Starbucks Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffin

So today, thanks to the Queen City Ghostwalk lady, I am eating a Chocolate Cream Cheese muffin from Starbucks. I have to say, it's kind of tasty - though it reminds me of an upscale Hostess Chocolate Cupcake.

So here's our dessert du jour:

One of the best parts of this dessert, and least represented, were a few obligatory chocolate chips. They were very yummy! The Cream Cheese center was good when eaten with the chocolaty and cakey muffin, but tasted a bit bitter on its own. The muffin itself was rather good, though it didn't have quick as solid a texture as I would like. Very fluffy, but I found it didn't hold up all the way through and started to fall apart as I got toward the end. I'm sure this muffin recipe is a bit of a chameleon and is likely seen without the cream cheese center and other various fillings or toppings. Overall, it's not bad. I'd give it a 3.5 out of five.

I have to admit, I don't spend much time in Starbucks, and when I do it's typically just for a Grande Latte. I'm not into flavors, or toppings in my coffee products. If they can't stand on their own, then they fall flat for me. Something I picked up when working in a little Gourmet Coffee Shop called Uncommon Grounds on the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington. I learned to appreciate many desserts through a lady called the Queen of Tarts. Sadly, her business didn't survive and closed up shop many years back. I also learned to drink coffee, including espresso, black. It was part of the job. You can't describe the subtleties of a coffee with cream or sugar in it, and have to drink at the proper temperature as well. Something not every Barista is taught, but thanks to the persistence of Skip and Bev at Uncommon Grounds, they insure everyone there knows, and knows well.

It's part of why I die inside a little every day when I drink the coffee at work. It just isn't on par with a good cup of Joe.