Valentine’s Day was this past week, and one of the things I love about that day is going the extra mile and preparing a romantic dinner for home.  Nothing’s better than a home cooked meal prepared by the one you love, or in our case, cooking it together.

However, to top off the meal that evening I was asked to try out Starbucks Dark Caffe Verona and pair it with Chocolate Curl Cupcakes from the Walmart Bakery department.

I headed to my store in Anaheim to check out the bakery selections:

This is the display you can find in the Walmart Bakery section that showcases some of the #deliciouspairings available.  Because I, myself, am not much of a coffee drinker, but my SO is.  I read the combinations and actually learned something new from it.  Since I was trying out the Dark Caffe Verona I was very interested in reading about it, and learned that it pairs well with roasted nut, caramelized sugar, roasted vegetables and milk and dark chocolate flavors. I was intrigued, and instantly wanted chocolate.

I also made sure to look at one of the other combinations that was showcased on the display:

This was the next showcase on the display next to the Dark Caffe Verona.  This was for the Medium Roast and as you can see it pairs well with nut, apple and blueberry flavors.

I was also very happy with the price point being 6.98.  I know coffee is getting more expensive, but I like seeing it under 7 dollars, and with the Starbucks brand that made me pretty happy.

I then walked around the bakery section looking at all of the delectable treats.  I wasn’t able to find ANY of the chocolate curl cupcakes, but did pick up a few other selections to try: Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, Turtle Brownies, and some other chocolate cupcakes to take home and try out.

When I got home I began preparing the table because I wanted this dinner to be extra special, so I made sure the table had those added touches:  This made for the perfect romantic night in.

Those added touches let my SO know how important this night means to me, and to us.

I also quickly prepared a cup of coffee to try out myself:

One thing I loved about the Dark Caffe Verona is that it wasn’t very strong.  For a person that doesn’t drink coffee all that often, it was perfect for me.  I then broke out the cookies and tried it out:

I dipped the cookie right inside the coffee to get the full flavor.  The coffee soaked through the cookie making it for a very delectable bite.  I could really taste the flavors of the coffee with the cookie.

We’ll soon see what my SO (significant other) thinks of all this.

Together, him and I began to prepare the meal: Baked Potatoes, NY Style Steak, with asparagus on the side.  I prepared the baked potatoes as he prepared the steak (I don’t mess with his steak) and the asparagus.

After dinner we rested a bit and he broke out his guitar to play a few songs as we laughed together and enjoyed a bit of each others’ company.

I then got up to began to prepare the coffee:

My SO usually does buy the in home Starbucks Coffee brand to brew at home.  I, myself, usually prefer going to Starbucks and getting the specialty drinks made there.  He usually purchases the iced coffee varieties.

We first tried out the coffee on our own.  Taking in the flavors.  My SO said that he usually doesn’t like coffees with 2% milk added to them, however, he really enjoyed the Dark Caffe Verona because it wasn’t as strong, and he enjoyed the flavors blended in with the 2%.

My thoughts on the coffee were the fact that it wasn’t too strong.  It was a variety I could see myself enjoying once in awhile.

We then took a bite of our baked goods: The Turtle Brownie since the Chocolate Curl Cupcakes weren’t available: And then tried out the Coffee afterwards.  My SO’s response was this: well coffee always tastes better after a bakery treat.

And, for me, wow, I could really taste the difference, and from now, anytime I drink coffee, will be with a bakery item included.  The flavors were really brought out of the coffee, and the Dark Caffe Verona really does pair well with dark chocolate, and nut flavors.  The Turtle Brownie was a great #deliciouspairing for this.

This experience really opened my eyes up to the Starbuck brand of coffee, and how easy it is to prepare at home.  In the future I do see us purchasing the brand and trying it out with different bakery treats, except in the morning and not so late in the evening (the caffeine kept us up for awhile!)

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #cbias #SocialFabric