Beyond The Boring

A relevant commentary on our addiction to this “poor man’s wine” is the variety and number of crazy drinks out there. Many more beyond the menu board at Starbucks. Some that would bring on cardiac arrest with the amount of caffeine.

Picture this: a layer of syrupy sweetness, thick cream, and Carmel colored espresso downed in one quick gulp. Ask your barista for a John Wayne and you’ll most likely get a crazy look. But this equally proportioned drink of “two parts of any flavor syrup, though commonly caramel or vanilla, and two portions of half & half, topped with two shots of espresso”, arrests your taste buds with an array of tantalizing flavors. “The ingredients are added slowly in this order, so that the end result is layered with three distinct flavors and temperatures, and is customarily drunk all at once”. (Wikipedia)

A common favorite that many of my regulars ask or are the Black Eye (a cup of coffee with one espresso shot) or Red Eyes (two shots of espresso in a cup of coffee), and I’d always wondered what you would call a triple shot or more. Maybe brown eyes or blue eyes?

Well Wikipedia has enlightened me.

Kennedy: A cup of coffee with three shots of espresso in it.

747: A large coffee with seven shots of espresso in it.

Another hard core drink I came across was the Shakerato / Cafe Shakerato. A double espresso made in a cup with some sugar in it then poured into a shaker with ice, shaken until foam develops, then poured into a glass.

But what one that beat them all was the Sputnik. Two large coffees with 16 shots of espresso, and a Red Bull mixed in! talk about out there. This tops my list for all nighter.


Warning: This is a drug and should not be taken in large amounts on a daily basis. Less then 600mg in generally is not harmful. Ask your doctors be before consuming any drink with large amounts of caffeine. Shaking, blurred vision, hyperactive responses, alertness are some side effects. Extended use may lead to depression, deliriousness, nervousness, restlessness, and stomach issues.