It started for me a few years ago when one of the Starbucks Barista’s recommended they double cook the Bacon Egg Bites, which I really enjoy from time to time for breakfast. The Bites were way better tasting and felt better eating them double cooked. I recommend that you try this and see for yourself.
BACON EGG BITES
Just a few weeks ago one of the Starbucks Baristas mistakenly double cooked my favorite snack, cheese danish. I was asked if I wanted to try it out and when I did, it was a vast improvement! I was sold! The crunchiness and flavor were really improved.
I had been buying Starbucks drinks for each of my two children, myself and occasionally for my wife for quite a few years. I had experimented buying different Starbucks drinks that I liked. I finally found that the grande size zebra really worked for me. It has coffee, 5 pumps of dark chocolate, 5 pumps of white chocolate, steamed milk, and a dollop of whipped cream. I also ask the Starbucks barista to heat the drink up to a very high temperature. I like to drink my coffee slowly.
If you have a zebra drink often, you should consider going to a gym to work off the calories.
One day I decided to see how much I was spending on buying Starbucks drinks and food items. I viewed my billing for one month and took that amount and multiplied it by 12 to get an approximate value for the year. I came up with almost $6,000. Ouch. I shared this with my daughter, that I was spending way too much money for these coffee drinks. In a few days she went out and purchased a Keurig machine. I had never considered this option. She then went out and purchased a variety of pods that you need to feed into this coffee machine. The Keurig is a very clever device. I recommend it.
My next problem was to find a way for the Keurig to make me a zebra coffee drink. Here is my solution for getting close to a zebra using a Keurig:
I buy a box of Swiss Miss Hot Coco Mix that hold the mix in Keurig pods. This supplies the chocolate flavor. I like to save money so I go to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy their large box. Most grocery stores will sell the smaller boxes of these pods, but at a higher cost.
I started buying Starbucks Via Instant powder coffee sleeves at COSTCO, Columbia flavor. COSTCO, after a few years, failed to sell this so I searched around for the best price and Walmart is now my source. This is a fine powder and you need to stir it into the hot chocolate. You only need these two ingredients to get close to the zebra flavor.
Next, my wife found a product that moved away from the zebra flavor quite a lot. Her ingredient, shown next, has made a very good different drink.
The Swiss Miss pod is the chocolate flavor source. The Starbucks instant Colombia coffee is needed to supply the coffee flavor.
About a year after I discovered how to make a Keurig zebra, my wife started buying a coffee creamer made by Planet Oat. It is a French Vanilla, Oatmilk Creamer. This creamer moved the drink flavor away from the Starbucks zebra but it really added to making the drink even better. I put only a small amount of this creamer into my cup.
Planet Oat French Vanilla Creamer
I then add milk into the coffee mug to raise the whole drink closer to the top of the mug. I then put the mug into our microwave to raise the temperature up so it is hot as I like.
I ran an analysis of how much I spend at Starbucks in 2021 and the total now comes out to be roughly $2,100. I have not calculated my costs for the Swiss Miss pods, Starbucks Via Instant coffee.
My son recommended we do a take out order from Dickey’s Barbecue Pit located near our home. We ordered three Westerner sandwiches. We got the sandwiches home and were disappointed. I can make much better BBQ sandwiches so what is the point in buying from this place? There was no barbecue sauce on the sandwich or as a side. The raw onions in the sandwich were also a bit harsh, totally unexpected. The onions should be grilled in my opinion. I called the store (franchise) and was told that when the sandwiches are made in the store, they put barbecue sauce in the sandwich but do NOT include it in TO GO orders. You have to know enough to ask for it. I strongly suggested that they include it as a side, in a plastic container that most to go restaurants offer for optional items.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is not recommended for to go orders.
November 24, 2009, I get a Facebook movie review for Star Trek (2009) from Dr. Kit Kat. But then she added a “Thanksgiving Day Bonus” existing of a review for a food item. I guess, being a slave to the women in my life, I now will share with all of you her food reviews. As explained in the postings for Dr. Kit Kat movie reviews, this lady has to undergo dialysis three times a week. If you were to see her, she looks very thin. She can not seem to gain any weight. Food restrictions are quite extensive and are so limited that food to her takes on a most important pleasure. When she is allowed to eat something and it tastes very good, her pleasure seems to zoom way past what we experience. Just like movie reviews, she views food with a slightly different perspective than the rest of us.
Her first food review: “***Thanksgiving Day Bonus*** I recently sampled Trader Joe’s pumpkin pie. I’m not an avid fan of pumpkin pie, but I enjoyed the smooth and moist consistency of TJ’s pumpkin pie. The pumpkin filling was tasty, light and with subtle essences of nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin. The crust was flakey and not overwhelmingly heavy and dry like most grocery store bought pies may be. I rate TJ’s pumpkin pie 9 (9.5 with whipped cream or ice cream).”
