Recently, one of my best friends and the world’s brightest star Becca Foley got a job as a barista at Wiggin Street Coffee. She works Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 and Sundays from 12-5, and you can catch me and my homework at the bar right near the register for virtually all of those minutes. (Come say hi! Order an iced drink from Becca and chat with me while she makes it!)
Anyway, being at the bar for so many hours a day means that I spend a whoooooooole bunch of time staring at the cafe’s impressive selection of flavored syrups. Over the past few weeks, my friends and I have thought it would be fun to create our own version of a Wiggin Street Coffee “secret menu,” with all the different flavor combinations we dream up while we’re there that aren’t already on the list of suggested flavors on the wall. So; I decided I may as well put our ideas to use and send out an article to get some of these ideas out to the public!
(As a heads-up: I’m giving these combinations names because it’s an easy way to organize them, and also because I think it’s fun, but I think if you ever tried to use these names they might confuse your barista, because they don’t exist as official coffee flavors and because they have more than enough flavor codes to memorize already. So if you plan on trying these out you’re probably better off just describing it!)
S’mores
-What to Get: a latte with brown sugar, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow syrups.
Antoinette
-What to Get: a white chocolate mocha with raspberry syrup.
-This one quickly became my regular drink! If you’re feeling like treating yourself extra, pair it with one of the raspberry white chocolate scones.
Regan
-What to Get: a regular mocha with raspberry syrup.
-You might be thinking “Hey Annmarie! That’s already a drink! They call it a Razz Ma Tazz!” And I know that, and it’s wonderful, but also I ran into HCK writer Regan one morning and she saw me order an Antoinette, and she loved the idea of raspberry, but said she didn’t like white chocolate, so I decided to name a drink after her.
Florentine Latte
-What to Get: a latte with almond (either milk or syrup!), honey, and caramel syrup.
-Admittedly, this one isn’t totally my invention. It’s a specialty drink at a place called Cacao, which is a favorite bakery of mine right near my hometown. But it’s a lovely enough combination to be worth recommending here!
Apple Chai
-What to Get: a chai latte, but you ask them to brew it with apple cider instead of milk.
-This is something I’ve been ordering at Starbucks for years. It’s absolutely perfect if you’re someone like me who loved the concept of last month’s special, the Caramel Apple Butter Chai, but found it to be a little bit too sweet for them. This alternative basically tastes like a spiced cider with a little extra spice, and it’s ideal for these kind-of-chilly October weeks.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
-What to Get: any combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, toasted marshmallow, vanilla, brown sugar, and caramel syrups.
-I’ve tried this latte so many different ways and I can’t decide which one I think works best. But! A few days ago they put out the pumpkin/marshmallow combination as the special of the month, and they call it the Pumpkin Fluff Latte, and it’s killer.
Becca
-What to Get: a white chocolate mocha with cinnamon and brown sugar.
-Named for the new barista herself! Becca makes this pretty often at the end of her shift.
Peach Green Tea
-What to Get: a regular iced green tea with two shots of peach syrup.
Lavender London Fog
-What to Get: earl grey tea with milk and lavender syrup.
-This is a real official WSC drink!!! It was the special a few months ago!!! It was so good!!! But it’s not suggested on the menu anywhere in the store so I’m adding it here!!! Utilize the lavender syrup always!!!
Tree Hugger
-What to Order: any drink you want
-This isn’t a drink, actually, it’s just a thing to do, but I thought it was important to add it here. If you’re planning on sticking around the cafe for a while to study or hang out with friends, make sure to order your drink “for here!!!” There are always reusable plates and cups and mugs and it’s so much better to use those!!
So there we are!! A whole bunch of new ways for you to get your caffeine/sugar fix every day. Let me know if any of these end up working for you, or if you come up with any new ideas yourself!! Stay thirsty, my friends!!
Image Credit: Feature, 1, 2, 3