Woman combats fancy travel envy with her 'gas station affogato' and people feel seen
“Not the travel tip I asked for, but it is the travel tip I needed."
You'll never look at gas station coffee the same way again.
Get ready to feast your eyes on a budget-friendly treat that “blends a high-brow treat with the realities of an American road trip.”
In a now-viral video, Samantha Brown, host of the PBS show Places to Love, recently debuted what she called a “gas station affogato.”
Rather than a scoop of vanilla ice cream drowning in fresh espresso, Brown opens the lid of her gas station coffee, then dips an ice cream sandwich in it.
“Ya make the affogato in your mouth," quips Brown, just before demonstrating. All while using the air pump machine as a table, no less.
@samanthabrowntravels My gift to the world. A dessert that blends a high brown treat with the realities of an American road trip. And yes I did put that lid back on the coffee. Deal with it. #roadtripsurvival #travel #roadsnacks ♬ Bella Italia (Instrumental) - Jack Johns
Brown also argues that this is an incredibly easy way to feel “fancy” and maybe even combat a little travel envy if “you’re seeing everyone in Italy, Positano, the Amalfi Coast,” or [insert the exotic locale you’re longing for here].
This folksy, frugal summer snack has quickly gained a lot of love online from viewers who hailed her "the people's princess” for sharing the tip.
“Road trip across Ohio and Pennsylvania coming up,” one person wrote. “I need to try that!! And dream of the Amalfi Coast.”
“Not the travel tip I asked for, but it is the travel tip I needed,” said another.
Still a third joked that Brown “coulda frothed your milk with the air station there.”
Another person shared, “as someone who’s crushed I couldn’t go to Italy this summer, this is priceless.”
Proving necessity really is the mother of invention, Brown shared with Today that the idea came about a decade ago when a coffee ice cream craving hit while she herself was on a road trip. Well, it wasn’t so much a craving as it was needing something to soothe not only being “tired, hot” and in the presence of her 12-year-old twins who weren’t having the best time in that moment.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Brown recalled, and she quickly decided to put the two simple things together to create something that truly satisfied…all for a couple of bucks. She’s been indulging in gas station affogatos ever since.
If you’re looking to enjoy your own gas station affogato, Brown has a few tips. For starts, do black coffee. “Dark roast, if they have it,” says Brown, then there’s the “key” ingredient—the ice cream sandwich. If you’re currently being tempted to swap it out for a “Klondike bar or a Chipwich,” Brown advises against it. Then again, you do you.
We all might be a little more budget conscious these days, meaning that those once-grand summer travel plans have been whittled down to quaint staycations. But having to be frugal often encourages us to be creative in how we explore—or in this case, consume—the world most immediately around us. In the process, we might find life is fun virtually no matter where you are be it the Amalfi coast, or at a gas station.
Find even more fun travel tips on Brown's TikTok.