Starbucks -the coffee for people who hate coffee

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nash031 .... It's funny that some are panning Starbucks for being coffee for those who don't like coffee, but Keurigs and other flavored coffees ...

Not funny IMO, the topic was Starbucks, not coffee, or flavored coffees in general.

But if it makes you feel better, yes, all 'flavored coffees' make me gag. I hate the concept. Coffee, water. Period.

I'll make one exception - I stopped by our local cheap Mexican restaurant for a breakfast burrito one morning, and their breakfast coffee is flavored with a just a very delicate amount of cinnamon. That was a nice touch - so subtle I had to ask if it was flavored. And not some artificial sweetened cinnamon-spice-like-food-product-derivative. Real tree bark, no sugar.

-ERD50

[nash031]

Understood, but the thread is actually titled "Starbucks - the coffee for people who hate coffee", which is precisely what I think "flavored" coffee is, hence I thought the Keurig comment might be germane. Sorry for straying so drastically far off topic.

[ChrisC]

I drink a lot of Starbucks coffee, brewed at home or at Starbucks stores. At home, I touch my brew up with tree bark cinnamon I picked up from the Virgin Islands or ground cinnamon. Typically, I'll pick up a 2.5lb bag from Costco's. I agree with Nash031, Starbucks beats any other mass marketed coffee.

I just came back from France and Spain. The Starbuck's product there appears to be even more inferior to the Pike's blend here in the States and was priced fairly high in Paris. Most consumers there were buying the flavored drinks, not plain coffee or expresso.

I love Starbucks, especially since we purchased the stock many years ago and after 4 or 5 stock splits, Starbucks has made us very happy investors. We also have a collection of Starbucks coffee mugs we purchased at clearance for $15 that are worth a lot of dough now. Starbucks collectibles rock in my opinion.

Can't understand all the hating, but I laugh to the bank.

[brewer12345]

I used to have a standing monthly order for Green Mountain coffee shipped to my house. Very good coffee, in general. But then I ordered bags of beans. I think the Keurig machines make tasteless, crappy coffee even out of good stuff.

Now I just roast my own.

[FUEGO]

I love starbucks because I can rent a seat for a few hours to hang out with somebody or use their internet (if traveling) and it only costs a cup of coffee. I'm still using a free starbucks gift card I got years ago, and I also get free birthday coffee for some reason.

The coffee tastes okay.

[Lancelot]

The Hill Tribes of Northern Thailand grow some decent coffee. I used to stop by Khun Noy's coffee kiosk in Chiang Mai; $0.80 for a robust cup.

[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FUEGO I love starbucks because I can rent a seat for a few hours to hang out with somebody or use their internet (if traveling) and it only costs a cup of coffee. I'm still using a free starbucks gift card I got years ago, and I also get free birthday coffee for some reason. The coffee tastes okay.

I liked having the card in my wallet (I only buy Starbucks as a dessert treat when traveling and want the free wi-fi. Very useful place to kill a few hours. Lost the card (it 'a somewhere in the house) but can pay with my smart phone. One less card to carry. I have tried but I hate black coffee, any kind.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[athena53]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nash031 I'll say this: I'd pick a cup of Starbucks standard Pike's Place black or with half and half (no sugar or syrupy crap) over McDonald's or other fast food chain, any gas station or convenience store, any coffee break room...<snip> It's funny that some are panning Starbucks for being coffee for those who don't like coffee, but Keurigs and other flavored coffees (Millstone at the grocery store) go unmentioned. I'd take a home-ground and pressed cup of Starbucks over any Keurig I've ever had any day, and I use a Keurig occasionally in the office.

In my last job, the women I worked with all had Keurig coffee makers and bought K-cups in weird flavors like chocolate raspberry. I like chocolate, I like raspberries, I like coffee- but don't mix them all together! In a previous employer, they had Keurig in the break rooms, including packets in several flavors. I agree with the coworker who said that after awhile the flavors tasted the same. It's also a very expensive way to buy coffee (even on sale), and creates a lot of waste (a packet gets thrown out every time you make a cup).

And to get back to the OT- I do have a Starbucks card, I like paying with my phone, and I drink it black, maybe with a little cinnamon. I've tried their coffee with just the flavored syrup and it's too darn sweet- even when I ask them to use a half-portion. I avoid the coffee with cream/caramel/chocolate, etc. concoctions completely. They're nutritional disasters.

[HFWR]

I buy coffee at Costco: Kirkland Colombian in a can for w*rkday use, and whole beans for grinding on the weekends. I make it fairly strong, then add a touch of heavy cream.

I have a Keurig, a Christmas gift, that I use for one-off. Seems okay to me.

Generally only visit a Starbucks for a mocha or latte to drink while wondering around the Barnes and Nobles next door. Have not been impressed with their regular coffee...

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR I buy coffee at Costco: Kirkland Colombian in a can for w*rkday use, and whole beans for grinding on the weekends. I make it fairly strong, then add a touch of heavy cream. Generally only visit a Starbucks for a mocha or latte to drink while wondering around the Barnes and Nobles next door. Have not been impressed with their regular coffee...

Heavy cream makes every coffee better...

I don't visit the S'bux stores much, but I am occasionally drawn to the half-syrup PSL this time of year, no whip.

