I went to Starbucks this morning, but decided not to get my weekly Pumpkin Spice Latte–for a few reasons:
- I forgot to print out my friend Beth’s detailed instructions on how to order the perfect Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.
- My pumpkin craving is currently (albeit temporarily) satiated after indulging in some delicious pumpkin beer over the weekend.
- Sometimes I like to mix things up to keep The Man (i.e. Starbucks) guessing.
- I have a sore throat.
What’s #4 got to do with the price of tea in China? Well I’ll tell you. I started coming down with a sore throat late last week. By Saturday morning my voice was virtually nonexistent. It’s now Monday and I still sound worse than the Crypt Keeper. What little sound I can push out from my vocal chords is very scratchy, and wispy, and deep, and scary. People who have smoked Marlboro Reds for 60 years sound better than I do right now. I’m terrifying small children everywhere I go–which is the only perk.
In hopes of returning my voice back to normal I’ve been gargling salt water like a fish, chugging sore throat medicine, sucking on throat lozenges, and drinking tea. I’m not sure if that last one (or any of them, honestly) really works, but it can’t hurt, right?
Well this morning at Starbucks I decided a little chai might be good for my chi, which is clearly unbalanced at this point. So I ordered it–or more accurately, I wheezed it with my scratchy scrapey voice:
“I’d like a Chai Tea Latte, small, skinny.”
“Hot.”
“…Chai Latte”
“…Skinny.”
I have no clue which order all the words are supposed to be in so I figure if I get them in there at the beginning and the end I’m covered.
And does ordering something “skinny” magically transcend your beverage and somehow enter your being making YOU–in fact–skinny? Yes. I do believe it does. But maybe that’s my getting healthier with each sip chai-infused chi talking.
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The Last Starbucks Virgin?
Weekly Starbucks Adventure–Take 2
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Oh, I have major love for the chai tea latte.
When I was in college, our meal card actually purchased Starbucks… I was in heaven. And, I pretty much lived on lattes and the brownies they served. Freshman 15??? Yeah… more like Freshman 50. =)
The chai is my favorite, I discovered last year that some baristas put water in it, some do not. Nothing is worse than a watery chai! So now I order a “tall non-fat, no-water chai” and it’s pretty much perfect everytime! I also liked the iced nonfat chais, but they don’t last as long as the hot drinks! You should try their new hot chocolate, the hazelnut hot chocolate is excellent!
Ohhh, looks like Julia and I have the same order, LOL!
I’m not a big coffee drinker, but at the airport yesterday I ordered a Non-Fat Pumpkin Spice Latte and at the end said “SKINNY”, just for you! The lady goes, “Well, we don’t have sugar-free, so you already got it as skinny as possible when you asked for non-fat.” She was a real downer. The latte was delicious.
uh-oh, this is bad news! chai tea lattes = serious addiction.
i started on hot ones when i was pregnant, during the cool months. i thought it was a passing pregnancy craving. NOPE! 2+ years later, i’m still going strong, but i can’t afford the daily expense. now i just buy the Tazo (same brand that starbucks uses) chai tea concentrate at the grocery store and mix it with milk. i drink ’em EVERY day — but now i prefer them iced, with a straw.
Do you get the chai tea in the cans there? If you don’t I can post you some…
I’m so looking forward to Starbucks now.
Yum! I think you just made Starbucks $50 at least! I love them iced! The ‘no-water’ thing has me perplexed. :huh:
YUM! Chai is my go-to drink whenever I’m at a coffee shop. The crazy thing is though,I’ve NEVER had a Starbucks chai! We have so many fabulous indie coffeehouses in my town, that I’ve just never gone. However, when we’re on the road, Starbucks ALWAYS has clean bathrooms and you can find them everywhere, so I always stop, use the lil’bloggers room and grab a black coffee. For some reason it has never occurred to me to try their chai. Next time…
Oh, and I totally had the sore throat last week. BAD. Swallowing HURT. Licorice throat tea by Traditional Medicinals really helped me. I freaking HATE licorice though so I really had to force myself.
FEEL BETTER!
Chai lattes are my favorite! There’s a coffee shop (not Starbucks, that’s 1/2 a mile down the road and too far to walk) right around the corner from my interior design building at school. Since it’s so close, I walk over there almost every day and order a chai latte. Yum! It’s really good, but I’m definitely going to have to cut back since I’m spending too much money.
Mmm…chai sounds so good! I hope your throat is better!
HI D! Was your tea green? It must not have been due to all the lovers out there – but the last time I ordered some herbal tea remedy from starbucks in the airport, it was frothy green and so disgusting! I have been afraid of Starbucks “tea” ever since!
I have no idea about this “chai” thing but wanted to say hope you feel better!
:kiss
Have you had Panera Bread’s chai tea latte? It’s heaven. :swoon
Dawn
I am ON BOARD with Chai Lattes. The best are in winter when I ask for Gingerbread Syrup shots š
Another coffee chain has a chocolate Chai and it’s too.die.for
I LOVE this drink. I am usually an iced latte person, but since the weather has changed and ice isn’t exactly what I’m craving most days, I have adopted this. I hope it made your throat feel better!
Kadi–nope, it wasn’t green. (eek!) It was brown (and not scary, lol).
Dawn–Mmm! I might have to check that out! I love me some Panera!
FB–Gingerbread syrup?? OMG, that sounds incredible!!
Michelle M–Chocolate chai?? OMG, you girls are going to be the death of me. Well, not me so much as my ass, lol!
You caught me with the phrase “pumpkin beer”. I just moved to Germany (and started blogging about my home), and while I’ve seen a lot of different beers like cherry beer and banana beer, I haven’t seen this one.
Now I know it’s out there and it sounds interesting. But given the choice? Boy that chai you’re describing sounds amazing!