The Art of the Dry Cap
Most mornings I stumble into the local Starbucks before 6:30 AM. The crew there knows me and sometimes start making my order before I even get in the door. God I love those guys! Some of them anyway. My problem is that I order a coffee drink that is open to barista interpretation. The Cappuccino in itself is simple. Espresso with steamed milk and foamed milk. In my case, a grande “dry” cappuccino is two shots of espresso and foam, with no (or very little – and I mean VERY LITTLE) steamed milk. That’s where there is trouble. I have come to appreciate a true “dry cap”. Very strong yes, but mellows as the foam sinks into the espresso. Ahhhhhhhh so good. If the cup is two heavy when I pick it up I know that the barista has put in to much milk. I used to just go with the flow and drink what was almost a latte. But I couldn’t take it anymore and started to send them back if they were to heavy with milk. I even started ordering “extra-dry” or “bone-dry” caps just to make sure they knew what I wanted. My feeling is that if I’m paying $3 for a cup of coffee, then I should be allowed to have it the way I want it. There is nothing better than a well made cappuccino. What a great way to start the day. I want to start a movement to where we begin to call everyone by their Starbucks name. I came up with this idea while spending (maybe way too much) time in line at Starbucks. When the line is long, the barista will begin to ask people in line what they want to drink. That’s when you hear coffee individuality as people shout out; “Grande Iced Vanilla Latte”, ” Vente non-fat mocha”, “Quad-Venti Dry Cap”, ” Tall non-fat white mocha”, “Grande no whip white mocha”. How about “tall no foam extra hot nonfat latte”? Or “Venti 2-pump sugar free vanilla caramel machiato”. My favorite Starbucks name? “Grande Drip”. I know that none of the crew at my local starbucks knows my name. They know me as “grande dry cap”. It was funny, for a long time (and still) I would go to Starbucks most mornings and order for Barb and I. Grande dry cap, grande soy latte. Time after time I would order these two drinks and bring them home, for months! (and still!). One day we were out shopping together and decided to both stop at Starbucks for a coffee. When I placed the usual order, the barista turned to Barb and said ‘ Nice to finally meet you!” We all had a good laugh with that one. Hence, Barb’s Starbucks name is Grande Soy Latte. And me? Still a Grande Cap. Better than a Tall Drip!