[Bestwifeever]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I used to have a standing monthly order for Green Mountain coffee shipped to my house. Very good coffee, in general. But then I ordered bags of beans. I think the Keurig machines make tasteless, crappy coffee even out of good stuff. Now I just roast my own.

Funny. When I hear Green Mountain, I think of Keurig.

[hakuna matata]

My daily standard. Grande Americano with nothing added. Bliss. I get this on the way home from the gym each morning. Learn to drink it black, that way you ALWAYS get it the way you want. They might not have your sugar or sugar substitute, or cream or half/half...but black. Now that is some good coffee. I don't care for the brewed coffee at Starbucks but the Americano is pretty good in my opinion.

[CaliforniaMan]

Back when Starbucks first started I remember thinking they were crazy. Nobody would pay 5 times what coffee was going for, and all the silly speak for sizes, drinks, etc. people would just laugh at, who would go for that? Well apparently plenty. Learned later from in interview with one of the founders that their silly speak was designed from the start to make people (who learned their lingo) to feel part of an exclusive club. Apparently it worked very very well. Sometimes I just like to listen to the orders members of the club give to what after the 80s we learned to call a barista. Don't ever ask me for investment advice (if anyone would anyway) I thought the first version of Windows was silly too and told people not to invest in Microsoft. What is the moral of this story? I still don't know.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMan Back when Starbucks first started I remember thinking they were crazy. Nobody would pay 5 times what coffee was going for, and all the silly speak for sizes, drinks, etc. people would just laugh at, who would go for that?

People make fun of Starbucks habits like they cost a ton of money. The regular coffees at Sbucks aren't that expensive. I think the medium or small or whatever I usually order is $2. That would be a buck at most gas stations, and $1.50 or $2 at most coffee places or other restaurants.

[rodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliforniaMan Back when Starbucks first started I remember thinking they were crazy. Nobody would pay 5 times what coffee was going for, and all the silly speak for sizes, drinks, etc. people would just laugh at, who would go for that? Well apparently plenty. Learned later from in interview with one of the founders that their silly speak was designed from the start to make people (who learned their lingo) to feel part of an exclusive club. Apparently it worked very very well. Sometimes I just like to listen to the orders members of the club give to what after the 80s we learned to call a barista. Don't ever ask me for investment advice (if anyone would anyway) I thought the first version of Windows was silly too and told people not to invest in Microsoft. What is the moral of this story? I still don't know.

The first lecture of my Italian class the teacher asked if anyone knew any Italian... Then proved they did because they new the sizes of Starbucks coffees.
Grande, venti (20 oz) etc.

That lingo is spreading Italian through America. LOL.

[RetiredAndFree]

Funny, I think I go to Starbucks more for the ambiance these days than the coffee. We switched to Trader Joe's French Roast when we FIRE'd a few years back, $4.99 for 13 oz container vs. $12.00 for 16 oz Starbucks bag, and I find Starbucks now tastes burnt as a result.

Our most frequent reason for visiting these days in when we are on a long RV trip and desperate for good WiFi. We'll bring in our insulated mugs, order a Trenta Iced Coffee ($3.45 for 32 oz), split it between the two mugs, and settle in for an hour or so of 'free' internet.

And I do consistently appreciate their terrific employee attitudes. Always a pleasant interaction.

[FUEGO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodi The first lecture of my Italian class the teacher asked if anyone knew any Italian... Then proved they did because they new the sizes of Starbucks coffees. Grande, venti (20 oz) etc. That lingo is spreading Italian through America. LOL.

Espresso, cappuccino, latte macchiato. I'ma speakin de Italiano!

[braumeister]

The range of reactions here is remarkable. So I'll add mine.

First, I like Starbucks (I carry a Starbucks card with automatic reloading, but I generally use the app on my phone).

Second, my standard order when I go there (mostly while traveling) is a grande dark roast. Just plain coffee. Then I go over and add some half & half and a packet of Splenda and a dash of cinnamon. Just that. I used to occasionally get a mocha as a special treat, but I quit that when I saw how many carbs were in it (more than my normal day's total).

Third, when I came back from several years living in Brazil (world's best coffee IMHO), I searched high and low for something drinkable here, and finally settled on Starbucks Caffe Verona as about the best of the lot. That is still my regular morning coffee, made simply in a drip machine.

Fourth, I am constantly amused at DW, who loves her flavored Keurig cup in the morning (must be flavored!) and always gets a latte (never anything else) when we stop at a Starbucks.

[MichaelB]

Braumeister, you're sure right about Brazilian coffee. Even the Nescafe instant was better than much of the brewed coffee I've had elsewhere. The local stuff in Bogota is also pretty tasty. Nothing beats freshly roasted.

I just spent the weekend in Kent Island, sharing a house rental with other family. We splurged on some ground coffee - Marley Jamaica Blue Mountain. It was amazing - I have to try some more.

Starbucks is the only non-independent coffeehouse I've been to that makes espresso well. Around here they are usually full of people doing job interviews or real estate sales, so not the best place to sit and enjoy a cup, but still a reliable option.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB We splurged on some ground coffee - Marley Jamaica Blue Mountain. It was amazing - I have to try some more.

You're about the third person who has recommended Blue Mountain to me. Thanks for the reminder; I must give it a try.