Coffeeshop alliegances?

As we gear up to vote this coming November, I'm wondering if anyone has any strong allegiances to coffee houses.

What do I know about that, you ask? I'm Mormon and I probably drink a decaf frappuccino or a decaf mocha an average of once a month.

Sue me.

If you're still convinced I have an addiction to caffeine, just know I can count on my hands how many times I've had soda (sips, mind you- I can't stand the stuff) in my life.

Anyway, I recall my high school peers showing up with their cups of joe every morning, often bantering to each other about their respected house affinity like it was Gryffindor or Slytherin.

With CoffeeBeans sprouting up in Southern California faster than you can say "fair-trade," giving Starbucks some healthy competition in the free market that is America's addiction to caffeine, I was curious to see how Coffee Bean's version of the frappuccino, namely the "Ice Blended" measured up.

At the peppy advisement of my little sister who loves the things on occasions, I tried a Mocha Ice Blended from CoffeeBean and could not finish the thing, and probably wouldn't have sipped twice had I not been as thirsty as I was.
It tasted like expired hot chocolate mix ground up with ice, completely absent of any hint of coffee flavor.

You just cannot beat the Starbuck's Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino. Hands down, the best. I'm really bummed they don't make frappuccinos decaf anymore, though. I suppose I'll have to tinker with my order a little to make it LDS kosher.

Pannikin: it's too cool for rapid expansion (they could take over the world if they wanted), competition and all things capitalist. It's an earthy, scrumptious little San Diego favorite where we'd have study groups. It smells of old lumber flooring and marked with that fresh coffee smell. While Starbucks is where people go for for their $4 daily fuel ups, Pannikin reserves itself for more special occasions like a light lunch with friends or somewhere to spread out your newspaper and tarry awhile (they serve salads). It's not sexy, it's not rushed, but it's not we'll-get-to-you-when-we-finish-smoking-our-grass-out-back either. Like any "community" place, it hosts up and coming local singers, too.

Pannikin is probably one of those SoCal establishments that was founded by some burnt-out Wall Street exec who realized life's too short to not surf and live in perfect weather every day; because it's definitely not financially fledgling, but not aiming to make a new sexy sounding macchiato flavor or papaya with grapenut and pineapple essence frappuccino blend.

It's just...content with how it is and open to you liking it for that.


In Berlin recently, I saw a couple Dunkin' Coffee places. Yes they're increasingly eliminating the "Donut" ending and replacing it with "coffee."

Smart move by them.

Though, it's going to take some more fierce advertising to get a lifetime of stale donut imagery out of my mind...