The Secret to Surviving PSL Season
I love a good quintessential suburban Starbucks run.
I love curling up in those comfy chairs with the too short and slightly awkward side tables and chatting away for hours until the baristas need to close up.
It's my top locale for remote working since it has all the necessary features - access to caffeinated beverages and warm food, a bathroom (necessary if you end up sitting there for 4+ hours and have a bladder the size of a walnut), outlets in close (enough, usually) proximity to laptop-friendly working tables, and the perfect amount of activity if you're easily distracted by the quiet.
What you might not realize though, is that your favorite beverages are often just shy of a million calories. Okay, maybe I'm slightly exaggerating. But have you ever checked to see how much your favorite Bux beverage is setting you back?! It's honestly enough to bring a full yuck expression to my face.
But fear not! All you need to do is decrease the number of sugar syrup pumps in your drink and/or switch up your milk option to have a slightly better but still delicious coffee-based beverage.
Before you start and question my advice, just know that 99% (again, moderate exaggeration) of all Starbucks beverages come standard with enough pumps of sugar syrup to induce diabetes over a single PSL season.
A grande PSL (aka a medium-sized Pumpkin Spice Latte for you non-basic folks out there) comes standard with 2% steamed milk foam and 4 pumps of pumpkin flavoring (aka sugar syrup) and makes me go into an instant sugar coma. For me, the sugar quantity fully counteracts the 2 measly espresso shots that come standard in a grande too, making it a double whammy of sadness. Changing it up to non-fat milk and only 1 pump of syrup still gives you those fabulous Fall flavors you're craving, while not making you feel absolutely miserable for consuming a beverage with, I shit you not, 390 calories.
As an added bonus, it'll make you feel less like poo when you get the (again, standard) whipped cream topping, which is obviously a non-option for removal because you deserve to live! (Insert claps here.)