Caribou Coffee is a worldwide coffee chain headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It was also founded here in-state, in Edina, in 1992. As of May 2015, the company operates 603 locations worldwide.
Caribou is your typical American brand coffee chain, similar to Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros, and Peet’s coffee chains. They offer coffee and an array of snacks and bakery items.
On a Saturday morning, I decided to go venture out and try some of their bakery items, which I’d never tried before. This article was a good excuse for me to go buy some coffee, muffins, croissants, and scones.
The service I received was pretty good. I felt the price for the items was reasonable and each of the three items I tried, were all offered to be warmed up for me.
The first item I tried was their Blueberry Muffin. I received the muffin in a typical brown to-go bag. I’m going to be honest, looking at the muffin out of the bag was uninspiring. You could see a couple of blueberries from the top but not as much as you would like to see.
I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the muffin, as it was warm and not dry. You could taste the blueberries but they didn’t overpower the muffin. It was sweet, but not overly sweet (like some of the other items!). The texture was wonderful, making it easy to enjoy.
The next item I sampled was their Raspberry White Chocolate Scone. It took me two locations to find them, so this may be a popular item. I opted to not have this one warmed up and was satisfied with my choice.
The white chocolate was the best part of the item, as it was nice to differentiate from just regular chocolate.
Fun fact: did you know that white chocolate is not actually chocolate and is actually made of just sugar, cocoa butter, and milk?
I was surprised by the sweetness of the chocolate complimenting the raspberry taste, but it worked pretty well. I thought the scone was soft and almost buttery-like, which made it enjoyable to eat without feeling too heavy or dense.
The sweetness was pretty good and balanced, but the coarse sugar sprinkled on the top might be a little much for some.
The last item I tried was their Lemon Poppy Seed Bread. As an avid lover of poppy seed muffins, I was excited to try this item. It is an old-fashioned pound cake with lemon zest, black poppy seeds, and icing.
I also got this item warmed up, which I think greatly improved the niceness of this item. Having your pastry warm just adds another level of comfort. The balance of flavors stood out to me, as the lemon flavor was there without being too overpowering of the bread. I got a little tired of the icing, but most will not notice the sweetness as much as I did.
Overall, Caribou has a solid selection of pastry items, perfect for when you want a little snack with your coffee on your way to work, school, or whatever!
If there was ever a comedic spy movie to be made in the future, then it must be about Juan Pujol García, or known by the British Intelligence Agency known as MI5, as “Agent Garbo.” Juan Pujol García is credited with not only deceiving the Germans, but also receiving medals from both sides of the Second World War, an Iron Cross from the German Dictator Adolf Hitler himself, and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Security Service’s Director General, Sir David Petrie.
Juan Pujol García was born in the year 1912, in Barcelona, Spain. He was a veteran of the Spanish Civil War where surprisingly, he found himself fighting on both sides of the Civil War but never firing a single bullet. After the Civil War ended, Juan Pujol García grew a hatred for totalitarianism and nazism due to Nazi Germany supporting the Fascist Spanish Leader Francisco Franco.
In 1939, when the Second World War was just beginning, Juan Pujol García decided that he needed to help stop the German war machine by offering to be a double agent to British authorities in Spain, to which they refused. Despite not being accepted by British authorities on multiple occasions, Juan Pujol García decided it was best to contact German officials in Madrid, where he posed as a Spanish Official who was willing to go to Britain as a spy on their behalf. The Germans, wanting to build a spy network in Britain, happily agreed to his offer and made him an official spy for the Third Reich.
Juan Pujol García was expected to go to London and collect intelligence about the British, but in reality Juan Pujol García moved to Lisbon where he fed the Germans information gathered from magazines, guide books, and travel brochures from a local library. Surprisingly, his information from his local library was able to fool the Germans.
In April of 1942, Juan Pujol García was finally accepted by British officials because they too were fooled as they had received reports about a spy from Spain who kept on giving information to Germany. Brought to London to work for the MI5, where Juan Pujol García, now known as “Garbo”, would work with an intelligence officer, Tomás Harris. The two would create fictional agents and stories to fool the Germans.
In 1944, Garbo participated in Operation FORTITUDE, an operation that would help deceive the Germans while the Allies prepared for the D-Day landings. On June 5th, 1944, Garbo sent his usual scheduled message to a German Radio Operator where he would send information about the D-Day landings as requested by his superiors in MI5.
