I didn’t always drink coffee.

I used to see friends that were teachers that bragged about the Starbucks gift cards that their students would inevitably give them at the end of the calendar or school year, and all that I could think about was how those would be wasted on me. At the time I visited coffee shops so infrequently that they would likely expire before I could use them.

And then I started working as a teacher myself.

Before I knew it, the cup of coffee in the morning gave way to a cup of coffee in the morning and one that take with me as I leave, and it wasn’t long before I had a box of Keurig cups in my desk to help me out in the afternoon when the crash would inevitably come.

The transition happened both slowly and all at once, and now it’s like my brain won’t officially turn-on until I’ve had my initial cup in the morning.

So, when I heard that Dutch Bros – the Oregon-based drive-thru chain that I’ve seen in Redding for years before it made its way down in the Central Valley – was coming to the area I was thrilled to finally be able to try something that was a little bit different.

And as it turns out I am not – I repeat, not – the ideal customer for this new and wildly popular business.

While the line was initially intimidating, it moved much more quickly than that of everyone’s favorite chicken sandwich establishment and before I knew it I had an overly-caffeinated person at my window asking me rather enthusiastically how my day was going.

It’ll be going a lot better, I thought, when you hand me my caffeinated beverage.

I appreciated the enthusiasm, however, that this person showed for their job, and I played along nicely as I ordered the same thing that I always do when I visit a coffee establishment outside of the comfortable confines of my Keurig or my French Press – a large cup of dark roast coffee, two shots of espresso, half-and-half and raw sugar.

She punched some buttons on what I presume was an iPad, took my card, and I went about my day.

It was all very routine until somebody approached my car and asked again how many shots I wanted in my “Americano.”

Not fully processing the question – again, no coffee intake at this point – I held up two fingers, and it wasn’t until this other lady was back inside to presumably make my drink that I realized that my order was not what I had requested.

An Americano is simply espresso and hot water and I had specifically requested dark roast coffee – even making sure to check that the “coffee” would be dark roast.

When I got to the window to pick up my drink, I inquired about this confusion.

“Oh – we don’t actually serve drip coffee here.”

Interesting.

While I can buy Dutch Bros’ Arabica beans on Amazon that I can make at home, it turns out you can’t actually get that kind of coffee at one of their drive-thru locations – everything on the menu that appears to be a “coffee” drink is made with espresso. And considering that at least 75 percent of the drinks that I saw coming out of the window as I inched forward appeared not to be of the “coffee” variety – they were bright, beautiful, and obviously sweet – it caught me somewhat flat-footed.

The sign on the side of the building says “coffee” but yet I can’t get a cup of coffee at this establishment?

Interesting, indeed.

In all fairness, the drink that I did receive was actually quite tasty – the barista who had come out to talk to me when she learned of my confusion added more shots to my drink to compensate, without charging me more, and based on the twitchiness of my fingers as I write this it was absolutely effective in achieving the intended result.

Was it enough to replace my standard order-out fare? I’m not so sure. And since the bright-colored drinks are not necessarily going to be on my menu anytime soon, I’m going to have to stick with the Dutch Bros Arabica beans I just ordered that I’ll grind myself and make in the morning before I start my day.

My guess is that drip coffee takes too long to brew so that by cutting that out they’re able to move the volume of traffic past the windows that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise – I get it.

It was still somewhat of a shock to find out that the typical American way of drinking coffee was not going to be in the cards for me at this new favorite – I thought that the title of the chain was a nod to the heritage of those that founded it and not a sign I should have picked up on about how the “coffee” is actually made.

Based on the wide menu and the upbeat demeanor of the staff it’s easy to see why Dutch Bros is beloved by so many people.

Perhaps my trip to Europe this summer will change my tastes, but until then, I’m good with the coffee that I’m used to.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.