I was recently aboard American Airlines flight AA5203 from BDL to PHL. (I love that kind of talk.) I was traveling with JoAnna Bennett, a friend and colleague. We were connecting through Philly on our way to DAY for meetings with our client in Covington.
Shortly before departure, I was fishing between our seats for my seatbelt (carefully, so as not to cause JoAnna to think I was being fresh). Much to my surprise, instead of my seatbelt, I succeeded in retrieving a package of cookies. And, much to my edification, I discovered they were “Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee.” I could hardly contain my excitement.
I hustled off the plane. Since the expiration date on the package was 11 JUN 2018, I knew they were still fresh. And after having the wrapping metal-detected, body scanned, x-rayed, and otherwise thoroughly examined by the TSA crew in Philly, I knew the product hadn’t been tampered with. (Since I’m a marketing guy, I’m required by law to call everything the product.)
I was particularly jazzed because I’d never eaten a real European cookie, nor had I ever consumed one with coffee in it. To ensure I got the full effect of the coffee flavoring, I decided to ingest the comestibles au natural. By that, I don’t mean I partook of them in the buff. (I was, after all, still with JoAnna, to say nothing of being in a public airport.) Rather, I chose to eat them sans café, the better to appreciate the full coffeeness of the cookies.
I delicately opened the package and bit the first of the two biscuits contained therein, eagerly awaiting the slight rush of acidity on the sides and the tip of my tongue, wondering whether the coffee would be arabica or robusta, and wondering whether it might have overtones of chocolate or citrus.
Nothing. All I could taste was butter.
Thoroughly perplexed, I grabbed my phone and looked up the product’s website. Lo and behold: It turns out they aren’t Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee in them. They’re Europe’s favorite cookie to consume with coffee. Boy, was my face red.
But since I’m nothing if not eager to learn, I decided to interpret the experience as a teachable moment, from which I humbly derived the following lesson: Don’t believe everything you read.
Oh. And if you’re going to eat European cookies, bring your own coffee.
P.S. JoAnna ordered a latté and ate the other cookie.
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Image by RyanMcGuire, courtesy of pixabay.com.