Off we go

What is my drink? Have I ever thought about it seriously at all? Here now is a challenge to break from the predictable and embark on a great quest. This adventure will take me far...all the way to the far ends of the block to my local Starbucks. My personal undiscovered country of java joy awaits me on this a beverage adventure. I am glad I have good friends to journey with me.

Will my drink be hot or cold? Will it be an exquisite melange punctuated by many flavor additives or will it be a single, hitherto ignored syrup that takes me to sipping nirvana? Will it have dairy or will it be a classic story of forced steam meets roasted bean, end of discussion...sorry, cows?

Will my drink be a complex harmony of flavor? Will it dance on my taste buds as sublimely as the Kyrie of Palestrina's Pope Marcellus mass does on my ears? Will it even be based on taste? Maybe it will be about the name itself--a juxtaposition of words flowing so poetically that Garrison Keillor could read it on his Writer's Almanac. Maybe it will be something where a snickering pleasure lies in making the barista have to think about the 2 dozen syllables I mutter when I call out the order.

Or maybe the glitz and glory of fancy names, special preparations, milks, syrups, whip, sprinkles, drizzles and all that will lead to hollow satisfaction. The winning drink could be strictly minimalist like my long standing preference, the Americano. Maybe, as for Dorothy, the answer will have been there all along...close my eyes and sip three times from my current cup and I'm home.

Here's a challenge: can I find this drink without over-analyzing the task? Nope. Too late. That is just not my nature. Should I set rules? A likely yes to that. If I intend to find a drink I will order with regularity, I want to avoid excessive fat and artificial sweeteners. I'll still try variations with whole milk (even soy and luxurious cream), but odds are I'll want to stick to non or low fat and small doses of real sugar. It occurs to me that the flavored syrups behind the coffee counter may be ladened with high fructose corn syrup. That would be a turn off...must inquire. See, I am over-analyzing again.

Enough discussion. Off we go. Let's find these elusive new coffee drinks we seek. My friends, this fellowship now sets out on the fantastic journey.