Recall that last weekend I tried an Americano at Starbucks after liking the Americano I drank at our local independent coffee shop. I thought the Starbucks Americano was weak and that I wanted to try ordering it with an extra shot next time.

Well yesterday we stopped by Starbucks to read the Saturday paper and The Week magazine. I ordered a "tall Americano with an extra shot". It was sublime! The perfect cup of coffee. This is now my standing order at Starbucks.

It was so good I went up for a second one. I ordered the same thing but from a different barista. She asked if I meant a triple Americano. I gave her a confused look and mumbled something that probably sounded like "Uh..whaa..huh?" She explained that a tall Americano is normally made with two shots of espresso, so did I mean a total of three shots? Yep.

A tall at Starbucks is 12 ounces by the way, and a shot of espresso is one ounce, so the perfect Americano (for me anyway) is one part espresso and three parts hot water.

Our last two visits to a coffee house have been to a Starbucks and not our independent. I think it is because Starbucks has a few comfortable soft upholstered chairs, and we just didn't feel like sitting on hard wooden chairs at a wood table for a couple hours.