I have always been a coffee drinker, you might say I am addicted to coffee. I Don’t drink as much now as I did when I was working but enough to qualify for frequent drinker status and yes I have a favorite coffee. The StarBucks Americano, that is my choice. Welcome to the Porch… Sooner or later with the continued inflation showing no signs of abating I knew this would make it to the Back Porch. My reasoning came from the feeling that a good ponder, a real good one is usually about something of little or no great concern…remember thinking about something should require at least a reasonable amount of knowledge and a direction…coffee requires neither. Coffee is an acquired taste or habit that is a personal obsession… “ can’t start the day without a cup of coffee” or you have heard it said… “I got to have that afternoon cup to get through the day!” I read an article the other day that said inflation had come down a significant amount over the last three months. Now I am just guessing that the person or persons who wrote that do not eat anything or drive anywhere. Now to the ponder this evening here on the porch. I have had a Gold card from Starbucks since 2012 so I do have a real concern about what is going on at the bean factory. Consider this…19% of Starbucks sales are food. (Starbucks)  As of September 2022, cold drinks accounted for 75% of the sales. I refer to these drinks as coffee that has been defiled but they redeem themselves by listing their the number one, most popular drink at Starbucks is…brewed coffee, mainly Pike Place. (July 2, 2024) My first Americano from the bean king was a Venti size and it cost $2.89. Amy went by yesterday and got my usual Americano Vt…$4.88. Not bad I guess under the current conditions… that’s about 17 cents a year increase. However the last three years has seen the largest increase… About two years ago it was $3.55 and now $4.88 an increase of about $1.33. Now add to that and they also made major changes in their Awards program, increasing the number of stars required to get free drinks or food items. Here is an interesting fact…In the US, mobile orders account for 27% of Starbucks transactions. ((Digital Initiative) It removes the possibility of the price increasing before you get there.

So here is the point of this ponder. Pondering, as I have pointed out in the past does not require accuracy and there is no accountability. So my figures could be wrong…nice thing is who cares, kinda like the News Networks today. But I do remember the Apostle Paul asking himself why “do I do the things I ought not do and not do those things I ought to do?” That’s what is nice about the “Art of Pondering” there are no real rules. The simple fact is…I’m Addicted to Coffee.

Kurt