Only in America could a business like Starbucks

take off. Most of their coffee is burnt. Nasty vile and burnt. Now they have blonde for those who do not like burnt coffee. Blonde has no discernible coffee flavor at all. They now make two coffees, one tasteless and one burnt and they are the most successful coffee chain ever.

I see our little Canadian (or is she British) anti-U.S. troll is quite busy this morning. Hi troll! How's the weather up there today?
I don't think Starbucks is that bad but I like strong coffee. The blonde roast is undrinkable however.
What about OVERPRICED!!!!!!
I love strong coffee, I hate burnt coffee.
Starbucks is successful because they really perfected the have it your way concept that Burger King bombed with. The result is every waste of oxygen soccer mom comes in to order her half soy half skim half decaf sugar free latte with a half pump of caramel, two pumps vanilla. If those stale bitches every made anything like that at home I will eat my fucking computer.
It should be noted that Starbucks is a huge success around the world. I was in a city in Japan when the first Starbucks opened there and the lines were around the block. Same for the Paris Starbucks. Go figure. A city with great cafes on every corner, and the Starbucks is thronged with young Parisians. They loved the fact you could add your own milk, however much you wanted and get the proportion exactly how you pleased. Every country in the world has its chains btw. A popular chain selling products that aren't universally admired is hardly an American innovation. Starbucks coffee does pretty much suck, but it doesn't suck as mightily as your "only in America" stab at worldly sophistication. Tired!
The vast majority of the company's revenue comes from sweet drinks such as Frappuccinos. The quality of the roast makes not one bit of difference, as there's so much flavoring and sugar to cover it up. My workplace has two coffeehouses: a Starbucks and a Java City. I prefer Starbucks because of the existence of the short cup size, not on the menu but available for the asking. A short latte with a double shot of espresso is far cheaper than a tall (or a small at any other coffeehouse), with less milk and the same caffeine punch. The smallest size at Java City is twice as expensive.
It's vile. It astonishes me how it has become so successful. The only coffee of theirs i can drink is the christmas gingerbread latte, and that is only because it is so sweet it makes up for lack of any actual coffee taste. Cafe Nero far superior in my humble opinion, if you need to go to a chain.
I realize I'm probably rare, but I have never bought a cup of coffee in a Starbucks store. I did taste Starbucks coffee one time and a friend's beach house. She buys their coffee by the bag at the grocery. Couldn't see what all the fuss is about. Seemed kind of "French roast-y" to me. Whatever. No way I will pay $4 for damn cup of coffee.
Retired%20at%2051
It's a phenomenon.
New Starbucks Opens in Rest Room of Existing Starbucks
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-starbucks-opens-in-rest-room-of-existing-starb%2C560/
Oh r5! MY SIDES!!!
Half%20soy%2C%20half%20skim%2C%20half%20decaf%20...haha
Blonde roast is for watered down tastes. The Sumatra and Casi Cielo roasts are divine. You just have to find the one that you like. [quote]What about OVERPRICED!!!!!! There are inexpensive options if you know how to order them.
They're only overpriced if you a loser who makes minimum wage. Those with REAL careers don't have issues with it. But most of you 'mos are so busy spending money on antiretrovirals and living on welfare and food stamps that you can't get past what things actually cost. Cause Poz Face Obama will get them for you for free, while the rest of us pay for, not only Starbucks but for your health care, food stamps and Section 8 housing. The OP probably thinks Mrs Olsen's Folgers is good coffee.
Anyone who defends Starbucks has no discernible taste whatsoever. The shit they pour is fucking nasty. Dunkin Donuts has better coffee and that ain't saying much. I'll take Bustelo anytime of the day over that overpriced rotgut crap.
Did that R14 shit just happen or am I having a fucking stroke?
I can't believe my eyes to see something so vile as r14 on a gay board. Is this some kind of humor that goes completely over my head? Seriously, who or what posts something like that?
I know, r16! It's the daily rant by Rush Limbaugh! Closet cases are truly hateful.
