National Coffee Day ☕️ & 🍩

 Wake up and smell the coffee, it's National Coffee Day on September 29. Google this day and see what specials your local coffee houses are offering.

At my first job out of high school, I drank my coffee black. Now I like milk and real sugar in my morning coffee.

And I went through a Coffee Creamers phase trying various flavors. They were loaded with sugar and gave you extra energy burst out the door. I've left those sugar bombs behind.

As high schoolers, we had half coffee and half milk with a lot of sugar. Of course, we were plied with more sugary cereals and pop-tarts, too.

I used to drink coffee at night when first I moved to Los Angeles, mainly to stay awake during my night classes in film and television, after my 9 to 5 job. Now I can't drink it at night as it interferes with my beauty sleep.

In my 20s I added boiling water to a cup of freeze-dried coffee from the jar, but now I go for ground coffee in a vacuum-sealed can from Ralph's grocery store. Sometimes I spring for fresh ground from whole beans carried at our local Trader Joe's grocery market. 

When I worked in film and TV our crew was furnished with Cappuccinos, Macchiatos, and Frappuccinos along with regular coffee. In my European travels with my late wife, Amy, I've had Americanos, Café au Lait, Irish Coffee, and Expressos. Click here to see the different types of coffee drinks explained.

My wife, Linda, prefers coffee from whole beans so I go with her selections these days -- as you can see I can handle any type of coffee, from 7-Eleven crusty burnt-flavored to a Starbucks frothy cappuccino!

For those who're lactose intolerant, there are many milk substitutes and I've tried a lot of them. I still haven't decided which one goes best with coffee. If you have a favorite then leave a comment and let us know!

One of my favorite song lyrics is from Carly Simons's top 40 hit "You're So Vain" and it goes: "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee..."

And this Budget Barista likes coffee as much today as ever, especially when a free donut is offered on this auspicious day by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. And they are introducing a coffee-glazed donut. and donut-flavored coffee -- too much of a good thing is right up my alley.

I like their plain glazed donuts the best. Other donut stores carry fancier and more extravagant ones, but for the price, Krispy Kreme is my go-to donut.

Orchid Donut by DK's Donuts in Santa Monica, California.

So on National Coffee Day, whether it's cloudy or sunny, get a steaming cup -- however, you like it!

Click on the above image to play my Coffee for Breakfast video.