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On May 14, 2014, something tragic happened: the Starbucks near my office that I went to on a daily basis closed down. \u00a0For renovations, but the point remains that my daily coffee ritual was derailed completely by this development.<\/span><\/p>\n Since then, it’s been a daily challenge in trying to find a suitable replacement to my need for caffeine, and I gone from energy drinks, K-cups, to other places’ coffees. \u00a0The Starbucks is tentatively scheduled to be open again in July, although I’m not going to hold my breath.<\/span><\/p>\n The following was my daily chronicling of what I drank each day instead of Starbucks, and in a few rare instances, I got some reprieve:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n May 14, 2014 \u2013 MONSTER Zero Ultra<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n By the time I acquired and drank this concoction of nuclear Shrek piss, it was kind of already too late.\u00a0 I had gone too long without caffeine; my head hurt, I was feeling apathetic and sluggish and I hated the world.\u00a0 Drinking this did help alleviate some of the symptoms, as it did wake me up a little bit and reduced the headache, however.\u00a0 The flavor was surprisingly decent too, as it tasted slightly like a Gatorade lemon-lime, but with sharper flavors, probably on account of the nuclear Shrek piss in it.<\/span><\/p>\n May 15, 2014 \u2013 MONSTER Absolutely Zero<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I had this can sitting in my refrigerator for a month or so, having gotten it after the Georgia Warrior Dash, and I decided that this would be the best day to try it, since it would alleviate me of the need to go out and seek caffeine while at work.\u00a0 The taste was back to the kind of medicine-y swill that I associate with MONSTER in the first place, but it was tolerable.\u00a0 The results were fairly positive, as I was feeling the wake-up and alertness that comes with the settling in of morning coffee.\u00a0 However, I did feel more energetic and a little bit of a rush while at the gym, so there\u2019s clearly something different to be said about drinking this as opposed to coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n May 16, 2014 \u2013 MONSTER Zero Ultra (2)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I decided to give this another shot, but under the same conditions as if it were the direct substitute for morning coffee, as opposed to drinking it past the point of no return like I had days prior.\u00a0 Results were similar to Absolutely Zero, and I can kind of feel like it\u2019s making my heart beat faster than it probably should be.\u00a0 I\u2019m also learning that it does not have a very pleasant after taste, probably on account of whatever artificial sweetners they\u2019re using, that are probably likely nuclear.\u00a0 Also, this stuff made me pee a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n May 19, 2014 \u2013 Waffle House coffee (large)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The warmth of coffee is always a welcome sensation, but something about it feels not quite the same.\u00a0 WH coffee is always somewhat decent in my opinion, in spite of everyone\u2019s perceptions of their actual food, but something about it seems vastly more, well, mellow.\u00a0 This stuff is great for relaxing weekends, the morning after too much drinking, or actual winter holidays; I\u2019m not quite sure if this is what I\u2019m looking for when it comes to needing awakening for the arduous days of work for the next two months.\u00a0 Or maybe, I\u2019ve just grown too accustomed to the radioactive swill that is the standard Starbucks blonde roast, and\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0is what should become my bread and butter.\u00a0 Subsequently, the caffeine boost doesn\u2019t feel like it lasts as long as Starbucks\u2019 does.<\/span><\/p>\n I do find it somewhat of a nuisance that I have to pop open numerous half \u2018n half cups to cream up my coffee, but that\u2019s just me being cranky and picky.<\/span><\/p>\n May 20, 2014 \u2013 MONSTER Zero Ultra (3)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Third time going this route.\u00a0 Maybe if I drink it slower, it\u2019ll reduce the feeling of racing heart throughout the day.\u00a0 Either way, this is so far the favored alternative to Starbucks, because in spite of the 360mg of sodium, it tastes okay, and ironically is comparable to the cost of a cup of Starbucks, when they\u2019re on sale at Publix.<\/span><\/p>\n However, I think I need to consider ditching this route.\u00a0 After finishing the 16 oz. can in the span of 2.5 hrs, I felt my heart racing, and it has an unpleasant aftertaste, generally.\u00a0 Something about it makes my body feel like it was on edge, which I\u2019m not particularly too keen on.<\/span><\/p>\n May 21, 2014 \u2013 Waffle House coffee (regular)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Waffle House\u2019s coffee is pretty much good, but it is still a minor nuisance that I have to go through the trouble of tearing open and pouring a teaspoon of half and half into my coffee 3-4 times in order to cream it to the amount that I find tolerable.<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, in spite of the fact that their food itself pretty much costs peanuts in the grand spectrum of eating out, their coffee isn\u2019t cheaper than Starbucks.\u00a0 I guess this is a 12 oz. cup that I got today, but it rings up to $0.14 cents more than it would have cost at Starbucks.\u00a0 I find that to be an unpleasant surprise considering I was leaning towards them to be a viable substitute.<\/span><\/p>\n May 22, 2014 \u2013 QT Colombian Supreme (large)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Due to some errands I had to run, I was not relegated to the options surrounding the office.\u00a0 So I went to QT, which is no Wawa or Sheetz, but at least for the pursuit of coffee it\u2019s adequate.\u00a0 That being said, I thought about getting one of their machine mixes that I actually do like, but for the sake of logging my coffee quest, I decided to stick with regular coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n To no surprise, it\u2019s decent coffee that\u2019s not too overly bitter or intense, and it\u2019s doing the job quite well.\u00a0 Honestly, if there were a QT within walking distance to the office, it would be my go-to.\u00a0 The best part about it is, that it\u2019s dirt cheap too, cheaper than any of the previously tried alternatives.