The Coffee Poet

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and the birds are singing, there is only thing missing that would make it a perfect day - a Starbucks Frappuccino. You grab your keys and drive to your local Starbucks, thinking about the creamy delicious treat that you will soon be yours. What one will you choose today? There are so many wonderful varieties and flavors offered and they all taste so good!

Starbucks began selling Frappuccinos in 1995, on April Fool's Day. But to this coffee house chain the iced coffee drink certainly was not a joke. The Frappuccino quickly grew in popularity to become one of Starbucks leading sellers.

The name Frappuccino is a combination of two words that were put together to make a new word. It comes from the word “cappuccino” which is an Italian coffee drink and “frappe” which in French means “well chilled.” It is interesting to note that in the New England area of the United States a “frappe” is the name given to an ice cream milkshake.

The original Starbucks Frappuccino is a creamy, slightly icy, drink that is a mixture of ice and Starbucks special Frappuccino mix. The special mix is made up of coffee, milk, water , and any one of many flavored syrups. A decaffeinated version is also offered much to the delight of those who wan to limit their caffeine intake. Starbucks introduced their Light Coffee Frappuccino in 2004, offering a drink that had 54% less calories then the original version.

People that do not like coffee can still have a creamy Frappuccino beverage, called a Creme Frappuccino.. The creamy base of these drinks are made coffee free. These drinks are very popular with people that love the atmosphere of relaxing at a Starbucks, but do not want a coffee beverage. A popular Frappuccino drink for tea lovers is the Starbucks “Tea Blended Creme.”

In the summer of 2007, a light version of the creme was added to the ever growing Frappuccino drink choices.

There is also a Frappuccino for people that love juice drinks, called Frappuccino Juice Blends. These drinks are a delicate blend of ice, Tazo Tea, and natural fruit juice. The flavors include Tangerine and Pomegranate.

Thinking about what kind of Frappuccino to have can become overwhelming at times. These mouth watering blended coffee drinks come in flavors of Coffee, Espresso, Caramel, Mocha, White Chocolate Mocha, Java Chip, and Café Vanilla. Once you have decided on the coffee flavor, it's time to pick the syrup. Your basic choices include peppermint, raspberry, cinnamon dolce, cinnamon, hazelnut, almond, and vanilla. If it is a special time of the year, there are also seasonal Frappuccinos such as Orange Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, and Dulce De Leche.

If you don't feel like a coffee drink, select from the Frappuccino Cremes. These taste bud treats are offered in Vanilla Bean, Double Chocolate Chip, Blueberries and Creme, Strawberries and Creme, Green Tea, Chai Tea, Dulce de Leche and Syrup Tea, which is a basic creme base with any kind of syrup you would like added. There are also seasonal cremes including Bananas and Creme, Blackberry Green Tea, and Orange Creme.
Of course not every Starbucks worldwide offers the exact same menu choices at the same time. But regardless of where you are, or when you visit, there will be dozens of delectable choices there for you.

Now it's time to relax, sitting here at my neighborhood Starbucks with my laptop open. Today I chose a White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino, and of course, it is topped with loads of whipped creme and chocolate syrup. The laptop is ready and I'm ready to surf.

What a perfect way to spend a perfect day!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Coffee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.