Ode to: NATIONAL COFFEE DAY (Best Coffee To Go)

 

TODAY IS NATIONAL COFFEE DAY!

Coffee is my drug of choice – I love the ritual of it, the smell of it brewing, the taste on its own, but particularly with a goodie or pizza or at a diner with a burger. In fact, I normally ask the waitress to hold my coffee until the meal comes because so many foods taste better with coffee.

Drinking coffee gives me an elated feeling, not just alert, but for about an hour or so I feel actually happy and then a nice level off to normal. But…

Later I crash and get weepy and moody or my adrenaline system feels on overload and I can’t sleep. The next morning, because I haven’t slept, I want coffee to wake up, but I tell myself, no you can’t handle coffee – stay away! I do for 2, sometimes 3 whole days and then… (Oddly, I have just about the same reaction to decaf, without the flavor).

Despite my ecstasy and agony, I’m still a big fan of coffee and places to pick up a “Cup of Joe” in a paper cup with a hot handle band around the middle :

Tinsel & Tine Coffee to go Ratings:

4 Tines: McDonald’s – by far the best! Was probably about 5 years ago that McDonald’s upgraded their coffee, and boy was that a smart idea!

3 Tines: Wawa –  smooth coffee with a lot of flavors and strengths, I like to make up a little coffee concoction.

2 Tines: Paneras – rich without the crazy high-octane jolt of Starbucks.

Side note: Wawa in the last 2 years has really stepped up their sandwich game!  Those breakfast Sizzli’s hit the spot, no matter what your taste, bagel with egg and sausage, croissant with ham & cheese, french toast with bacon and egg… they are fast, hot, buttery and good.  Tip if you order a meatball sandwich, add the horseradish sauce. ALL the hoagies are fresh, delicious and reasonably priced.  I’ve visited over a dozen Wawa’s in and around Philly in the last year and I’m really impressed with the good eats!

1 Tine:  Wendy’s – it’s fine. no complaints.

Tarnished: Dunkin Donuts – how can they sell so much coffee? why is there one every square block? Why would you buy it to serve in your home?  DD coffee to me, tastes like watered down mud. Although, not take-out, the only thing worse is IHOP – International House of Pancakes have truly earned the award for the most awful coffee ever!  Which is such a shame, cause they win for the best pancakes EVER!  If I could pair McDonald’s coffee with an IHOP short stack – for a little while, all would be right in my world.

Below video: Coffee Scene from Pulp Fiction – Samuel L. Jackson “God Damn Jimmy! This some serious gourmet shit”

Tine Ratings – * Excellent – 4 Tines
* Great – 3 Tines
* Good – 2 Tines
* Fair – 1 Tine
* Poor – Tarnished

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