I LOATHE coffee... gross
Starbucks over-roasts the beans, mixing in poor quality beans, to give it a uniform (ie, burnt) flavor. Americans have been bamboozled into thinking "good" or "real" coffee should taste like this. It's undrinkable swill. Dunkin' Donuts makes better-tasting coffee, but coffee snobs won't go near the place. If I'm desperate for caffiene, I'll go to the corner Makesbucks and get the latte things cuz they mask the awfulness of the coffee.
I am fine with my K-cup of Donut House. I will go to Starbucks with other people and I never know how or what to order. Their normal coffee indeed tastes burned, though not in a completely unpleasant way. The blonde stuff is VILE. Still, the lighter the roast, the higher the caffeine content.
I never go to Starbucks in NYC because it takes 10 minutes or more to get, a cup of coffee. First the lines then the snail pace preparation.
Don't knock Starbucks! That's how I get my three glasses of milk every day. I sneak into three different Starbucks when they're crowded and have a glass of skim. I find that it's the only item at Starbucks that's a real value.
Yes but also in American has thousands of independent coffee shops come abut in it's wake. Shops that make very very GOOD coffee. I live in Kansas, in my city we have 3 or 4 Really GOOD small coffee shops that train their baristas to know how to do espresso RIGHT. Some have regular tastings for people to learn about the product and different types of beans, most offer fair trade if people want that... etc. There are others not-so-good but passable shops that are local chains. This prevalence of the coffee culture is due in part to Starbucks introducing the vocabulary of espresso and cappuccinos, etc. to the masses. Albeit- a corrupted version of the concept. So, in response to OP's complaint about Starbuck's crap coffee- which I do not disagree with at all— I will answer this: "Only in America" can people who have a middle-class income be inspired by a crappy chain to start their own shop and make it better, on a local scale and make a good business out of it. They may not be a large corporate chain but they can make a good product and people will buy it.
I happen to be reading this thread while in line at Starbucks. A cup of house blend drip coffee costs $1.65/1.95/2.25, depending on the size. Blonde roast starts at $2.15. The idée fixe that Starbucks is "overpriced" is bizarre.
Its overpriced if you want it to be.
The actual coffee/cup and labor cost is about .11, so yes they are overpriced.
The idiot that said young parisians flock to starbucks in France is delusional. Starbucks in Paris, or Madrid and Barcelona which are the cities I know in Europe, are bursting with AMERICAN tourists.
A cup of drip coffee at home costs about .15. A k-cup might cost as much as .50. 2.15 is a lot. Not stupid but a lot.
I prefer Caribou. I love it. it is rich and satisfying and delicious.
"rich and satisfying" Oh, my sides. You are a marketer's dream sheep!
I always order a double short soy vanilla latte. The baristas who know me as a regular ring up a kids cocoa for $1.25 and ignore the charge for the extra shot, the syrup and the soy. Score! It pays to be nice to baristas. I wish they offered almond milk.
The price of coffee is only going up people. Gloabal warming is making the crops worldwide less productive.
It does seem strange that a coffee company can't make a decent cup of coffee.
Parisians, as well as the people in the rest of French speaking Europe, have pretty shit taste in coffee. Their ideal of great coffee is something that comes out of a Nespresso machine so I wouldn't be surprised if Starbucks takes off there. A lot of their drinks are these weird concoctions that are tailored specifically for the North American market: milky, sugary drinks in which coffee is merely an afterthought ingredient.
[quote] the lighter the roast, the higher the caffeine content. Really?
I always assumed Starbucks must have been really good coffee when it started out, in Seattle or wherever it was, and that the lacklustre coffee on offer here in their Asian outlets was the result of the concept getting watered down. My real gripe, though, is not the uninspiring coffee, but the milk! The whole world must be waddling around a half-stone heavier than it would have been if Starbucks hadn't been invented.
There is no Starbucks in Italy. Their stuff is crap. And I prefer to drink coffee out of a proper cup, so that alone rules out Starbucks for me.
That's true, R36
Only in America? Have you never heard of Tim Horton's OP? or Wimpy's?
