The math ain't mathin'?

Went to Target the other day to do some general shopping and they had the 40-48oz Starbucks iced coffees on sale. These are the refrigerated bottles of espresso, cold brew, regular coffee, and flavored coffee (pumpkin spice, caramel macchiato, etc). Two for ten dollars, you "save" 99 cents a bottle, as they're typically $5.99 (the ones we got. Prices range for other flavors and types).

As it's a decent enough sale, we ended up getting 4 bottles: two Blonde Roast, Black, Unsweetened for my mother, one Black Unsweetened Espresso and one Oatmilk Brown Sugar Cold Brew for me. I opted for the espresso for morning smoothies and the cold brew for any time. My mom likes the Blonde Roast for whenever.

For sizes, the Blonde Roast bottles are 48 ounces and the Espresso and Cold Brew are 40 ounces. 

I opened the Cold Brew yesterday and started drinking it. It's not bad. It has a very slight nutty / cinnamon flavor to it. It is a little sweet as well. It's weird that I'm picking up a profile not known for what it is supposed to be - oatmilk and brown sugar. It's also a dark drink due to the oatmilk. Creamer / half and half usually lightens up black coffee, but any dairy alternative usually keeps the coffee a more dark brown color. It's not bad, really. I just wouldn't make it a habit to get again.

The interesting part of this is (stay with me): the bottles I chose are 40 ounces and the nutritional facts state that the recommended serving size is 12 ounces. The estimated serving amount per container is "about 3".

I noticed that this morning when I opened the espresso bottle.

Now, if there is 40 ounces in the bottle and a serving size is a 12 ounce glass, 12 x 3 = 36. Where does the other 4 ounces go?  

Yeah, "about 3 servings per container" means you can fudge your cup a little and get more or less than you want, but then why be exact when you have the 48 ounce bottles?

The Blonde Roast is a larger bottle, yes, but also the serving size per container is correct. 12 x 4 = 48.

One comment made by someone I told this to, is "the Espresso is more concentrated, so that's why it's less". My question is "then why the same with the oatmilk one?". The next answer was "I don't know. Maybe it's accounting for ice?", which begs the statement "the Blonde Roast would be iced too". Enter shrug. 

I don't know. I can't math this math and I don't want to attempt it. 

Starbucks bottles don't go "on sale" often, if you're looking for a buy one, get one free deal. Usually they're a "twofer" deal like this Target option, although my mother does run to Publix on the rare chance it's a BOGO. It's so rare, that Publix just does a "twofer", so she usually just gets one bottle. It's not like you're getting an entire savings of a bottle (free), although the grocery store has them for two dollars more on a regular basis. Therefore when it's "2/$10", it's good. 

Especially if you consider Amazon has the bottles marked down currently to $5.54, but you're ordering it with Whole Foods as both the seller and the shopper so they you pay an additional $13.95 and say that's for delivery (on top of other fees). Even as a Prime member, the price goes down to $4.99, but you're still paying the standard delivery fee, which doesn't make this a good deal all around. Realistically, you're better off paying full price at a local box store than trying to buy it online.

On top of that, Amazon is currently sold out of the Blonde Roast and they don't know when they'll get it back in (as of this posting. See here). 

The Medium Roast is in stock, but the they have low quantities (see here). 

I guess overall, this is more of a reason to do research if it's something you want. "A good deal had by all" is not the same as "a good deal across the board", regardless of where you subscribe to and who you pay a premium to. Amazon, regardless of Prime status, isn't economical in this instance, unless you're in an area far away from any type of store. I'm sure that's a factor to some people, but generally speaking, most of the humans who have access to Amazon have access to any type of grocery or other store. Even if it's the boonies and a Dollar General. I've seen some random documentaries about people living so far out in rural areas, that the only option for any type of store is a DG and that's about an hour or more away. Some have no choice but to get their mail at a post office box because the service doesn't go that far out. This too, is a drive for the person. It's sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity, other times a mix of the two. I can't say which series I've heard this stuff on, as I tend to watch a lot of various videos, both online and with independent media sources, as well as listening to a lot of podcasts explaining cultural and societal differences among populations of the world. "Gotta get the edumacation somehow". 

Oh, speaking of education and podcasts:

I finished Murder Homes the other day.

 Per Amazon synopsis: "The real estate market has never been hotter. Houses sell as soon as they’re listed. Bidding wars lead to all cash deals far above the asking price. But there is one kind of property that often sits on the market for years, no matter how much of a bargain it seems to be. Potential buyers come and go, the price keeps going down, and still the house stands empty. In real estate jargon, it’s called a “stigmatized property” because the home comes with a history. An unfortunate one – a horrible death occurred here. But what few people know is exactly what happened.... or why. Each week, Murder Homes tells the story of a single property. Who lived there? What secrets did they keep, and what did they leave behind? Part history, part murder mystery, this podcast mixes expert interviews, witness accounts, and court records to pull back the curtain on the hidden stories each property has to tell. Would you be able to live somewhere that seems perfect, if it weren’t for the ghosts of its past?"

It's okay. It was slow moving in some episodes and not that scary. I wouldn't say it's a "Zillow gone crazy" type of show, but it does seem a little fictional in places. I don't know what they use as reference material, so I can't say I'd be all into more seasons of this show. Maybe if it was a visual series, it'd be different, but it'd be boring at the same time. Kind of glad I had it as background talk while at the gym. 

I've moved on to something called Strange Air, and it's not what I was expecting. 

It's being distributed by a company called "Fable and Folly Network", which I noticed in their library, Greater Boston was apparently acquired into. I think Greater Boston was in someone else's catalogue when I was listening to it. 

The synopsis for Strange Air per Amazon is:

"Ten years ago, Malcolm Smith was the host of “Strange Air”, a successful radio show about the paranormal. One night, during a live broadcast, Malcolm vanished into thin air. To this day, no one knows what happened. Now his daughter, Chase Smith, is in her last year of film school and she’s making a documentary about her father’s disappearance. (Starring Natalie Lander and Patrick Fabian from Better Call Saul.)"

I'm not impressed. The first couple episodes feel disjointed and overall low budget. It's not horrible, but it's not amazingly good. The synopsis sounds better than it is. I might have to listen to it again when I finish the series because I've got it playing in the gym as background and not totally invested. 

Then again, something as crazy as The Osbournes Podcast had me laughing like a loon some days while on the treadmill. Total bananas, this series, basically because they were honest with each other, even through the oversharing, over talking and generalized cursing. You don't need to see this on their Youtube channel in order to know it's legit. It was good insight to the Osbourne legacy and I'm glad it ended when it did - well before Ozzy passed away. The show was an ADHD nightmare at times, but you learn a lot about the family without needing to know much as it is. 

There are so many more shows on my list and I'm over a year behind in what I was listening to on a regular basis (Into The Fray, Betwixt The Sheets, etc.). I keep hearing ads for other podcasts in between stuff I listen to, so nothing becomes a one off for me. I go down a strange rabbit hole of other networks and find more random things to listen to. Hopefully one of these days I can get back to those series I previously started and let go to gain more episodes. 

Until then, do some homework, listen to new things and drink drink drink your wine, raise your glass high.

Cheers;

See also

* The line "drink drink" comes from the title track of David Bowie's 1976 Station To Station album.