Freshen Up...Your Coffee-Drinking Life

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So even if you've only been reading this blog for a few days, you probably know that Ryan and I are fairly serious about our coffee. We started drinking coffee together when we began dating, and it quickly became "our thing." Now we drink it every day - morning, noon, and night.

We love it (obviously), but like any good thing, we get to the point where we don't like to mess with a good thing, you know? We know exactly how we like it, and we don't want to waste time or money experimenting with things that could turn out to be a real flop.

I remember one time at Starbucks, I'd carefully saved up all my stars for a free reward, and I let the barista talk me into branching out and trying one of their seasonal features.

HATED IT.

It had chili in it and I learned I don't like spicy hot coffee. Only temperature hot. And then I was sad that I had wasted all those beloved stars on coffee I hated. (If we had stayed to drink it that day, I probably would have asked for a do-over, but we were already on the road to our next adventure, so I was stuck with double-hot coffee. Oh well. Cleaned out my sinuses!)

So even though I'm a creature of habit, I do try to push myself to try new things now and then! Here are the ways I try to freshen up my coffee-drinking life. (And if you're not a coffee-drinker, you can apply this whatever you prefer to drink!)

1. Tour the menu.

Oh, Bekah. Take your own advice and finish your tour! When we moved to Kokomo, we found a little local shop called Big Ben and decided it would be "our" coffee shop. (Yes, we still go to Starbucks, but we felt compelled to adopt at least one local shop as our own.) Their menu is not massive. Don't misunderstand: they have a good variety of choices, but the list is manageable. When we went in the first time, I made the choice to start at the top of the menu and work my way down until I'd tried all the flavors.

The first menu item was Cabin Fever. I loved it and have gotten that almost every visit since then. #facepalm. I really need to finish the menu so I can learn what else I like there.

2. Find the secret menu.

If you look on Pinterest, you'll find posts about Starbucks' "secret" menu. It's full of combos that don't make it onto the posted menu, but you can still order them. I believe it was through a secret menu board that I learned about the white chocolate raspberry latte, and for a long time, that was one of our favorite things to order at Starbucks.

Sometimes smaller shops have a similar menu - drinks dreamed up by baristas or regular customers. I think a great life goal is to one day have a coffee drink named after me. (There is a drink at the IWU coffee shop named after a girl I went to school with. I don't know if she worked there and created the drink or if they just named it after her, but it's still on the menu every fall!)

3. Try something you have never tried.

You know. Like the chili coffee thing. Ha!! In all reality, this might be a complete flop, but it might also be the ticket to your greatest coffee discovery! Try iced coffee or a frappuccino or an extra shot of espresso or a new flavor.

If you're really nervous about this, and you are a regular at some shop, see if you can get a sample from someone else's leftovers. On one of our county tours, the barista kept bringing us tiny sample cups of coffee flavors other people ordered while we were in there. Sometimes he made more than would fit in their cup, so he'd pour the extra in a sample cup and bring it to us. We found some tasty options and if we lived closer, we'd probably be having them regularly!

4. Roast your own beans!

Last year I bought Ryan his own coffee roaster. It's little - about the size of a blender, actually, and simple to use. We bought green beans (coffee beans, not vegetable beans) and learned how to roast them ourselves. You can research how to accomplish different flavors, depending on where the beans come from or how long you roast them. You can even concoct your own personal blend!

Warning: it does create QUITE an aroma. If you live in an apartment or small space, you may want to find an alternative location for this activity. If you have more space, the garage or a shed would be a great location. Your house may end up smelling like burned popcorn if you do it in there!

5. Do it yourself.

Ryan and I are lifelong coffee shop lovers, and we won't ever give that up. But we also love having our own fancy pants espresso machine/latte maker now. We've started looking up recipes to make some of our favorite drinks on our own. The best part about this is that we can adjust flavors to suit our tastes. Remember the raspberry white chocolate latte I talked about earlier? Ryan stopped getting it at the coffee shop because it was too sweet. But he loves making it at home because he can adjust the syrups to be exactly what he wants. He's finally found his perfect coffee/flavor ratio.

Even though you have to buy all the syrups and such, it still ends up saving money in the long run, and the best part is that you can have a drink even if all the coffee shops around you are closed for the day. (Common problem for us.)


Hope you can try something new this spring...and happy new discoveries!