The best Starbucks coffee is the Organic Yukon Blend. If only that were their house blend. [quote] And I prefer to drink coffee out of a proper cup, so that alone rules out Starbucks for me. You can request porcelain at Starbucks. You don't have to get a paper cup if your order's not to go.
R9, there coffee isn't actually $4 a cup. Only the lattes/cappuccino/etc. are. I like Starbuck's coffee better than Tim Horton's or Caribou.
I wish America was like Italy, where there's "bars" on every corner that you can just pop into and get an espresso for less than one USD.
caffeine addict
[quote] I like Starbuck's coffee better than Tim Horton's or Caribou. True. But there's a low bar to jump over. I think I'd prefer to have a dog fart in my mouth than have a cup of Tim Horton's coffee.
R43, a shot of espresso at Starbucks is 75 cents.
What r5 said -- Starbuck's charges for the sense of importance it imparts on nobodies who suddenly feel like somebodies when they recite their special order. And then spend twenty minutes making people wait behind them at the condiment bar to perfect their creation.
[quote]My real gripe, though, is not the uninspiring coffee, but the milk! The whole world must be waddling around a half-stone heavier than it would have been if Starbucks hadn't been invented. Soy milk is a popular option, which just means that most of us are walking around with moobs.
People don't go to Starbuckss for coffee; as pointed out above, they go for the whole personalized "have it your way" thing, which makes them feel special and unique. They go for the experience, which validates their feelings of entitlement.
I get an espresso doppio* every morning, $1.25. Most of that cost is for the labor, the convenience of having someone make it for me while I'm not at home. I'm happy to pay it and don't think it "overpriced" at all. *or doppio espresso; whichever way I say it, I'm corrected by the barista.
Tim Hortons is disgusting. McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts has better coffee than "Timmy's".
I haven't set food in a Starbucks in ten years.
r45, no it's not, not in NYC anyway. I think it might be 75 cents to add an extra shot to a latte, but I get a double espresso every day, and it's either $2.40 or $2.70. A single shot is I think $1.40.
R43
[quote]A cup of drip coffee at home costs about .15. A k-cup might cost as much as .50 Have it home, then. Just about anywhere you go to have coffee outside your house will cost $1+
R52, a doppio is $1.25 in flyover country, thank goodness.
R49
Someone mentioned McDonald's and I have to say that their plain brewed coffee is better than Starbucks. That said, unless someone here knows different, I'd assume it's made from a concentrate.
Mr. Peepers: Gimme a shot of espresso!
Vienna Roast at double the price.
[quote] I realize I'm probably rare, but I have never bought a cup of coffee in a Starbucks store. I've never bought coffee there but I have bought mocha frappacino on a blistering hot summer day. I dont consider that to be coffee. It's more of a sugary flavored ice chip mix. I've bought some kind of vanilla drink for my son. In winter, I used to stop in and get a Tazo Awake tea and a cranberry bar. Now that I'm not in the city, I never go there. In summer, when it's horribly hot, I get a frappacino-type drink from McDonald's. It's much colder than the Starbucks drink. It's so cold it hurts your chest. It's great when the temp is above 90.
[quote]The vast majority of the company's revenue comes from sweet drinks such as Frappuccinos. Another example of utter bullshit presented as fact on DL. You tired old queens are so fucking delusional and so fucking gullible.
R59 Back it up. do you know differently?
Their espresso drinks are decent. Better than some independent cafes, worse than the best.
I don't care for hot coffee but like iced coffee drinks. Happily there are a lot of ways to get iced coffee without going to Starbucks. International Delight has iced coffee by the carton, now in most grocery chains, near the milk department. Hills Bros. has Cappuccino powder to mix with cold water or milk. Other powders by Caffe D'Vita and Folgers. Coffee syrup by Eclipse is in many food stores on the shelf with chocolate syrup.
R62, everything you listed is disgusting.
And when did you have an opportunity to try each of them in order to reach that conclusion, r63? Did you sit there with your drooping moobs as you tasted each one?
Oh my sides!