Despite being on his scheduled radio message to the German Radio Operator, the latter would not even show up and would fail to receive the information Garbo had given to them, so when the D-Day landings did occur, it gave Garbo an opportunity to show how reliable he was to the German High Command.
“I cannot accept excuses or negligence. Were it not for my ideals I would abandon the work,” Garbo said to his German contacts to give the impression that he was serious about being a spy for the Germans.
On July 29th, 1944, Garbo would receive news that the Führer himself was awarding him the Iron Cross for his service in the German Intelligence against the British. Garbo had fooled Adolf Hitler, an achievement that many had wished to have during that time period.
Due to his efforts in deceiving the Germans, Garbo would then receive the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in December of 1944, from Security Service’s Director General, Sir David Petrie.
After the war ended, Garbo contacted his handler and friend Tomás Harris about his plan of faking his own death, to which Harris would then spread this news about his “death” within MI5. Garbo would move to Venezuela and would live under a different name until 1988, when he was discovered by a British writer, Nigel West, who had tracked him down and asked him to come back to Europe to which he accepted.
On the 40th anniversary of the D-Day landings, 1984, Garbo would return to Europe to visit Normandy, France, to tour the beaches in which the allies landed to liberate France before paying his respects to the fallen.
In 1988, Garbo passed away in Caracas, Venezuela, forever known as the greatest spy to participate in the second world war.
On March 3rd, Highland Park Senior High hosted the second annual African Night! African Night showcased a variety of different cultures, dances, poems, clothing, and food. Students who are a part of Highland’s African Student Association (ASA) put in a lot of time and effort to make it an enjoyable and fun filled night. The turnout was huge with lots of people coming from all over St. Paul!
The opening act was by Ayane Kabeto. She sang and danced for the audience. She beautifully sang “Blame It on the Boogie”, by The Jackson 5, and started the show off with a bang!
Followed by Ayane’s wonderful singing was a showcase of Oromo dances. The amazing dancers were, Fadela Yussuf, Nuhamin Melese, Zubeyda Kedir, Saba Getahun, Liya Lantyderu, Nardos Ashenafi, Samera Adam and Beti Negash. Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, which numbers around 40 million people.
Fun fact! The Oromo language is one of the youngest languages in the world to become a written language. Before that, the Oromos had a rich oral literature tradition including songs, proverbs, poems, and stories.
After that amazing performance…It was followed by a traditional Somali dance called Dhaanto. The dancers who showed off their dance skills were, Hana Elmi, Salmaan Mohamud, Nasro Osman, Subeir Said, Lena Ahmed, Sahil Ali, Sohail Ali and Iman Abdi. The performers did an amazing job showcasing their culture!
Dhaanto is a style of traditional Somali music and folk dance. The Dhaanto was inspired by the camel and mimics the actions of the camel. Fun fact, the world’s largest population of camels is found in Somalia.
Next was the lively Tanzanian duo. The two dancers were Jamila Dauda and Maaka Nyembo. They showed us a few Tanzanian dances with some really nice songs. The duo showed us our first taste of West Africa! They danced to the songs “Inama” by Diamond Platnumz Ft Fally Ipupa and “Kelebe” by Rayvanny Ft Inoss’B.
Tanzania is a country in East Africa. Tanzania is known for its vast wilderness areas. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful aspects of East Africa. It is renowned for its exotic wildlife and rich cultural heritage. Here is a picture of the duo!
Then the crowd got to enjoy some Ethiopian and Eritrean dances. The dancers were Liya Lantyderu, Sonya Hussein, Ayane Jarso, Samera Adam, De’ Shaun Booker and Mahlet Dagne. Some of the dances they performed were, Gurage, Wyleta and Tirgey.
There’s a lot to love about Ethiopia, including its coffee and culture! And also Eritrea, for its delicious food, beautiful culture and its amazing architecture from Eritrea’s capital city Asmara.
Next was a beautiful spoken poem by Iman Abdi. Her poem was beautifully written. Black beauty was the theme of her poem. She spoke clearly and confidently and did so well!
After the poem, we got another taste of West Africa! The dancers were Qamar Amode, De’Shaun Andrea-Booker and Jamila Dauda. The songs they danced to were from Nigeria and Ghana. They were very vibrant and enthusiastic!
Nigeria is the most populous country in the whole of Africa with around 210 million people. Nigeria is one of the most diverse countries in the world with more than 500 spoken languages.
Ghana is also a very diverse country with over 70 ethnic groups residing in Ghana. Ghana is known for its dynamic culture and its food!
Next, the crowd got to enjoy an intermission with a video. The video was made by Asia Mohamed and Asma Sedik.
