One Last Hurrah

Today was a sad day knowing that my Starbucks journey was coming to an end. I know that I will still frequent the shops back home, but it simply will not be the same. To make sure that I made the most of my last day of “Starbucksing” I visited two shops and took a variety of photos and videos. I definitely saved my visit to my very favorite London Starbucks for today. I will get to the info on this cool shop later, but first I must share other things. My first stop this morning was to a Starbucks located across the street from Victoria Station. I walk by this shop nearly every day and had yet to pay a visit. I decided that this morning, on my way to Buckingham Palace, I would journey into the Victoria Starbucks. This shop was a bit larger than many of the galley style shops that I have visited. I liked the layout of the shop because there was adequate seating both inside and outside of the shop. Being located near the busy Victoria Station, it makes sense that this shop can provide for a large number of people. As I prepared to order my drink, I spotted a treat that I am sure is only available here in the UK. In the glass case I saw a yellow cupcake called “Victoria Sponge Cupcake”. I am quite sure this treat is titled after the much-loved queen Victoria. I thought that it was such a cute idea to name a Starbucks treat after a queen, but I was bummed because I didn’t think that I would be able to try it. After taking a picture of it, I proceeded to order my drink, also one I have never seen before, an Espresso Frappuccino Light. My friends Katie and Michelle were also on my journey today so while I waited for my drink I decided to talk to Michelle about how she liked her drink.

As you can see, the Cafe Creme Frappuccino was a hit with Michelle as well. I made sure that after I enjoyed this delicious drink earlier in the week that I shared my experience with my friends. It appears that I won't be the only one requesting this Frappuccino back in the States. After I had finished talking to Michelle, my drink was ready to be enjoyed. I quickly collected my Frappuccino and headed outside to record my thoughts about the drink. I went ahead and had the barista hold the cream today, one day of that was a bit more than I can handle.

I was quite pleased with my drink choice today. I was glad that this Starbucks offered a lighter Frappuccino option. In the States very recently Starbucks launched the "Customizable Frappuccino" option. This option allows the customer the ability to select the kind of milk, amount of coffee and even how long the drink is blended. While I have to admit I am bummed that the UK does not yet offer this option, I was happy to see that the Espresso Frapp. came in "light". Another thing that I noticed about the Frappuccinos offered in London are that many of the U.S. flavors are not offered and different flavors are sold instead. Vanilla Bean and Java Chip are two flavors that I have not been able to locate at any of the Starbucks shops. Two Frappuccinos that are offered in London but not in the States are drinks with blackcurrants and passion fruit. Flavoring food and drinks with food seems to be a rather popular task here in London, so these flavors do not come as a total surprise to me.

Check back later for the rest of today's Starbucks journeys...

AM