heartbeatocean said:

I've slowly started trickling back into Starbucks Started making my own coffee @ home months ago, then I got hooked on that 5 hour energy stuff (WORKS!) but now my body is getting used to that, so I'm having to rely on coffee again.

That's my long way of saying they may be evil but I don't care enough to stop going

I've always heard Peet's is better

CalhounSq said:

i know thats right...

i got to have my green tea frappuccino or passionfruit lemonade

Christopher said:

as long as that drunk guy isn't there asking for a mcchicken sandwich I'll still go there. Oh and theres a cute girl worked in mine for years who calls me Meester Jamie

jami0mckay said:

she fancys you!

Christopher said:

I'm in the middle of a coffee chain reaction

It's not evil at all; it's successful for a reason, that being because it is good. Consumers will choose quality of service, convenience and price over things. Those indie coffee shops were driven out of business because times have changed.

I don't love starbucks, but I hate people who get all "OH MY GOD SO EVIL IT'S CORPORATE" because usually SO IS THE FUCKING "UNDERGROUND" MUSIC SIGNED TO UNIVERSAL THAT YOU LISTEN TO.

jami0mckay said:

do you like iced coffee? i hate it

Christopher said:

nope, doesn't taste right

Illustrator said:

but I love the Cylons - they're not evil, just misunderstood!

Spookymuffin said:

that shit is tooo true!

jami0mckay said:

Meester Jamie, starbucks girl wont be pleased

Christopher said:

I might employ her as my org assistant

Christopher said:

Spookymuffin said:

to be truly underground these days you'd have to live under the freeway and smell like peter doherty under-arms

Christopher said:

No no no, the true underground music listener these days listens to volcanoes erupting. that shit is tight.

At least they have a decent cup of coffee. You can't say McDonalds has a decent hamburger.

But they may still be evil.

Spookymuffin said:

i like *live* at jurassic park....just sayin'

Christopher said:

Of course, Starbucks isn't evil. Frankly, I don't buy into the notion of blood-sucking corporations, at all. They all start as local concerns -- it's because they fill a need that they go national and international. Why hate them for their success? Don't most people want to be successful (if not rich)?

If you want to get right down to it, coffee drinking could be considered evil, in and of itself. I mean...think about the fossil fuels that are used to ship that particular commodity around the world. Every cup you drink contributes to the destruction of the planet. Shame on you!

There are a couple independent coffee shops near me that I patronize occasionally. One actually uses great dairy from a local farm, so I'd like to buy from them more often. But their service is spectacularly slow, so unless I have 15 minutes to burn while they make my latte, I don't go there. And the coffee at the other place isn't nearly as strong as I like it, so that's a strike against them.

Lately, I've contemplated buying one of these



so I can make a latte at home with the milk I like.

Don't they offer health insurance for even their part-time employees? That's not so evil.

Ok, Starbucks. I don't think they're evil.

The good:

- These days, they provide a fair amount of support to fair-trade/organic farming.
- They are basically decent to their employees.
- Their coffee is some of the best available in 95+% of the places you'll ever be.

The bad:

- They put indie shops out of business, aggressively, which basically destroys the ART of coffee.
- They SHOULD be exclusively fair-trade, and preferably organic as well. They aren't.
- Their coffee could be much, much better. Their espresso prep is totally artless, their syrups are low-quality, a lot of their beans are over-roasted, and most of their offerings are more about sugar than coffee.


Somebody in the Seattle weekly alternative paper commented recently that all of us coffee snobs here look down our noses at Starbucks and wouldn't dream of going into one, until we leave the city limits, at which point we'll walk a mile to find one. That's about right.


If you've got Peets in your area, they are better than *$. . . at least, the Seattle one is. They use real espresso machines, and Monin syrups, which are what you want if you drink flavored stuff (DaVinci and Torino are crap). I don't know how they do on the trade front, but I would guess that they are more responsible. . .they take a fair amount of pride in their beans.

I say it is not evil, as I sit here and type...sipping my venti iced coffee americano...and feel like this:

Anxiety said:

i like the picture

i never go to any coffee shop faithfully, as I usually dont drink coffee.
But once in a while i do go and i find it amusing that even in small towns that people actually hang out at a starbucks. especially i see people in there 40's andd overjust hanging out. wtf?
and once in a while i see wanna be 'hipsters'

I mean really, wouldnt it be fun to hang out in an indie coffe shop
than some mac donalds?

And did starbucks drive the price of coffee up? You cant go anywhere without being charged 3 dollars are more.

And for such snobby clients that starbucks seems to have , none of them must have good taste or taste buds for that matter. What I understand the quality of thier coffee is the THEE WORST. Cheap.

Also thier carmel flavoring and thier whip cream taste like grease. I dunno why. But it just taste like its filler grease with a little flavoring in it.

HereToRockYourWorld said:

Impressive. I might print this and carry it around in my wallet.

ZombieKitten said:

YES!

I never drink the stuff.

I think in some ways they've helped the little coffee houses.

Before Starbucks I never saw places that charged $5.00 for a coffee, and now I see them everywhere.

I don't doubt that they're brutal competition, but I find the hardcore coffee drinkers to be aware and supportive of Mom & Pop shops, anyway. Not to mention that they'll get coffee wherever they can, be it Starbucks or some independent place.

I don't think there's any brand loyalty, except the junkies who drink the tar at Peets.

sextonseven said:

I'd much rather have hot chocolate.

Lammastide said:

Here's the mega-coffee-snob wallet edition:



These standards should be met or exceeded:

- Synesso or LaMarcozzo machine
- barista can tell you the origin of the espresso in the grinder
- beans are fair-trade and/or organic
- Monin (and Ghiradelli or Scharfenberger chocolate) syrups

If three of four conditions aren't met, just turn around and leave.

Starbucks has evolved from being a small obscure cafe in Seattle into a massive worldwide brand. Plus, it's the reason why many cafe owners decided to move their ass and improve their shops (including the ones that ripped off Starbucks's menu & decor)

can't wait for their annual winter sweetheart that is Toffee Nut