\u00a0 $1.49 for 20 oz. of decent coffee is the gold standard, and I\u2019d guess will remain that way throughout the next few weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n May 23, 2014 \u2013 Starbucks Hazelnut Macchiato (venti, three shots espresso)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s Friday on the eve of a holiday weekend, and it\u2019s not terribly hot and nearly as pain in the ass of a walk as it would be in about a week, so I decided to actually walk the four blocks each way and actually go get some damn Starbucks.\u00a0 I have a few free drink rewards accumulated on my card where one was nearing expiration, so today seemed like as good of day as any as to redeem it, so that it\u2019s not wasted.<\/span><\/p>\n I could spooge over how great it is to have some Starbucks again, but those would be wasted words.\u00a0 Instead, I\u2019ll bring up the fact that the loss of the usual Starbucks has impacted vastly more people than just me.\u00a0 This is no more evident than the camaraderie developed between building tenants over the loss of the usual Starbucks, and the fact that in spite of how anti-social everyone is, we all now have one common thing to bring us together: grief.<\/span><\/p>\n In the elevator with a complete stranger, a business man exclaims to me \u201cAw man, Starbucks!\u00a0 Where did you get that, they\u2019re closed!\u201d\u00a0 When I responded that I hoofed it four blocks, he simply responded with the \u201cYou\u2019re killing me!\u201d before exiting the elevator, with an amused look on his face.<\/span><\/p>\n Say what you want about the evil empire, but it brings those that are cogs in the machine, closer together.<\/span><\/p>\n May 27, 2014 \u2013 Subway<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Since Subway has joined the breakfast foray, they\u2019ve often advertised that they server Seattle\u2019s Best brand coffee.\u00a0 Most coffee snobs are aware of the fact that Starbucks owns Seattle\u2019s Best, but in spite of the corporate unity, they\u2019re still very much different quality.\u00a0 Almost like a WWE owning WCW situation, regardless of the fact that they\u2019re under the same umbrella, WWE would never let WCW outshine them.<\/span><\/p>\n That being said, I found it a little strange that my local Subway had no signage or messaging advertising that they served Seattle\u2019s Best.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m frankly glad they served coffee at all, but I guess in the hunt for coffee, I\u2019d have seen a little bit of recognition for a familiar brand.<\/span><\/p>\n At $1.74 for like a 16 oz. cup, the price is good, and its proximity to the office is second to none.\u00a0 However, this swill is brewed god knows how much in advance, and it\u2019s no more evident than the fact that it\u2019s nowhere near piping hot when served.\u00a0 The flavor of the coffee black is adequate, but I like my coffee with a little bit of cream and Splenda.\u00a0 That being said, I\u2019m actually growing really tired of the flavor of pre-cupped packets of creamer, and I think I need to invest in my own to leave in the company fridge, where it\u2019s at endless risk of being usurped by the stereotypical office mooch.<\/span><\/p>\n May 28, 2014 \u2013 Subway<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Prior to going to Subway, I swung by the store, and picked up a bottle of creamer to keep in the office fridge.\u00a0 Naturally, I\u2019ve put my name all over it, but honestly, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if someone(s) in the office sees a bottle of creamer and assumes it to be communal.\u00a0 Either way, I was getting tired of the bitter flavor that pre-packaged cups of creamer was lingering on everything I was drinking, so it was overdue that I got my own.<\/span><\/p>\n It helped.\u00a0 The knock on Subway\u2019s coffee is that since it\u2019s pre-brewed, the temperature is kind of tepid in comparison to a nice hot cup of coffee, but the flavor of it isn\u2019t bad.\u00a0 Combined with a decent creamer, it\u2019s alright.<\/span><\/p>\n May 29, 2014 \u2013 Starbucks blonde (venti)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Since I had the luxury of carpooling today, the hustle and bustle rush to get to work on time wasn\u2019t really the case this morning, so I decided to swing by the other Starbucks on my way into the office.\u00a0 After dealing with weeks of mediocre coffees in comparison, I saw a golden opportunity to get something I\u2019ve been pining for, for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s not much more to say about it; it\u2019s the coffee I\u2019ve missed for the better part of the last month, and everything about this morning feels just right as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n June 2, 2014 \u2013 Subway<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n For all intents and purposes, this appears to be the clear-cut winner of the possible substitutes until Starbucks re-opens.\u00a0 It\u2019s closer to the building than Starbucks was, and pretty much the most cost efficient at $1.73 for what appears to be a 16 oz. cup.\u00a0 I have to use my own additives to make it to my liking, but it\u2019s safe to say that until Starbucks re-opens, this is the go-to place.<\/span><\/p>\n And with that, I think I\u2019m going to end the chronicles right here.<\/span><\/p>\n **<\/span><\/p>\n So there we have the three-week long trek to discover that the only suitable replacement for Starbucks coffee in the morning is Subway’s coffee, which in this case, I’m not even sure if it’s Seattle’s Best or not. \u00a0All I know is that it’s even closer to the office than Starbucks is, and I’m technically getting a larger size at a cheaper price; and in this case, the strength of the coffee, or lack-of, is compensated for by sheer amount of it.<\/span><\/p>\n I still can’t wait for Starbucks to come back though.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On May 14, 2014, something tragic happened: the Starbucks near my office that I went to on a daily basis closed down. \u00a0For renovations, but the point remains that my daily coffee ritual was derailed completely by this development. Since then, it’s been a daily challenge in trying to find a suitable replacement to my … Continue reading The No-Starbucks Chronicles<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43,15],"class_list":["post-39234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brog","tag-coffee","tag-og"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39236,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39234\/revisions\/39236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totfc.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}