CAFE MANIAC

Have become quite an addict of the coffee houses that have sprung up all over the place. The CCDs and Baristas basically should be offering me a lifetime membership card pretty soon. They should also be seriously considering me as an employee instead of a client. Not only am I regular at their joints I also continually strive to expand their client base. I have introduced the idea of lounging at these cafes instead of going for a movie to at least a few dozen people. I know these people are basically not that smart and my thoughts really would not be appreciated yet I will continue in this struggle of mine.

My first choice is obviously Barista. Well its costlier. However thats only if you order something. Barista has this really cool company policy of not asking people to leave even if they have not ordered anything and the place is so crowded that genuine coffee drinking clients are having to wait outside. Also in some of the outlets they provide you with a scrabble board or a guitar or something to enjoy yourself with your friends while you enjoy your cuppa (or you might just enjoy it without the cuppa). Also the tv is on so you can catch up on whatevers on. Also the newspapers and magazines stacked in the corner is pretty helpful in killing time alone while sipping on your coffee. And usually the crowd is pretty nice which is a bonus.

CCD is also basically similar, although I doubt if they have a similar company policy about entertaining us loafers with no cash for the coffee. Also I have not seen a CCD with scrabbles or guitars. However they have a system which allows you to play songs on the system (again not free). Also each of the CCD have at least one set of really comfy and proper couches which is perfect if you have a large group of people going along. The other difference is they actually have people serving you. Besides CCD chain has a newsletter of its own which you can browse through, though I personally am not too convinced about its editorial board's literary taste.

In both of them I usually go with the espresso if I would like to have some coffee. Everytime I order it in either of the places they make sure that I know what i am about to have. Usually in really serious voices they make me realise that it is "dark coffee, 25 ml,bitter" with a face that makes me confident that I am not supposed to have it. What the hell! If you are so sure that its that bad why keep it on the menu? However I actually like the bitter taste of coffee. And I usually customise my espresso by adding generous helpings of sugar to get thet syrupy sweet taste hidden behind the dark bitter taste of strong coffee I am sure that a lot of other people might actually go for it if they were not warned so menacingly by whoever is supposed to prepare it. For dessert it is usually a Dark Temptation or ChocaVloc. Both are basically the same. Both have a really soft and warm rich chocolate brownie with two scoops of vanilla. I love the feeling of the smooth cream and the rich chocolate mixing in the mouth.

Besides these, if I am hungry I usually go for the chocolate doughnut. I usually ask them to add an extra ladle of the thick chocolate sauce and take a scoop of vanilla cream to go with it. However I have at least two cases when the doughnuts were soggy and that really makes a messy situation.