Just Buy Yourself a Drink

 You know what? I want to talk about something other than Medicaid and SNF and aging.

Unfortunately, there is very little else happening right now.

So this is just a toss it up and walk away post.

When Kevin got Covid, twice, he lost his sense of smell and taste. It's been three years as of this weekend and they haven't fully returned.  

Because of that, things he loved before were now rendered yukky or tasteless.  Soda is spit-it-out-immediately yukky.  Coffee just tastes bleh.

So our friend, who owns the coffee stand nearby, had us try a Lotus drink.  It's a natural energy drink without all the chemicals and high rates of sugar.  It's kind of like Kool-Aid for grownups.  

We were skeptical because it has carbonated water and soda tastes gross.   But he tried it and LOVED it. Finally something that tasted good and made him happy.

Then we bought a new-to-us truck which required loan payments.  Kevin did the math and our Coffee/Lotus budget was now our Truck Budget.  Kevin wasn't my friend for a while there.  

It was mentioned that we could make it at home; just order the Lotus online then buy the flavors and the seltzer water.  There was hope in Whoville again.

Now two years later, we have a Lotus bar instead of a coffee bar like "normal" people.   We have three flavors of Lotus, a small Soda Stream, and all the syrup flavors.   We probably lost money initially setting this up but now we're back in the black.  

Anyway, this so bougie and I do have a point.  If you're tired of coffee but still need a little zing and you don't want a can of chemical energy drink, these are a great option.  Starbies has the pink and purple drinks but these are different.  

Most coffee stands have Lotus drinks now but some are limited to just basic flavors.  Just ask them. They'll ask what type of Lotus and the most common is blue or pink. There are so many options, the limit is your imagination and taste buds.  

Kevin likes sweet and I like tart so we learned that about each other.  Here are our go-to drinks:

Kevin

• Cantaloupe and Guava
• Cantaloupe and Pear
• Peach and Pear

Me

• Strawberry and Coconut - like the pink drink. You can add creamer.
• Dragonberry - Dragonfruit, blackberry and raspberry

Our friend has two specialty drinks: 

Get-Em - strawberry, blackberry and dragonfruit.  (watermelon, if no dragonfruit)

Tequila Sunrise - Peach and Mango with  a little bit of orange juice.  And yes, she has tested it with tequila and says it's good.

The Nephew likes Kiwi but that is TART.  OMG TART.  

You can also go basic with flavors like just grape or apple; kind of like a carbonated Jolly Rancher candy.  There's a Hawaiian Punch flavor that it like a combination of all the flavors.  The ticktock app has creators who feature different drinks too so a simple search will give you a ton of ideas.  Also, the aisle of flavors in the restaurant supply store will BLOW YOUR MIND.  (all of this is orderable online too, btw)

And everything is recyclable.  The plastic cups and straws are dishwasher safe usually so just hand wash the lids.  So that's a win too.

Now you know.  You can roll up to a coffee stand and order a 20 oz. Lotus with whichever flavor you want and if they ask what flavor Lotus, just say "What do you recommend?" and let them guide you.   It's usually less than a coffee/mocha/latte in price and it's nice in the summer when coffee feels heavy.

So bougie.  Also: this is a car payment

Picture for clout.  Kevin and our friend at the coffee stand