I Cheated on Monorail Espresso

On the weekends, in the 98122, I buy coffee at the Madrona location of Cupcake Royale, on the weekdays I buy coffee at Monorail Espresso.


On Thursday, though, running late for a meeting in another office and heading in on a bus from Interbay (don't ask), I grabbed a coffee from Seattle's "Best" Coffee on 4th & Pine.


I felt pretty guilty about it, which is strange because I only started going to Monorail this April when I changed offices and was previously drinking the "Best" or going where the stars go for coffee. I actually hid my finished coffee cup as I walked by the Monorail that morning and refused to give the espresso stand, the line, the baristas any eye contact.


I'm reformed with respect to my coffee drinking habits.... unless I'm in a hurry I guess... or an airport... or Lebanon.


Which brings me to the purpose of this post... the Americano Conundrum... which was part of the reason I switched to the Royale and something I forgot about the "Best".


The Americano Conundrum is when a barista asks if you would like "room for cream" with your Americano. If you say "no", as I do, then at the "Best" often times you will get a completely full cup of coffee that will severely burn your hands if you tilt the cup at even a 1 degree angle or if you try to put on a plastic lid. If you say "yes" (to avoid the burns) you may get a lot of room or a little room -- there is no standard. In this case I become worried that the barista thinks I don't know how to order coffee ("This guy wanted room for cream, but didn't put cream in his coffee".) If you try to avoid the conundrum and specify the amount of room ("I'd like walking room", "I'd like 3/4 inch room", "I'd like 3 fingers of room") then you just sound ridiculous.

At Cupcake Royale or Monorail, there is always a consistent amount of room. Enough that you can put cream in if you like and still not burn your hands.

There you go -- the Americano Conundrum.