Starbucks Satiety

 An old friend of mine wanted to open an upscale sandwich shop with me called "Coffee Sucks" as an alternative to coffee shops.

The concept might work in Utah, but no where else, regrettably.

A funny thing about living in the Northwest is the shear number of Starbucks to be found. Within one mile of our apartment there are four Starbucks. Within two miles of our pad, there are two different neighborhoods where each has two Starbucks within 500 feet of each other.

My previous employer tried to get me addicted to caffeine by giving me gift cards to Starbucks every time I took an actuarial exam. I amassed $50 in cards and (as I'm not a coffee or tea drinker) I had no idea what to do with them. Until...

I discovered Caramel Apple Spice. The perfect combination of apple, cinnamon, caramel, and cream. Moreover, the drink was murky, which made me think it was real apple cider. I think I now have about $12 left on the gift card. Tee hee.

Amazingly though, I haven't used any of that $12 since November. The last time I got one, I made the mistake of going through the drive-thru (which has a terrific view of the bar) and I got to see how the ciders are made. The barista pulls out a plastic bottle of Tree Top apple juice (just like the one at Wal-Mart!), adds a few drops of cinnamon syrup (right off the shelf at Starbucks), heats it up, adds whipped topping, and sprinkles caramel sauce (again, straight off the shelf) on top to finish it off.

I can make that at home for under a buck. Why am I paying $5.95? You've cheated me, Starbucks.

*sigh*

If you'd like to make it at home, for 1/6 the cost of Starbucks, the recipe is in the next post.