There is nothing better about the cold weather than warm drinks, toasty fireplaces and grandma’s afghan. The toasty fireplaces have been replaced by central air. Grandma’s knitted afghan has been replaced by the Snuggie.
Warm drinks are now, of course “sans alcohol’ because getting liquored-up is just not acceptable anymore. Finding acceptable replacement additives to your morning jolt are a must. There are fewer and fewer options with which to partner your coffee tea bags. Even sugar and caffeine are no longer the norm. The New Yorker who asks for their coffee ‘regulah’ will now end up with a decaf-sugarfree-skim-latte.
Holiday ‘cheer’, is now sadly defined as SOBER smiling and pretending to enjoy your family. Struggling to cherish energetic kids, couped up indoors on a seemingly never-ending break from school, is primarily performed unmedicated these days? Bosses, neighbors, and family continue to laden you with guilt and frown upon adding the original ‘CHEER’, like Kahlua, Irish Cream, or Vodka to your morning pick me up. You can forget about smoking in the office, restaurant or even your own home while enjoying your spiked java. This is long gone with the days of Mad Men.
So coffee is now relegated to be just an anxious turbo fuel without nicotine or alcohol to counteract the jitters. For the most part society is just simply addicted to caffeine without even knowing how to store coffee beans or enjoying the quiet moment and flavor of what they are consuming. Multiple cups without the ‘downers’ may be the cause of all of this road rage. Perhaps this is why the ‘one-fingered wave’ is so popular when trying to get in and out of the local Starbucks?
Most coffee drinkers these days look to coffee houses for “good coffee” where they use high quality coffee roasters for some delicious brews. There is another answer that rivals the old fashioned and most delicious General Foods International Instant Coffees. The newest legal, cost effective, and socially acceptable solution is Coffee-Mate Flavored Creamers. 32 ounces costs less than a basic drive-thru plain, boutique coffee. To save even more money add it to the cheapest generic coffee you can find. The creamers are just as tasty in cheap coffee. There are so many varieties especially during the Holidays. From Eggnog to Peppermint Mocha to Irish Cream…and of course the all-time best Creme Brulee, you can now enjoy the flavor of coffee again. Peppermint Mocha is a seasonal flavor for the holidays and is super yummy. The Vanilla Caramel is a close second to the Creme Brulee and may even be the same flavor without the pretentious French sounding name.
Enjoy your Holidays and Enjoy your coffee. Throw a dash of old fashion cheer in as well. These creamers will not curdle no matter what ‘proof’ you use. We won’t tell. You may even enjoy your Holidays just a little more. You may also have extra money for stocking-stuffers (maybe some little bottles of cheer?), a Snuggie, or some logs for the fire.
-Team Bold Spicy