The day is finally here, friends. We are living in a world where beautiful births are occurring — Beyoncé will soon give birth to twins, and Starbucks is giving birth to America's love child: ice cream. Today, Starbucks announced that they will start serving ice cream at more than 100 stores, and I can't even begin to imagine how names will be printed on these things. On the glass? Labeled underneath? You know what? It doesn't even matter. What matters is that THIS IS A THING.
Where is this a thing?
According to Business Insider, the scream for ice cream will be silenced starting this week. They'll begin serving the Roastery Affogato menu at 10 upscale Reserve bar locations in LA, Boston, and DC (ouch, New York takes the L). They'll also be piloting a slightly less bougie affogato menu at 100 regular cup a joe Starbucks at 100 locations in Orange County, California (ugh — Seth Cohen would die for this).
What's an affogato?
For those of you who haven't studied up on Italian dessert history yet (weird), an affogato is an Italian treat made by pouring a shot of espresso on top of a scoop of ice cream. Apparently, for what seems like the king of all Starbucks ever (the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room), they've been enjoying a variation of this treat since last June. Their menu boasted both the affogato cold brew ice cream float and the Shakerto Affogato, which consisted of shaken espresso, vanilla syrup, and a mint sprig.
RUDE — about time Seattle spread some of the java joy. These drinks proved to be too complex to serve at most locations, so alas, our prayers have been answered, and a classic affogato is finally coming (most of) our ways.
Beyond the locations mentioned, there hasn't been any word of, if and where, this blessed menu item will expand to, but I'm assuming that this is the trial run. I sincerely wish I could teleport myself to all of these locations to ensure the sales for it are off the charts, but I don't have enough SkyMiles.
LA, Boston, DC, OC, please don't let America down. 2017 can't take much more disappointment, but with this announcement, there is a beacon of hope in the form of a beloved dessert. Maybe one day, we'll live in a world where Starbucks can legitimately fix all of our problems (as if it wasn't already).