We talked to Asma Sedik about her experience as one of the video makers:
“The process of making the video was a bit stressful since we had to film it during school. It was hard to find times that would work for everyone and we often would have to miss class to film. But otherwise it was so much fun filming and we had a blast with our friends. Editing was also fun but also stressful because we didn’t have access to a professional camera or editing software, but we made due with what we had and learned a lot. Overall, a great experience!”
Back to more dancing, the crowd got to enjoy more Somali dances with Somali Part 2. The dancers were Zubeyda Kedir, Qamar Amode, Lena Ahmed, Sohail Ali, Sahaam Ahmed, Subeir Said, Muna Mohamed and Salmaan Mohamud. They did a performance of Shirib dance. The Shirib dance is very common in the southern region of Somalia.
A break from all the dancing; next up was a game show. The crowd was asked questions about Africa and if answered correctly they were given candy!
Then we got to enjoy a solo Congolese dance! By Jamila Dauda. She danced to the songs, “Call Me Baby” by CDG, “Moto” by Fabregas and “Ntaba Mood” by Ntaba2. She did a wonderful job!
There is a lot to be admired about the country of Congo with its rich natural resources and the world’s second-largest rainforest, in addition to, its unique culture and its delicious dishes.
Then we got to enjoy more Oromo dancing with Oromo Part 2! The dancers were Samera Adam, Muna Mohamed, Eddie Reynosa, Obama Ahmed, Sahil Ali and Zubeyda Kedir. They performed dances such as, Wollo, Wallega, Shagoyee and Sodoo!
Muna Mohamed, the president of ASA shared her African night experience:
“We would practice almost 4 times a week and spend a lot of time together, working on perfecting our dances and making sure we were showcasing our cultures in a positive light.”
The final thing was the Fashion show where many students participated and showcased their cultural clothing! We saw many different flags and ended the African Night with everyone singing to “Last Last” by Burna Boy! Overall, the night was a huge success and was filled with so much fun.
Ms. Baheriy was the advisor for the African Student Association, (ASA), we spoke to her about how it went this year:
“It was amazing, I’m so proud of all the students who participated, they put in a lot of work and it definitely paid off. Students started planning and practicing for dances in the early fall, and it was exciting to see it all come together last Friday!”
One of the most successful country music artists of our generation, Morgan Wallen, released his double album ‘One Thing at a Time’ on March 3, 2023. This is his third album he has released since his career launch and it features 36 songs. This album has several featured artists, on multiple tracks, such as Eric Church, HARDY, and Ernest who are some of Wallen’s long time friends. The album was a hit with the fans and here’s what we thought about it.
Because the album is 36 songs long, there was a lot of room for variety in style and song quality within the album. Given that there were so many songs there were certainly ups and downs but here are some of the “ups”.
The biggest favorite among the fans would have to be his upbeat, early release single, “Everything I Love”. This song is an upbeat, fun, song with country twang. It follows the plot of a breakup perfect for fans to relate to.
Another hit was “Man Made a Bar” featuring Eric Church. This song is in storytelling style and its chorus is its hook. Wallen and Church’s voices blend perfectly in the chorus making the song unskippable.
Ultimately, the song that we think takes the title of best on the album is track #5, “Devil Don’t Know”. It’s a slow guitar ballad about a girl he loves who is with someone else. The emotion and passion of this song is so powerful making it shine among the other songs on the album.
Wallen spoke about the process of writing this album and how he was searching for a theme as he wrote it. He stated that he started writing with a song called “Born with a Beer in My Hand”. To him, this song symbolizes the birth of the album in a way, making this song a big monument for him. To go along with that, track #22 is titled “Dying Man” which for Wallen really pulled together the theme of birth to death in the album.
One other song that we loved off this album is the song called “Thought You Should Know”. This song is a thank you letter to his mom letting her know that he appreciates her and everything she has done for him. It is slightly slower paced than some of the other songs on his new album, yet it still holds such a deep meaning. We loved this song so much partly because it has such a catchy and singable chorus as well as the fact that it holds such a sweet message.
The last song that we are reacting to on the new album ‘One Thing at a Time’ is a song called “Last Drive Down Main”. This is another one of our personal favorites on the album because it fits the vibe of the album so much and it has a really fun and catchy melody to it. This song is about someone who he is no longer in contact with, but wherever he goes, he sees their face. He talks a lot about old memories in this song and how he keeps going back to the same places because they make him remember those special memories of being with that person.
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