On those days you need more them your regular morning dose of caffeine I think it’s perfectly acceptable to go out and treat yourself to a second cup. Especially when these days fall on a Monday, and especially when these Mondays fall after great weekends that include visiting any sort of festival (in my case First Friday Oakland Art Walk and the Hardly Strictly Music Festival).

I decided to go for a relaxing walk to The Creamery, which I had happened to walk past last week and couldn’t get off my mind. The triangular outside looked inviting and I couldn’t help but be intrigued (you would too if you saw what I meant). When I walked in through the patio and up to the counter I saw the large-and-in-charge espresso machine to my right and instantly knew I’d made the right decision.

I ordered an iced soy dirty chai latte. They make the chai in house and they serve Ritual Coffee, which is a local roaster. Their chai is much more mellow than what you’d get at a Starbucks, and it’s much more of a tea drink than anything else. It had a thick layer (far more than just a sprinkle) of ground cinnamon on top, which slightly dissolved into the drink over the course of my lunch. Kind of. Not really, but it moved around. There wasn’t much soy, meaning it was a lot less thick and creamy and a lot more about the chai. What was different about this chai was the use of ginger and cinnamon, which gave it a subtly kick. Next time I think I’ll try one of their espresso centered beverages.

Since I was starving, on my lunch break, and feeling like pampering myself on today’s outing, I splurged. I also ordered the Strawberry Banana Nutella sweet crepe with a thick fresh vanilla bean whipped cream dollop on top. These two thick crepes with fresh fruit and a Nutella drizzle were definitely worth it.