College Life: So, about Starbucks...

Recently, I asked you, my readers, for some questions you'd like answered in my College Life series. I got some free time last night, so I'm going to answer one of them for you.

Today's question comes from my aunt, Sue Langhoff: "How many times a week do you go to Starbucks?"

Ouch. I didn't think I was that much of a white girl to be asked that question.

There is a little bit of backstory here, though. Last semester I was having trouble writing papers in my room because I got distracted by the environment on the floor. Late in the semester, I decided to find another place to work on them. One Saturday, I realized that I had a lot of Starbucks gift cards and was just a few stars away from being able to get free refills on coffee and tea. I went over there and worked for four hours before my laptop died and got a lot of my work done for the weekend. The next day and the next weekend, I went back and did the same thing. During finals week, I spent many hours in that Starbucks store. Needless to say, I used my free refills quite liberally. My typical drinks were either Jade Citrus Mint green tea or a pour-over of the Veranda blend (Starbucks' light roast coffee), depending on how much coffee I had already had that day. I would spend about $2 on my first cup and get free refills on the next three.

I would love to say that I have kept this habit up second semester, but my schedule simply doesn't allow for it. The only times I've gone to Starbucks this semester have been when I was at home and there was no coffee in the house. Because I'm gone almost every weekend traveling with Lifesong, I can't go to Starbucks on the weekends and write papers anymore. The coffeeshops on campus don't have very good coffee (even though the espresso drinks aren't half bad), and their refills aren't free either, so I'm back to writing papers in my room.

Now, I'm assuming this question is more about the coffee than it is Starbucks in particular, so I'll add this: I drink coffee every single day. I usually drink one 12-ounce mug and one 16-ounce travel mug a day. I drink it black unless it's my super-absurdly-dark Italian blend (which it never is). It doesn't taste great, but it does have caffeine, so I drink it anyway. I do occasionally go to one of the coffeeshops on campus and get an Americano (shots of espresso diluted with hot water to make it of similar strength to black coffee) when I don't have time to brew it myself. If my voice is hurting, I'll drink green tea instead. If I really don't have time to make any coffee or go get some at one of our coffeeshops, I'll eat a couple handfuls of dark chocolate-covered espresso beans.

So, that's all I have to say about coffee right now. I love the stuff, and it's now a nearly essential part of my mornings. I'm actually about to make some after I publish this.

Just a reminder that if you have any other questions for me about my college experience, please don't hesitate to comment! I'd love to know what you guys want me to write about.