The Double Espresso

Coffee from Starbucks and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf can be bitter and over-roasted. And it takes longer to drink than the 2-year-old will allow without constant pleas of "Have some," ... "Have some coffee" ... "I want coffee." She's 2, for the love of God. And I also have to be awake, at least a little bit, some of the time.

Enter my not-so-secret weapon. The double espresso.

Sure, it takes longer for them to make it (they have to shoot it out of the espresso machine, not just let it drip into a cup like regular coffee). But it's both economical ($1.85 or so$1.75 at the local Starbucks for a double), and with TWO SUGARS mixed in, you can drain it in one or two good swigs and begin to enjoy the caffeine high right away.

Call it the difference between snorting and shooting, if you will. I will.

Now, before the little one is three sips through her Trader Joe's individually boxed soy milk (with cool retractable straw), I'm ready to face the day, or the next few hours if it, anyway.

Espresso tip: Look for the crema on top -- you'll know it's been made right.