I rarely treat myself to Starbucks anymore. Well, I actually shouldn't say treat, it's more like subject myself to. Their drinks used to be amazing--frothy and delicious. In the last few months, every Starbucks I've been to has been serving awful drinks that are not mixed right and overpriced. Everything is either too sweet or not sweet enough. There is nothing I seem to be happy with about the place anymore except the hot white chocolate mocha and hot green tea latte. And the chai tea (hot) is always good, when they don't mix too much spice in it, which has been the case the last few times I've had it. Their plain coffee always tastes burnt and it gives me a headache.

The drink I had today was the tall, hot Orange Mocha. I don't like trying new things in the line of coffee too often, but I figured, hey, how bad could it be? The picture of it looked so warm and inviting, like a summer in Tuscany. I was picturing my self frolicking through the streets of Italy with this drink in my hand, my pink Prada bag dangling from my wrist--my flat, leather street vendor sandals pressing against the cobblestones beneath my feet.

Then I took a sip and almost puked my guts out!

Starbucks advertises the drink as : "Rich, full-bodied Starbucks espresso combined with our proprietary bittersweet mocha syrup, refreshing orange syrup and steamed milk. Topped with whipped crème and orange zest sauce that is made with real orange juice and bits of zest."

It tastes like a poison syrup they make you drink for some kind of medical test. I had a yogurt, M&Ms and some crackers to try to get the wretched taste out of my mouth. I'm still suffering...