The Oh-My-Sides Troll
Eldergay thread.
r66 = eldergay thinking she passes for a 20-something. Re-adjust your cap, dear
Is there anyone other than you who finds your post the least bit amusing, R66? It's unoriginal and inapposite.
[quote] If those stale bitches every made anything like that at home I will eat my fucking computer. Huh? Of course they don't make it at home. That's the point.
What kind of person gets this prissy over coffee selection? It's just coffee. Drink it or don't.
Thanks DL. Now I know that I'm not the only one that thinks Starbucks is overrated. Give me McDonald's coffee anytime, the senior size over ice, and let me add my own sugar and cream. Actually Starbucks offers a comfy place to use your laptop for travelers, or to meet for business or pleasure and avoid the bar scene. That's why some don't mind the inflated prices.
[quote]Now I know that I'm not the only one that thinks Starbucks is overrated. So brave!
Starbucks coffee isn't great, but it's much better than Tim Horton's, which tastes like dishwater.
r71, I'm with you. I like the coffee at McDonalds over Starbucks, but I like the munchies at Starbucks (omg their choco chip cookies are to D-I-E for, and the maple walnut scones are delish on a winter morning). Too many times, whenever I go to a SBucks, the layout of the store is just horrible. There are the all day campers with all their work shit spread out, a few raggedy college nerds killing a few hours between classes, always a couple of Asians asking how much everything is, and the obvious business meeting / job interview taking place. And Dunkin Donuts coffee used to be good, but they switched to lower quality beans and it tastes like burnt shit now. Honey Dew for the win!
[quote]always a couple of Asians asking how much everything is Really?
Or I get behind a high maintenance nightmare insisting on very special things, gag. I want a small coffee please.
No one has mentioned the terrible stale sandwiches and bad snacks? The Starbucks at Antwerp Central Station (one of the most beautiful train stations in Europe) is actually quite a nice place to hang out while waiting to board the train. It's huge. Other than that, I would only go in suburban areas where there was really no better alternative. In cities, there is ALWAYS something better. It seems that for many Americans, "cafe" is synonymous with "Starbucks."
When Starbucks first appeared in Paris, it did in fact become very popular among young Parisians (NOT just tourists)--not because of the coffee, but because all Starbucks cafes were non-smoking, at a time when people could smoke absolutely anywhere in Paris, and because they had comfortable, upholstered chairs, unlike the uncomfortable cafe chairs you're stuck with everywhere else.
Here where I live (Portland), I routinely pay $2.00 for a cup of coffee, but it's extremely good coffee, well made at independent coffee shops, and makes everything else (including Starbucks) taste like swill. I suppose it's overpriced, but I'm willing to pay for something decent.
My point, R69, being that these bat shit crazy soccer moms think the world is owed to them on a silver platter and these poor baristas have nothing better to do than make their half soy, half skim no foam mocha with 1 pump regular chocolate, 2 pumps sugar free, 1 splenda and 1.6725 tablespoons whip cream with a half swirl chocolate syrup and half swirl caramel when those same lazy bitches have a maid to clean the house, a nanny for the kids and can barely be arsed to lift a finger to dial in delivery for dinner all while whining their kids are fat and their husband is fucking the secretary. I would at least respect them if they did anything remotely that complex for themselves at home.
Look into your anger issues, R80
They're really in the business of artificial flavors, not coffee, aren't they.
R81, no thank you. They all have names and I'm quite fond of them. I'm the most pleasant mother fucker you'll ever know.
R80
I love he Strawberry smoothies and Chai Tea Lattes. It's not just about coffee. The coffee cake is great too.
R80 needs to change his tampon.
No thanks R85, I like my tampons like I like my tacos - crunchy and full of protein.
I like Starbucks but they are so overpriced. God it's awful. Anyone here live in an area where they have Caribou? I like them too.
I very rarely buy coffee drinks, and at this chain, I only buy pastries, never coffee.
R80 nailed it actually.
What a bunch of snobs. I have lived in NY and LA and have frequented many Starbucks and small coffee places for espresso. Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, etc. I can't tell the difference. Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle can be a little more varied, but the Starbucks is very good. And the Clover machine stuff is very interesting. Maybe I just have a bad palette for coffee?
