A Sip Tip

 

Every other day or so, going to a coffee shop to unwind and enjoy rich, creamy coffees is what almost anyone can do these days. With Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Starbucks, DiBella and Costa outlets present in every nook and corner, this is a convenience anyone can indulge in.

The teas and coffees are not 'cutting chai' rates obviously, but they are worth the bucks you pay for them. But I have actually noticed something at the Barista I go to often here in Mumbai and you need to watch out for this cheap little trick as well.

I once ordered Triple Sec, which is a mocha with an orange liqueur in it. I never add the sugar without taking a sip to see if it's needed or not because most often it's not really required and, I like the slightly dark and bitter tang of ground beans to hit my taste buds.

This is personal quirk and in this case it proved to be so right. That's because the Triple Sec drink came - and after a quick sip - I realised that something was off. No, they had not spiked it with anything fishy, but I didn't even get a whiff of oranges. So, I had some more of the coffee, and then asked the staff to add the liqueur in because I didn't feel they had put in any, in the first place. This way they had to even top up my coffee while adding in the liqueur, so I got a free refill as well. Also very clearly visible at the bottom of the glass, was a layer of orange liquid that I had not seen there before. Seeing is believing.

They had tried to fool me into paying them for something that they didn't include in my coffee despite them always asking customers, if they wanted any extras like toffee, hazelnut, Irish liqueur, chocolate sauce etc, and for which they charge anywhere between Rs 40 - Rs 50 extra.

So do what I did - take the sip test and make sure you get what you ordered because if it is not added in your coffee, it will be surely added in your bill.