn't think to get a photo. You'll just have to imagine a corner Starbuck's in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of south Minneapolis.

And now it is time to get busy.

 

Comments

[Chris]

Mmmm... coffeee... I don't froth my soymilk, either - the microwave is much quieter and neater. I prefer Caribou because it's locally based and also because the large mocha has 3 shots instead of the 2 at Starbucks. :)

[becky]

yes, but how far do you have to walk to get a d is for drum hand drum?

[deb]

Yes - but Starbucks chai is better than Caribou's chai tea...

[tut-tut]

Go for the locally owned every time! Explain what you'd like to them; I bet they'd be glad to oblige.

[lisa]

Oh my, all that caffeine, just buzzing all around you! The only coffee shops here are 4 Dunkin' donuts (mediocre coffee at best), two different local shops (decent coffee but not convenient), and a starbucks in the barnes and noble (but you can't use the starbucks card your sil gave you there, no no no, someplace between and not convenient either!).

[Nora]

All that caffeine is making me sleepy! I can walk, from my house in suburban Milwaukee, to Starbucks, Stone Creek, Alterra (both locally roasted) and Caribou. I have NO IDEA who is drinking all this coffee! I like to go to the local places, and I also like Caribou. Starbucks is closest, but... well, it's Starbucks!

[Sheepish Annie]

Mmmm...coffee! My favorite thing. Well, one of them anyway. Except that it tends to make me sleepy. Because I'm a little weird that way...

[dale-harriet, iced in]

(SOB) No, Kathy, I never made it to Betsy's Back Porch to hear Poor Howard play! That was the weekend of 1) awful weather; 2) discovery of lost billfold; 3) some other catastrophe - so we couldn't go. Now, for MY part, I can't drink coffee. HOWEVER! I order "Fast Lane" tea online from Celestial Seasonings. It's "extra-caffeinated", very delicious, and for some reason doesn't make me shake. (Good thing, too - I have "benign tremors" and I'd look like I had a SERIOUS case of Jazz Hands!)

[elizabeth]

We have that huge machine in our office too. I really like the Raspberry Spark tea as an afternoon pick-me-up.

[cursingmama]

1.) Local Shop
2.) Dunn
3.) Caribou
4.) Starbucks

Why? Coffee quality, big business issues, & hometown pride. Mostly though, I brew at home...okay, Mr. Motorcycle brews at home.