what's up with starbucks?

it has been two months since i visited a starbucks. i'm actually quite proud of myself. while i was in london, i refused to buy any starbucks and have been constantly trying out new cafes and stuff... anyway...

so back to sunny LA and the heat drove me to get an iced drink from... well... pretty much the only decent option around town -- starbucks. as usual, i got a iced caramel macchiato. it was not as good as my memory has been anticipating. none the less, i sipped it with a sense of satisfaction. after all, at least it iced. and today is sunny, so i think this combination works out fine.

anyway... that's not really my point. while i was sitting by myself at the store, one of the barister came and handed me a sample this new product - some kind of smoothie blended with pinkberry frozen yogurt. what the heck. frankly, i was quite happy to get some free pinkberry on this hot day. however, the thing did not exactly taste good. it was pinkberry frozen yogurt with a mixed berry syrup that screamed "articfically formulated and combined." it's not exactly awful. but not far from it.

i don't understand why starbucks and pinkberry would have such a collaboration. being a starbucks fan and a pinkberry (original flavor) admirer, i still find the visual of pinkberry and starbucks coexisting in a single store pretty bizzare. it's pretty obvious that here are already enough negative publicity surrounding the two brands. there might be a strong inclination to label the new invention (something about italian, refreshing and pinkberry) as... hmm... what's the right word? poseur? weird? pretentious? i don't even know the word...

anyhow... nothing much is going on with life that's why a trivial incident like that would spark my contemplation. :p