my relationship with coffee goes a loong way back. as a kid, i already drink coffee. unhealthy yes, affordable, big yes! :) i would pair hot instant coffee with pandesal. sometimes when available i put milk powder on my coffee. my inclination for latte apparently started from there. hehe.
when starbucks started in manila, i was not an instant fan for obvious reason - its incredulous price! ubos pera. and in my quest to better health, i totally stopped drinking coffee and resorted to milo (no sugar).
when i moved to makati career-wise, i resorted to starbucks for my comfort drink of classic hot chocolate. it didn’t help that the starbucks shop is just beside our office building. one elevator ride, and tadaa! am at starbucks doorstep. hay.
i have this very dear friend whom i fondly call shofatid, who would surprise me at work and sms me that she’s downstairs with some stuff. i’d hurriedly go and see her carrying sandwich and my favourite drink. :) i often miss eating because am very busy. so she knows i need to be fed like that. *she also did the same when i moved to another work*
when i moved to a new work, i was thankful that starbucks/coffee shops are 2 traffic lights away. however, due to the extreme pressure at work, it became a survival trip to go out, get my sniff of polluted air, and have the space outside work to just breathe and regroup. the comfortable distance was, yes, guessed it right. 2 traffic lights away.
i have without guilt started drinking coffee again. i found my workaround via decaf! i cheat i know. hehe. it doesn’t help that i have an overseas colleague who pampers my decaf indulgence via free drinks. mornings and afternoons! lucky bitch right? :)
the truth is, i only drink coffee at Starbucks. i have this favourite drink (hot decaf latte vanilla) which only tastes the way i want it in starbucks. i know this for a fact because i ordered the same drink specs in various shops and the verdict remains - tastes best in starbucks. no. this is not an ad placement or paid piece for starbucks. they just know my taste.
my fave drink was added with another one (caramel macchiato), that which gf frequently orders. which after being together for like forever, i only discovered a few weeks back. true what they say, a lifetime isn’t enough to know a person. so now i piggyback on gf’s coffee order. hehe.
there was a time gf and i dread going to starbucks. it was there when we broke up years ago. the tears that flowed that day would be enough to fill one tall drink. am glad it’s all over now.
gf and i have frequented starbucks so many times already since then that we only have happy memories from it.
i have this huge mug gift from my foreigner colleague before which my dad kept using so i thought i’d just give it to him. but then it got chipped then in time pulverised so to speak. so i bought him this huge coffee mug from starbucks which is favourite mug since then. :) a friend gave me this stainless coffee mug with cover from the same coffee shop which my mom kept using as well, so i ended giving it to her na lang.
when gf was assigned overseas, one of her pasalubong to me was the starbucks tumbler (?) with the country’s name. so when i went for work overseas, i also gave the same. when i don’t have anything to give for exchange gifts, i’d just dash to the coffee shop and buy a mug. nice and easy. :)
i met a starbucks manager overseas who is a friend of a colleague. close to my birthday in that country, we discussed the starbucks management and why it is very successful in manila compared to their country. as gift she gave me a starbucks shirt. which i haven’t worn yet and can’t remember anymore where i put it. hmmm…
i have a friend who had a plan to surprise a girl by dressing up as starbucks barista and deliver coffee to her. i volunteered my starbucks shirt. :)
in business mags, I’ve read of starbucks many times and how good their management is. like being the only company to offer the highest free/subsidized tuition support to their employees. wow right? :)
recently, gf and i noticed how well made up and pretty the baristas are in general at starbucks. in this mall where we frequent, the pretty barista is preggy. so when i went to this other starbucks shop from another location and noticed the bump on yet another cute barista, i asked if makeup is part of their training. and she said it’s considered part of their uniform. whoa! how interesting and creative. that is what i pride with manila baristas compared to other countries i’ve been to. we look way better. feeling close, i further said that many baristas i see lately are preggy, looking at her bump. and she said, err, am not preggy. whoopsie! whattabooboo! i profusely apologised for being so stupid. i don’t want to die of starvation should they ban me from starbucks. i know she got offended in one tiny split second, but just said it must be her apron with her IDs, keys bulging underneath. good thing she took it like a customer service pro. hay. mental note to NEVER comment to any girl that she’s preggy no matter how big the tummy is.
yesterday, gf and i met at starbucks to do some work. she was using her iPad, and i my macbook, facing each other. across me was the transparent glass wall of starbucks where an elevator was located. an old foreigner guy, looking like ian mckellen was mouthing something, not wanting to stare, i just bowed down and worked on my laptop. gf sat beside me to check on my work (editing her work), she then said that guy just said muy guapa to you. i just gave gf the look. she said, "no kidding, the guy pointed at you, made the gesture to describe your tubas (head scarf) and mouthed muy guapa”. kinda creepy, but katuwa i admit. :)
you can say my relationship with starbucks is longer than that with my gf. :) and so it can’t be that i love something if it doesn’t love or support what i love.
oct. 29, starbucks launched its first lgbt commercial. =) its ceo has openly declared its support to gay marriage last year.
but having an ad for us lgbt is extra whip cream, extra drizzle, extra everything to what starbucks already do to its customers, cutting across markets.
thank you Starbucks for recognising the purchasing power of lgbts. for the open support. and for simply having the drinks gf and i love.
