...of mornings and coffee...

i wasnt fond of drinking coffee until a three years ago... i can still remember it started with just a tall frappuccino... then a macchiato... then an affogatto... then i realized i am already a caffeine addict... visiting my favorite starbucks almost everyday (which earned me a lot of starbucks planners :P) but come to think of it... if you are the practical one, you will say, their coffees and pastries are highly overrated... more often than not, i will have to agree with you... so what is it that i love the most about being in starbucks?

it has been my routine to pass by Starbucks Cybergate2 (Starbs for the kaladkarins :))almost everyday (unless i'm already really really broke :P ) to give my body a caffeine kick... And this AM isnt any different from those days... When i got down at Cybergate, i was thinking that i had enough expenses for the week, and will have to save (haha! okay.. :P) but my feet brought me back (or is it my longing to get inside the cafe?) to the path where Starbs is located.

okay, my "indulgence" got the best of me. when I got inside, the familiar faces of the baristas (and even the guard) gave their best smiles, greeting me "Good Morning Jewel! Puyat ka no? " then that's when i realized that what made starbucks' coffee great is the people that is in it. ive seen these people eversince starbs opened in the area and no matter which shift they are in, they are in their best, not forgetting to greet you a pleasant day. it's the politeness, the ambiance, the friendship that is built in the place each day.

other than the baristas, starbs has been one of our "tambayan", our meeting point. It's four walls and smoking area were witnesses of all the laughters, the tears, the review sessions, the "merienda breaks", the love stories, the heartbreaks and heartaches, and all those sugar and spice stuff. If starbs were a diary, it would have the story of our friendship.

i am not surprised why starbs is a "great place to linger in" (ahhaha! sounds family??). the "moments" (as we fondly call it) we share together with friends are more than what we pay for. like what Mama Mia said, it's not for the coffee, its for the friends you meet up with. and no matter how "overrated" starbucks may become, no matter how impractical some people may think it is, it will never match the joy that I feel whenever I am in a place that makes me feel at home... :)