Friday, May 09, 2008

My world is changing

A huge shock was heaped upon me today. As you know, I enjoy my coffee. Yes, I do. Possibly a little too much? Possibly. And almost exclusively Starbucks coffee.

A little background on my coffee consumption life. When, Joe, did you have your first cup of Joe? High school? Nope. Surely college? Nope. It wasn't until 1993 at the ripe ol' age of 27. During high school and college I was taking allergy medication that was loaded with caffeine so a cup of coffee, hell, even a few Cokes or one Mountain Dew would get my heart literally fluttering. It was pretty scary actually.

But a very stressful time at work triumphed all and I ventured across the street to the local Dunkin' Donuts for my first cup. Enough milk and sugar and I was hooked. Having a Starbucks at the end of my street AND at my train stop didn't help....not to mention that back then they had mostly cute baristas!

So back to the present day. My current addiction consists of two 20 ounce cups of 1/2 decaf a day, though sometimes I throw in a third cup that is either 1/2 decaf or all decaf. My first cup costs me $2.03 currently and my second cup, for the last 10 years or so, has been granted to me at the refill price of $.55. The official Starbucks policy on refills is that you can get the refill price if you either are still in the store where you purchased the first cup or it's within an hour of your purchase. Starbucks in general, not just mine at the end of the street, would waive the technical details of the policy as long as I had my cup. Apparently the original policy is going to be enforced again starting on Monday!!!

Arrrrghhhhhhh!!! So, am I going to pay the increased cost or alter my drinking habits? The cost would be about $550 a year extra. Seems a small price to pay to actually change my afternoon coffee habit. Hmmm, I will think about it though. Taking some caffeine out of my diet might not be a bad thing. What do you guys think?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you should learn to brew your own coffee to your own taste (Ricardo's Euro style not qualifying). You have a coffee machine at home and one in the office. You could reduce your costs from where they are now not to mention the cost of gas for the afternoon coffee.

Anonymous said...

Bad for Joe - costs more $
good for joe - Starbucks stock price increases

Anonymous said...

I think you should be drinking Dunkin' Donuts coffee anyway. I also agree with el supremo that you should brew your own.

Then again, we all know that you're not going to Starbucks just because you like coffee.

--dJF

alexis said...

ditto on the brew-at-home. I don't feel coffee is a bad drug. How else could we enjoy donuts and cake, without coffee?

Lakeview Coffee Joe said...

Actually, you all might be right now. Since I have milk at home for breakfast and my protein shakes, I could make my coffee at home. Hmmmm, maybe I'll ponder it.

Anonymous said...

I have started brewing my own at home now as well. It grinds the beans (for the psychological added freshness)and then brews. I go to Starbucks and buy the beans, but I have noticed it has kept the daily cost down.