Starbucks bombed in Australia, which oddly has an entirely different coffee culture to the UK, where Starbucks was a smash hit. Here in the US I do stop for there every morning for a cup. I can't stand anything other than black coffee or espresso, so a cup is $2.09, which I consider a reasonable expense to keep me awake at work.
Their blonde roast is the only coffee I would ever buy at Starbucks & it does have taste OP
r62, r63,r64, I have tried those products. I find all of them far too sweet. In general, anything of that sort usually is too sweet. I like to make my own mochachokalakkayaya drinks-either hot or frozen- at home.
[quote]What a bunch of snobs. I have lived in NY and LA and have frequented many Starbucks and small coffee places for espresso. Intelligentsia, Blue Bottle, etc. I can't tell the difference. The you do not have much of a palate.
The coffee at McDonalds is actually pretty good. I find the frozen coffee concoctions too sweet, and not available in decaf. The bakery treats at Starbucks are, IMO, have too much of a fast food, prepackaged quality to them. Then too, I was raised on homebaked goodies by a mother and grandmother who baked most things from scratch, so I'm very biased here. It isn't just cities that have independent coffee shops. Now, even our town has 4 coffee places PLUS a Starbucks PLUS the local supermarket added a coffee bar/lounge. The coffee served there is actually much better than Starbucks. The coffee at the indie places can vary. One place has wonderful ambience, but consistently lousy brew and snacks. The others are simply superb beyond belief with wonderful ambience. They also leave patrons alone and let you sit there, soaking up the music, art, coffee and conversation as long as you wish. No nasty signs to limit your stay to so many minutes.
Important: Want great service and extras? ALWAYS make sure the barrista sees you tip well in that tip jar. Leave a big tip. They earn it. Be very nice to them, too! DON'T be like the demanding soccer moms or the pretentious jerks who think they are something great by ordering a coffee beverage in FrenchItalianish.
Oh great, R96! Then your cup of coffee costs even more! Forget it.
r97 never worked in food service. Yes, for that once in awhile treat, I don't mind leaving a very well earned tip. Sometimes it even gets me a free cookie, extra whipped cream,extras they aren't supposed to give out, and no...um...yuckies in the brew left by pissed off employees. With what the barristas at most places have to put up with, they more than earn a tip. Besides, if you can afford several bucks for a cup of Joe, then you can afford some type of tip.
premium coffee drinks coming to a Burger King near you
R99, Hope they're not too sweet. Could someone tell McDonald's to get a less sweet (lo cal) version of their cocoa and frozen drinks, for adults?
I will say that Starbucks deserves some credit: They have insured unmarried partners of their employees since the 80s, gay or straight. And they do pay a bit better than most food service jobs. I did some time working for the Siren. Hate the coffee, but I worked 22 hours a week and had health insurance for both myself and my boyfriend while we were finishing college. R39 is absolutely correct. Espresso also does not have more caffeine than an equal amount of coffee, it simply has a more intense flavor. Adding a shot of espresso to a regular cup of coffee is a waste of money, unless you really like the flavor.
R98, if you can "afford" an expensive espresso drink, it doesn't necessarily follow that you can afford a tip. It might be someone's once a week or once a month splurge and a tip would put it over their budget. That statement makes absolutely no sense.
I agree with R101 in the sense that Starbucks is actually a fairly good company when it comes to how they treat their employees and social causes they support. I will only drink a double espresso there if I have no better options around but I have to admit that their baristas have the patience of Job. I once asked one of them what the most ridiculous request from a customer was and she told me that someone insisted that they don't use a Sharpee to write the order on the cup.
It's the only coffee option in the commuter station when I'm between the two lines it takes to get to work. The coffee is average but I like to be able to sit down for about ten minutes and take a break - and Starbucks is the only choice.
I always call the sizes small, medium and large. It's my little rebellion.
