Coffee and Me- Wednesday Edition

Coffee and Me — an excerpt from my upcoming book, releasing January 5, 2027

Bella had a grooming appointment today, so after dropping her off, I headed over to Panera Bread. I ordered a small coffee and a bagel with cream cheese.

At Panera, you get unlimited coffee refills because they have a self-service coffee station. Since I was by myself, I chose a seat with a clear view of the coffee area. That way, when I went for a refill, I could leave my things on the table without worrying about someone snatching anything.

Not that I distrust people or assume Panera is full of thieves.

I did have a pair of headphones snatched from a Starbucks once.

So, thieves do exist.

Since it was early in the morning, everything at the coffee station was fully stocked. The sweeteners were practically overflowing: white packets for regular sugar, yellow for Splenda, and pink for Sweet'N Low.

The carafes gave you a choice of half-and-half, milk, nonfat milk, and almond milk.

The almond milk caught my attention.

Starbucks charges extra for almond milk, but here at Panera, you can apparently have all the almond milk your heart desires.

Since the coffee comes with unlimited refills, it only makes sense to me to buy a small. Why spend the extra money on a medium or large when I can just walk over and refill the small one?

As for the coffee itself?

Pretty mid.

Blah, even.

Maybe a little lukewarm.

My home brew tastes better.

If I'm in the mood to pat myself on the back.

What do you make at home that's better than anything you could buy?

Here, I made this. My gift to you, for taking the time to read.

Images are from my imagination, generated by AI. Writing is all me.