I remember as a child that when I went to my local K-Mart in October,
all I would find was Halloween decorations and costumes. Once November
1st came then the Halloween clobber was marked down and moved to make
room for some lovely Thanksgiving paraphernalia, like cut out paper pilgrims and honey-comb tissue-paper turkeys for display on the Thanksgiving table.
Then magically ( I say magically because when you are a kid most things happen like magic) the Christmas aisle would appear on the day after Thanksgiving. Now that's what I call seasonality.
Now a days you get the major department stores (namely Harrods and Selfridges) opening their Christmas departments as soon as the summer merchandise is cleared
away in late July. Talk about rushing the seasons. I believe in the
effects of global warming on the changing seasons, but this pulling
forward of the seasons has got to stop!
One exception that is, Starbucks. Monday lauded the return of the Christmas Drinks Menu. I have been waiting for this day like kid waiting for Christmas morning to come. Do you want to know what Yuletide libation I sip with utter glee? The Starbucks Eggnog Late of course!
Last year my favourite winter warmer was absent from the menu. To be honest I spent most of November and December in a latte funk. This year it's once again missing from the menu instead Gingerbread (meh), Toffee nut (meh), and Chocolate Cherry(ick) feature.
My latte funk was to happen all over again. Thanks to a keen tip-off from the lovely twitter goddess Hayley Griffith, they are in fact available, but you have to ask!
It was like a scene from Fight Club when i placed my order. I asked if they did eggnog lattes, the counter girl looked to the left, then looked to the right then nodded in affirmation. I could have imagined this but she then relayed the order to the barista in a hushed voice. Very covert I say!
If you are a fan of coffee and eggnog this is the winter drink for you. When I say Eggnog I'm talking about the custard eggnog, and not Advocaat which is often referred to eggnog in the UK.
The latte is pure bliss, frothy nutmeg infused custard mixed with deep smokey espresso roast coffee topped with a gentle shaking of nutmeg. Christmas in a mug I say! Welcome to the 'Secret Eggnog Latte Club' I say!
