My mistake was not asking what was in the Andy.
I had seen the board advertising the Gale’s Grounds Coffee’s featured drink in the weeks leading up to the opening. ‘The Andy’. A drink chosen or inspired by Knox College President Andrew McGadney. I decided it would be a quick article to bang out: drink some coffee, tell people what I thought, and go on about my day. Naively, I assumed that a featured drink would be some sort of flavored latte.
On April 10, shortly after 2pm, I walked to Post and waited in the moderately-sized line for a few minutes. I confidently ordered ‘The Andy’—2% milk, iced—and as I handed my ID over to be swiped, the next person in line asked what ‘The Andy’ was.
“It’s our dark roast with two shots of espresso,”
A little backstory on myself: I am on a decent dosage of anti-anxiety medication. Because of potential interactions between this medication and caffeine, I have drastically decreased the amount of caffeine that I consume. My family owns an espresso machine, and I will specifically ask for half-shots of espresso when anyone makes me a drink. This has lowered my caffeine tolerance immensely.
While waiting for my drink to be made, I informed TKS staff of the mistake I had just made.
IMG ID: A message from Ro Ivaniszek on Slack. “I might die before the meeting. ordered the Andy so I could write a review on it and apparently it’s the dark roast with 2 shots of expresso”. Three people have reacted with a prayer emoji.
My drink was finally ready. Because I had ordered it iced—not being interested in a hot drink on a 70 degree day—I got a slightly watered-down experience. I took my first sip.
For a drink with a lot of espresso and an indeterminate amount of milk, it wasn’t a horribly bitter experience. When I do drink coffee, I always go for something sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste.
By no means do I understand notes or fragrances in coffee beans, but if I had to give a descriptor to this espresso and dark roast combo, there is only one thing that comes to mind: wood.
I offered a sip to a friend, sophomore Cole Songster. They agreed with my wood-y description. Specifically, mahogany.
I made the choice to add three caramel flavored creamers to the drink, which barely made a difference in the taste. The default size for ‘The Andy’ is 20 oz., which is a lot to ask for three creamers to change.
Over my sixth period class, I continued to sip at ‘The Andy’. By the end of the class, I had a headache, which then persisted until I made it to the weekly TKS meeting at 5pm.
As a college student, I will definitely be visiting Gales Grounds again. However, I think I will pass on sipping on McGadney’s eponymous beverage any time soon.
