Starbucks Coffee is Good Enough
I know that I speak for many millions of Europeans when I express the hope that Starbucks will never make any profit in Europe and leave us alone. We see its intrusion into the heart of our culture not as a contribution that enriches it, but as a crude expression of marketing prowess that can only impoverish numerous small café operators.
Oh gosh, I love reading letters to the editors (hint: write me letters!), and this letter to the New York Times in response to this article about Starbucks, could basically come from Brooklyn, or Portland, or some other place where the young and hip live and prefer to get their coffee from their local cafés.
But I don’t mind Starbucks so much! I think their coffee is fine. There is a Starbucks next to the Awl offices, and that is where I grab a coffee before I start my morning blogging. There is actually a Stumptown located x blocks from the office, but I am too lazy to walk there! Stumptown coffee is good, but — a bit pricey? At my old job, I was going to an office where there was free coffee brewing in a pot next to the refrigerator that no one used to store their homemade lunches, because everyone just ate out all the time (the refrigerator mostly contained free soda and beers for everyone because startups like to provide perks like that). And now I’m spending $50 a month on coffee! That’s $50 I wasn’t spending before, which means there will have to be changes. To be continued…
I met a guy once whose job is opening new Dunkin Donuts, and I jokingly asked him if he considered Starbucks to be his nemesis, and he said, “Oh, no, we love Starbucks. When a Starbucks comes to town, it teaches people that it’s OK to pay $4 for a cup of coffee.”
@jfruh More evidence for that theory: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/hey_wait_a_minute/2007/12/dont_fear_starbucks.html
Starbucks coffee tastes really bad to me, but their tall decaf soy Carmel Macchiato’s led me to spend my $35 a month coffee shop budget in approximately 2 weeks.
@Lauren@twitter That’s because they always burn it.
@Megan Patterson@facebook Charbucks
I completely broke my Starbucks habit a year and a half ago, for reasons both financial and health-related (caffeine gives me headaches, because I am backwards.)
BE PROUD OF ME.
@cherrispryte I am proud of you! I want this for me!
I don’t really care what it tastes like but I think that the criticism that chain stores are supplanting small businesses, everywhere around the world, is legitimate and not just the province of hipsters with too much time on their hands.
@Ellie Totally legitimate! And I would make more of an effort to go to the smaller businesses if I wasn’t trying to give up my coffee buying. And some credit for Starbucks for being one of the better chains: They give part-time employees full health benefits.
@Mike Dang Think about all the bug parts that are probably in it http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1153353–starbucks-bugs-vegan-with-frappuccino-dye-made-from-ground-up-insects
@Ellie No, it’s not really legitimate. It’s called capitalism. You sell what the people want. If they can get it cheaper/better/easier or 1 0f the 3 or some combo of the 3, then they will go to the chain over the indie store.
And let’s not kid ourselves. Alot of indie stores have outrageous prices and have employees with bad attitudes.
I got the Starbucks card because when you pay using the card, they do not charge you extra for soy, and my preferred Starbucks drink is a double-tall soy latte (don’t judge me). You also get every sixteenth drink free. It’s worth letting them take a few bucks from you in advance of your purchase.
If you drink drip coffee, which Starbucks does badly, perhaps get yourself a little French press you can keep at the office? Or is there nowhere to even refrigerate milk? WHAT SORT OF MONSTER ARE YOU, CHOIRE SICHA?
@Mishaps Yes, I know me some coffee snobs, and that is what they do: bring their fancy beans to the office with a french press to make it in.