Are you Getting the Right Caffeine Fix?

My craving for java is stemmed by the need to be awake durng those unholy hours which for me is around 7am when I settle my sweet ass on my office chair and around 2pm in the afternoon when all logic seem to leave my mental processes and I go into crash mode.  Thanks to Standard Chartered I usually get a free large gourmet cup in the morning on my way to work.  In the afternoon, I'd get my caffeine fix at the office pantry or if the state of my wallet permits, from a nearby Starbucks outlet. 

Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant which temporarily wards off drowsiness and restore alertness. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance which maybe the reason why gourmet coffee shops has become a booming business venture.  Technically, they are legal drug dens.  Of course, coffee is not cocaine, cannabis or LSD.

Anyway, given the end in mind and after reading Starbucks' Nutrition by the Cup brochure, I have come to realize that I'm ordering the wrong drink.  Normally, I 'd vary my order from a Caramel Macchiato or Caffe Mocca but based on the brochure I can only get a maximum of 180mg of caffeine in a venti size order.  Funny thing is I thought that going venti will actually give me extra caffeine---WRONG!  You still get the same two espresso shot whether it's a grande or a venti.  The additional 4oz is milk.  That would just be like additional cream to the standard two packet order.  No wonder the price difference is but a couple of pesos only!  Ingenious strategy to upsize I should say.  So I suggest that unless you want to pay P10 more for additional cream on a Venti Caramel Macchiato go grande instead and just get additional cream packets from the condiments table.

Now, if it's a wake up jolt you want ,order for a brewed coffee where you can get up to 400mg caffeine trip guaranteed to give you four hours of mental alertness.  Naturally, it does not have the same creaminess and flavoring of a Caramel Macchiato but it does gives you the necessary kick to survive the rest of the afternoon.