Ode to Iced Coffee
I love iced coffee. It's refreshing, sweet, not terribly unhealthy (skim milk and two Splenda, please), and CHEAP. I have literally centered days around an outing to Dunkin Donuts to grab a cup then set out on various adventures. The wonderful fact that it is less than $2 was only recently surpassed by a $50 DD giftcard passed along to me (thanks Brian!), worth its weight in gold to myself, the funemployed.
So it is baffling to me that a place which averages 80˚F year round is unacquainted with the concept of iced coffee. I don't know the reason for this peculiar cultural nuance, but my experience has been that the coffee shops in Barbados are simply unfamiliar with the beverage. Care for an iced latte, iced mocha, frappuccino (or ANYthing hot)? No problem - they're all here, fancy syrups and creams in tow. But try to order an iced coffee and you can expect something along these lines:
Can I have an iced coffee please? (Blank stare.) You don't have that, you say? Perhaps you can just add ice to the coffee you do have? Yes, that's right, hot coffee and ice. (Blank stare proceeded by slow, reluctant movement.) Oh, excuse me, but it works better if you fill the cup with ice first, and then pour the coffee over it. And, I'm sorry, but can you maybe use the plastic cold beverage cup instead of the styrofoam hot beverage one? (Blank stare changes to evil glaring.) Great, and some milk on top. Yes, I realize there's not much room left for the milk, but it only needs a touch. And could I trouble you to add two sugars? Thank you (meekly).
I was all too aware that my requests, dictated through this step-by-step process, were increasingly irritating the servers with a full menu of cold beverages behind them, and also, unavoidably coming across as slightly condescending on my part. Needless to say, I have since perfected the art of making it at home. Now, my trusty Dunkin Donuts mug accompanies me on all boardwalk strolls and errands of the like, and dare I say, the homemade kind tastes even better than the involved coffee shop concoctions. I think the servers appreciate my proactivity as well, though I have faith that they eventually would have gotten the process down.
My favorite time to enjoy an iced coffee on the boardwalk is Sunday morning, when the busy "Highway 1" I must daringly dash across transforms from its regular chaos, this...
...to this beautiful stillness.
Maybe everyone is at church? I'm headed to my temple, anyway.
End result:
