Tall Americano
Part of the Mercury Retrograde rituals, there’s the “Tall Americano.” In standard Starbucks Speak, that means a typical double shot of espresso in a 12-ounce cup, mixed with hot water.
“That water is 200 degrees, you know,” one Aries assured me, “it’s hot.”
No kidding. Aries tend to be hot.
My first “Americano” coffee was in London, early morning train someplace. Either a Taurus of note, or maybe, a pilgrimage to Canterbury. By the date, I’m guessing pilgrimage, as this was in the “Double-Aughts,” Oh-7 or so.
The big train station in London, not Victoria, the other one. Paddington? No, the other.
All those intervening years, all the miles, never before had I ever had an “Americano,” in any form, as far as I know. Disclaimer: porous memory.
Still sticking to that story, way I recall, it was London, big station, early morning the regular coffee stops weren’t available, so we stopped and I ordered some “Americano,” because all I wanted that morning was a normal cup of coffee for the train ride. Apparently, the English weren’t big on what we Americans call “drip coffee,” at that time.
The term for the coffee is derived from what Europeans consider the perverse taste for of coffee we Americans tend to favor, less intense. In Starbucks-jargon, a Tall Americano is about 150 milligrams of caffeine, and hot water. The image shows a decent froth, and squint a little, it looks like Guinness Stout. Not a coincidence.
The Tall Americano is not new, but I just tried it recently as a Mercury Retrograde change-up. Not new, I was drinking it the last summer, if I recall. However, as an effective mercurial remedy? Rather effective.
The cup?
“What name should I put on the cup.”
“Kramer, K-R-A-M-E-R, no relation to the guy on TV.”
Cramer
Be surprised how frequently my name is misspelled.