[quote]Anyone who defends Starbucks has no discernible taste whatsoever. The shit they pour is fucking nasty. Completely agree. In Sydney there are a zillion coffee shops with much better coffee prepared by trained baristas. Even my remote rural town has cafes with better coffee. Yes, Sydney has Starbucks too, but only for those with no taste. My first experience of Starbucks coffee was 10 years ago in NYC. They other coffee I had at the time was even worse. Aside from Australia, Italy, New Zealand and Israel it is hard to find good coffee in my experience. Maybe that is why Starbucks has managed to flourish the world over.
[quote]The coffee at McDonalds is actually pretty good. In my experience McDonalds coffee is much better than Starbucks coffee but I wouldn't describe it as good. Good enough if you're desperate though.
I don't like any coffee that comes in a paper cup. I'd rather make it at home. I like Intelligentsia, but before coffee became a hipster affectation, I liked Starbucks, which I started drinking at the Pike Place store when I lived nearby. It was a simple place with burlap bags of coffee beans in barrels, none of this skinny wip halfcaf bullshit.
For environmental reasons R108 ? Not sure why it would matter otherwise.
r102, if someone can't afford at least SOMETHING as a tip, then that person shouldn't be in a place as expensive as Starbucks.In fact, they should just stay home and drink whatever swill they are used to drinking. You sound like a cheap B#$@*&D, and not a smart one, either.
It doesn't taste the same, R109. Plus I don't like using those sippy-cup lids. They burn my upper lip.
R108
R101 Yes and NO...you see they have a minimum number of hours required to get that insurance and the manager (who does get it) is instructed to keep 98% of his employees at below those hours so they never qualify for benefit. They are good on paper, in the real world fairly scummy.
Wow--a Starbucks is burnt & overpriced thread. Welcome back, 2002.
Not a cheap bastard, just a sympathetic one, R110. Sounds like you might need to cut back on the caffeine.
R114 here - just realized that R110 is a Starbucks barista.
No, r115, not a barrista. Esp. not at Starbucks. That place is not my cup of tea....I mean coffee.
As mentioned earlier, Starbucks is a big hit in the UK as well. And yet ... the company has never payed corporate tax in England. (I wonder what they pay in the US.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9717647/Starbucks-first-to-cave-in-over-tax-row.html
[quote] The result is every waste of oxygen soccer mom comes in to order her half soy half skim half decaf sugar free latte with a half pump of caramel, two pumps vanilla. If those stale bitches every made anything like that at home I will eat my fucking computer. But, R5, isn't ordering something you wouldn't/couldn't make at home part of the point of going out?
Dunkin' Donuts coffee is much better and they consistently win blind taste test against Starbucks.
I'm not sure why everybody is getting angry over the Starbucks. You could always just go to the Coffee Bean instead. No big whoop.
There's barely any coffee in Dunkin coffee. Otherwise, why would it turn white when the littlest bit of milk is added? It's water with a tiny bit of coffee. RIPOFF.
New York has a Starbucks on every damn corner but we also have a lot of great independent coffee shops as well. Every neighborhood has at least one indie coffee shop if you search them out. The problem with the smaller operations is that sometimes their workers aren't as quick and efficient. But spending an extra minute in line is worth it to a lot of coffee lovers.
R118. I was brought up to never ask someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. It is the peak of poor manners.
If everyone who hated Starbucks actually stayed away from Starbucks perhaps they would go out of business.
I cannot figure out why Jennifer Garner goes to Starbucks for coffee almost every single day in California. Can she not make coffee at home? I'm sure she does it for something to do, to break up her day at home, to get out into society, to have a task, to entertain herself. She spends so much money at Starbucks. I realize she can well afford it, but it's such a waste of money. Plus it is rather inane. Radaronline.com and the Daily Mail both show photos of her all the time getting coffee.
40 shots of espresso in one drink?
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/21278664/starbucks-most-expensive-drink-has-40-shots-of-espresso%23axzz2LSPUuj6W
McDonalds is putting them out of business. You can request extra caramel and whipped cream and customize your order. I always throw them a tip and when they get to know you, treat you really well. For a fraction of the cost of DD and SB.