Bliss!

Perfection in a cup, thy name is Triple Bliss!

With your whipped cream and chocolate drizzle toppings, your three kinds of chocolate in a scrumptious latte, how can I go wrong? I ordered one at Higher Grounds coffee in Freeport, Illinois. When the friend I was meeting saw my drink, her eyes bugged out and she promptly ordered the same thing.

Such decadence. Such chocolately goodness. My friend couldn't finish hers because it was so rich, but as I used to say when I was a kid, "I drank mine all gone."

Although Higher Grounds has many of the things that other excellent shops do (i.e. colorful scheme, local artists displaying their work on the walls, fireplace surrounded by comfy chairs, students and laptop users at various tables, a nicely cluttered counter where the register is) the place itself seems a little plain. Too much open space? Not enough urban feel? Don't focus on that. Focus on the coffee. If you are hungry, Higher Grounds also offers scones, sandwiches, and soups, but my heart belongs to the coffee.

Mmm... The coffee. Bucket of Gold is a caramel taste sensation which gets 4.5 cups. But Triple Bliss. You, Triple Bliss, shall get 5 cups.

Hot chocolate, with a twist

Okay, yeah, this is a coffee blog, but not even I can drink coffee all the time. And since today was Big Sad Day in my department, a mocha just wasn't enough. Full on chocolate was the way to go. And now Starbucks has their new signature hot chokkies. The one that intrigued me was the Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate. If you're one of those salty/sweet, "I like chocolate covered potato chips" type of people, or you put peanuts in your Mountain Dew like one of my former bosses is known to do, then you will like this hot chocolate. It has a unique flavor... Sweet buttery caramel... special sea salt topping... whipped cream. It's quite good, but oh, so bad for you. I ordered a grande and I think I consumed over 600 calories in one beverage. Holy frijoles! Make it a skim and skip the whip and you'll cut 130 calories.

Save this for a bad day. It will help a little. I want to say it's $4.29 or so? I didn't have to pay for it, so I didn't pay attention. It was a treat from a co-worker for Big Sad Day. 4.5 cups.