Tall, extra hot, sugar-free, vanilla, soy latte...

Photo by Janine

For many people their day doesn’t officially begin until they’ve had their morning cup of Joe. It provides that jump start they need to get them going in the morning and face the day’s challenges head-on.

My coffee vendor of choice is Starbucks- after seven years I can finally admit that I am a full blown Starbucks addict. If I don’t have my regular coffee in the morning I crave it and find myself having two coffees later that afternoon to make up for it.

For some people coffee tastes best in its simplest form, free of milk and sugar, but I have acquired a taste for a much more complicated drink. Something that only the staff at Starbucks can seem to make just the way I like it. Every morning when I ask for a tall, extra hot, sugar-free, vanilla, soy latte I know that it is going to be just what I need to take the morning edge off.

I have tried to cut my Starbucks habit down to once or twice a week, but I find myself making excuses as to why I need one: I’m tired, it’s cold outside, I deserve just one last coffee. Their staff knows how to get you hooked- they become friendly acquaintances, occasionally slipping you a free drink coupon or they increase your drink size to grande to keep you coming back- I always do.

My family and friends are enablers giving me Starbucks cards for birthdays, Christmas and even Easter. It would be an insult if I didn’t use their gift, and I wouldn’t want to be rude. I promise myself that I’ll quit once I’ve used up all of my gift cards but I just need one more tall, extra hot, sugar-free, vanilla, soy latte to get me through the day.