Fresh cranberries in clear plastic packaging.

Zing, Zing, Zing Went the Cranberry!

Fresh cranberries in clear plastic packaging.

Cranberry crisis is real. I’m experiencing it now. Hopefully, there are meetings? Sponsors? I blame Starbucks. They have this incredibly amazing, zinger of a cranberry drink called the “Cran-Merry-Orange Lemonade Refresher” that I can’t get enough of.

Actually, it all started with Starbucks gift cards. For some reason, we have a number of them in a kitchen drawer—along with coins, keys to nowhere, and random pieces of lint. Nate found those enticing cards and lured me to a cozy little Starbucks location outfitted with comfy chairs and ominously festively festooned fireplaces. Also, where we live, it’s kind of breezy, with a chill in the air, so I put on a lot of fleece and jackets, but then I discovered it was also like 54-degrees Fahrenheit, which is still incredibly warm—so please! I needed a cool seasonal drink, but not iced coffee. That’s a tall order.

Fortunately, there’s a Cran-Merry concoction, which shocks the system with citrusy orange and lemon notes, followed by a hint of sugar, real freeze-dried cranberry slices, and a refreshing burst of thirst-quenching…aw, heck. It’s what I always hoped would come out of every public drinking fountain, especially the ones with rust-colored water. (Come on!)

And now, when we’re out driving about, rushing to work, running errands, I’m looking for the nearest Starbucks and saying things like, “Hey, Nate. When’s the last time we’ve had a Starbucks date?” And he’s like, “You just want one of those cranberry drinks!”

My problem is so bad that I’ve blurted out my secret obsession in Teams chats at work: “Hey! If anyone’s running errands, and you find a random cranberry drink from Starbucks just lying around, feel free to bring it back to me.”

One of my co-workers was kind enough to type back, “You might find one on your desk tomorrow.” She even added those looking eyes emojis with “cowboy hat” eyebrows for emphasis. Yeehaw!

But honestly, it’s best that no one enables me. The seasonal cranberry drink is fleeting. And we’re running out of gift cards. I might be desperate enough to make the concoction at home. I’ve seen the ingredients online. I may have blurted them out in my sleep, but I’m pretty sure I’d waste so much time trying to get the proportions right. And what’s the fun in that, when you can just drink straight from the hose at Starbucks?

Your Turn: Do you have a favorite seasonal beverage?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

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