Here at the Synthesis the employees loooooove their coffee in the morning. Our downtown Pete’s Coffee location must thank the lord above for their close proximity to our office because their pockets get lined with cash on a daily basis out of the deal. I, however, am a weirdo and don’t drink coffee. I love the smell, but the taste, the fact that it makes me shit my guts out, my fear of yellow teeth and coffee breath, and the fact that I don’t need another vice in my life have always made me steer clear.

This is why people like me love the fact that the Synthesis and Red Bull work together. I have my own solution to getting my caffeine fix. I take one of the free Sugar Free Red Bulls out of our little Red Bull fridge they provided us, down that shit in about 2.2 seconds, then just sip on water for the rest of the morning. In about 22 minutes I have pleeeeeeeenty of energy to do things like write this blog. Plus it is a great cure for a hangover if you add three Advil in to the mix. Fuck with it!!

OMG DROP what you’re doing and head on over to…..hahaha, sorry, I can’t do it. I support our locally-owned coffee shops on a daily (sometimes twice-daily) basis. I realize that this doesn’t make me better than anyone who frequents Starbucks, a company who apparently has a conscience and mixes in good with the bad (I hear their employees get great benefits, and with record stores dying I’m glad there are still places to buy a limited selection the next of overly-hyped artist-of-the-minute). I just like supporting my own local tax structure. So therefore, it’s really hard for me to say it. So I’ll just let the Starbucks Home page say it for me:

“On April 8, 2008, Starbucks is introducing Pike Place Roast with coast-to-coast tasting events…”

From Palm Beach post:

The event is more than just free coffee — it’s a coffee tasting, according to Starbucks. Customers will be instructed to smell, then slurp (”by slurping,” the guide for store managers says, “you aerate the coffee by spraying it across your palate, which enables the subtle flavors to reach your nose”), taste, then describe. Describing is like “poetry” and involves aroma, acidity, body and flavor, the guide says.

The event is the latest in the company’s attempt to connect with customers, become less corporate and be more about the coffee.

So on my way to the Naked Lounge or The Upper Crust or Has Beans, I will still stop by the Starbucks and pick up a free 8 oz cup of their new Pike Place Roast, because to not get free coffee is MORE of a crime.

According to the Take part blog, you can also go into Starbucks and request (and then buy) a cup of Fair Trade coffee instead. YEAH, that’s right, stick it to the man…

I say just bring your own jar.