The smell of the freshly-brewed coffee, the ambiance of chatting friends, colleagues, businessmen around the room, the sound of the barista’s voice outcry your preferred coffee, the whizzing and pulsing sound of the blender, the soothing background music – you love the environment of a coffee shop, more particularly with its distinct aroma. Henry Ward Beecher once said, “No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils.”
Admit it. You are one of those who often “chill out” in coffee shops.
If you are a college student, you visit a coffee shop near your university three, if not four, times a month. You’ve met your high school friends there. You’ve studied (with your iPod’s on) and did most of your home-works there. You and your thesis mates started writing your paper there. Most of the time, after school, you just want to sit down to your favorite spot, put out your laptop, sign in to your Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter account, sip in a Latté, and unwind.
If you are a businessman or office man, you’ve met your potential clients in a coffee shop. You’ve signed checks, a document and other papers there. Sometimes, after work, you and your girlfriend or boyfriend, husband or wife, meet at the coffee shop. You’ve met up with a colleague there and bought Caffé Americano for him/her. During break, you go there to buy a coffee and drink some.
If you’re a regular, you’ve already befriended a stranger whom you’ve seen many times in that coffee shop. When you order for your coffee, the “barista” have memorized your name. (Speaking of barista, maybe you have or had a crush on one of them. It might be one of the reasons why you go there often?)
It was believed that coffee shops started during the 15th or 16th Century specifically in Turkey. It was legal in Turkey that time to divorce her husband if he could not provide her coffee. In 1530, the first coffee shop was built in Damascus. Coffee Shops became a trend in Europe especially when shops started to offer sweet pastries and various treats. Social upper-class businessmen where often seen there. Coffee shops are very prevalent nowadays and one of the most widespread is Starbucks.
“Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with”, says Terri Guillemets. The thecouponcupboard.com cited guidelines on how will you order at Starbucks (but this might actually help as you in ordering to other coffee shops). They are as follows:
Step 1. Hot or Iced Drink. It was said in the website that the default was hot. So if you prefer iced, then your first word in ordering must be “iced”.
Step 2. Coffee Drinks Comes in 4 Sizes: Short: 8 oz. Tall: 12 oz. Grande: 16 oz. Venti: 20 oz. The iced drinks are actually 24 oz. in the venti size. The hot drinks are 20 oz. in the venti size. In Italian, the word "venti" means 20.
Step 3. Choose your drink beverage: First, Coffee a brewed coffee, featured coffee of the day, etc. Second, Latte an espresso and steamed milk. This is the base for several other coffee beverages when you add different syrups and vary the milk, including mocha and white mocha. Americano an espresso and hot water. This is a diluted version of espresso coffee, made popular in the US.
Step 4. Wet or Dry
For coffee drinks that include milk and foam, "dry" means more foam and less milk and "wet" means more milk and less foam. For even more dry, say "extra dry".
Step 5. How strong do you like your drink? Specify the number of espresso shots. Is it single, double, triple, or quad?
Step 6. Choose the type of milk or creamer: default, skinny, whole milk, organic milk, or soy.
Step 7. Extra directions
Whatever it is that you love in coffee shops; you may now continuously enjoy more of your countless stays as you become part of its history with every Latté, and you will be more confident to order your favorite drink. Don’t forget to follow the guide: One Ice Blended Grandé Mocha, with Whip!
-Michelle Sto. Tomas
This article acknowledges its sources.
coffeetea.about.com
Thecouponcupboard.com
