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Comment by Brandon on March 14, 2009 at 9:23pm

Definitely polarizing. I personally 99% of the time hate the syrup monster, but every once in a while i have an almond latte. I'm a sucker for almond anything.
My hang up is, really not with the syrup, but with how its used being akin to a crutch for progressing the sophistication of the industry. Syrup, in moderation, probably brings something new to drinks in the same manner, albeit much less complicated, as competitive baristas mix many different elements in designing a sig drink. The pitfall comes when syrup is used to obfuscate the coffee flavor. Just what would get you heavily deducted scores in the sig drink. If the customer wants sugary flavor and caffeine, get a soda! The highlight of any coffee beverage has gotta be the coffee! But I understand there is a grey area there for introducing new customers to coffee flavors by easing them in with less bold tastes. That being said, i think flavors are heavily abused and its not good for getting the customer to try anything else, and probably not too healthy. Nothing broke my heart as much as seeing a customer dump spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her mocha without even trying it. I try hard to craft a balanced tasting and pretty looking drink and she really didn't even give it a shot, assuming it needs lots o' sugar. Syrup is the same. A CRUTCH I SAY!