WHO DOESN'T EFFING-LOVE COFFEE? ☕️

That would be me a couple of years ago. I didn't really like coffee until this hectic year. Why did my taste change so drastically? Maybe the #quarantine #stayathome commotion invited in.

What is it about coffee that makes us feel so warm and cozy? I mean, I get it if we are stationed in the Fall season, but, why do we crave a warm cup of coffee even if we are on a beach vacation?

“Truth is, I got a bit of tachycardia when I consumed it.”

As you can tell I am not a coffee connoisseur, however, I recently developed a gustation...no, a crush, for the aroma and flavor of beverages containing caffeine. I would think that Starbucks and its cool-lifestyle of intellectuality, activism, and innovation pushed me to want to perceive myself as a trend-setter coffee drinker. Truth is, I got a bit of tachycardia when I consumed it. Besides, you'll understand it better when you read where it all started for me. Here I am sharing my top-3 favorite high-caffeine beverages and some fun facts around my love for these drinks. Enjoy!

Chai Tea Latte

I was visiting a friend in #NewYork back in 2006. Picture him as a free-spirited, cinephile, stylish, Avant-gardist gay man who used to like the most eccentric things. For example, during this trip and thanks to him, I tried the wasabi peas for the very first time and I loved them. He is a #Mexican individual with half #Japanese and half #CostaRican ancestry, and I remember finding this blend fascinating. He was also constantly filming our ventures—just filming everything we did. I visited New York in January and as you may imagine, it was cold as heck! I spend 10 days at his aunt and uncle's house in New Jersey. They were all greatly welcoming and made my stay really pleasant. We had to ride the train every day from New Jersey to New York to my friend's work. This was the best part of it all because I was able to experience the city like a local. At some point, my friend came up with the idea of buying #Starbucks to accompany our trip. I honestly just wanted to carry the cool cup while he was filming, so I just got what he got: a tall, hot chai tea latte. Pretty simple.

Once I taste it I couldn't believe the calm, autumnish, spicy flavor in my mouth. I had such a desire for more that I would do anything to get it. Not only it became my preferred drink from the coffee place, but I learned to make some tiny adjustments to intensify my experience. This is how I order it 15 years later:

"Good morning! May I have a grande, iced chai tea latte with non-fat milk? Could you please add four extra pumps of chai, that would be a total of eight, right? Also, could you add light ice and leave some room? Lastly, could also you make sure it's not watered-down? Thank you so much!"

Yeah, you would think I am the pickiest Starbucks customer in the world, but in my defense, they have created an addiction within me that makes me a regular, so it's a win-win. And this beverage has been my exclusive drink for more than 15 years.

(Photo from Google)

Irish Cream Cold Brew

This is an "Oh, Lord!" type of beverage. I am not exaggerating. The first time I tried this brew was on #Christmas 2019 (it's a seasonal Starbucks drink). I remember my husband and I were inside our cars on a very cold #morning at a Starbucks drive-thru. We were wearing pjs, coats, beanies, and scarfs. I had already ordered my usual grande iced chai tea latte with all my signature enhancements, whereas my husband didn't really know what to order. Out of the blue, I suggested the Irish Cream Cold Brew because it seemed like a not-so-sweet iced #coffee, and so he did. Once he got it and tasted it, his eyes opened widely as he said: "¡Sabe deli!" which means, "it tastes delicious!" I asked him for a sip and it was unexpected. Utterly exquisite!

I loved this drink so much that I shifted my customary iced chai tea latte to this for the following months. I even remember that by February, I was begging the lovely barista at my local Starbucks, Ms. Meg, to please carry this drink the whole year and not only on a seasonal basis. It didn't happen, but now, I'm now counting down the days 'til #October—literally.

And of course, I did add some tiny changes to my brew: non-fat milk and extra cocoa powder.

When Starbucks had removed the Irish Cream Cold Brew from the menu, I went ahead and purchased an electric milk frother, the Hershey cocoa powder, the vanilla syrup, the Irish cream syrup, and Silk almond milk to have my own homemade cold brew, but I failed repeatedly. After a couple of trials, I gave up and rather kept subtracting days on my calendar until the month of October.

However, I did not make a mistake by buying all these ingredients and the electric milk frother because thanks to a new social media coffee-trend I was able to attempt a novel homemade coffee drink. Read below.

(Photo from Google)

Dalgona Coffee

I discovered this drink through TikTok, as I was reinventing myself finding new content topics, keeping up with new trends and new apps, training on new Softwares, writing my blog, and updating my knowledge in every way possible during times of #COVID19. Everybody was posting videos of the delightful and photo-worthy beverage. Therefore, I gave it a try.

The #DalgonaCoffee is the most easy-to-do coffee. It's made by whipping instant coffee powder, sugar, and water until it becomes creamy, then you add it to iced milk, and voliá! But wait! You can not drink it immediately but until you had made like 10 photos for Instagram. Just kidding! To me, this beverage has been designated as the #quarantine drink. I was having one in the morning and another one after lunch. It actually made me realized my tachycardia issue was gone. Yay!

I remember telling my beautiful mother about it so that she would try it herself. As you know, mom's know it all. She said to me that back in the 70s when she was working at one of the first TV stations in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, her boss actually made his own Dalgona coffee every day at the office. My mom said she had tried it and she thinks she used to like it, too. Well, what do you know!

Here's where you can buy mason jars and stainless steel straws to dress it up for your calm and sunny mornings.

French Press Coffee Sweetened with Coffee Flavored Häagen-Dazs® Ice Cream

Recently I've been drinking the infamous french press brew. As I don't consider myself to be a coffee connoisseur, I can't really tell the difference between a regular coffee-maker brew versus a french press. What I can definitely say about this is: french press coffee takes way more time and patience in order to be ready to drink it.

"Because there’s no paper filter to stop them (just a stainless steel fine-mesh screen), tiny dissolved particles and essential oils from the coffee grounds end up in your cup and give the coffee a richer, fuller body. So if you’re a coffee drinker who’s into big-bodied coffees, the French press might be the perfect brewer for you." Read more here: https://www.drinktrade.com/how-tos/best-french-press-coffee.

French brew coffee is a bit more laborious to prepare, and most importantly, you are going to need a french press.

French Presses found on Amazon.

You are going to have to preheat the french press first. Simply fill it up with hot water and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Afterward, empty your french press and add 3 measuring cups of ground coffee. It is said that a very chunky, coarse grind size is better due to the nature of the french press process. It is in this step where you add hot water from a kettle only to cover the grinded coffee you just added. Let it rest for 30 seconds. This first pour helps release gases like carbon dioxide from the coffee, which then allows the rest of the water you pour to fully penetrate the grounds and extract all of that tasty stuff more evenly. Now comes the good part; pour your water until it fully penetrates the grounds of coffee and let it sit for 4 minutes. Finally, press the coffee plunger all the way down and serve.

I like serving it into glass mugs and sweeten it with coffee flavored Häagen-Dazs® ice cream. But, you always can try any ideas as long as you are aware that, if you don't like it, you are going to start all over again! Enjoy!