Starbucks coffee is an affront to all things good about coffee
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote:
Discuss.
You should have stayed in Australia.
Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Chris Maunder wrote:
Discuss.
You should have stayed in Australia.
Michael Martin Australia "I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible." - Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote:
Starbucks coffee is an affront to all things good about coffee
FTFY!
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Starbucks = Apple Overpriced and driven by fanboys
cheers,
Super
------------------------------------------ Too much of good is bad,mix some evil in it
I disagree. Apple (hardware) products are very, very well designed. Their phone works well as a phone. Their laptops work extremely well as laptops. Their music players shaped what we came to expect from a music player. Starbucks coffee isn't, as far as I can tell, actual coffee. It doesn't actually fulfil its basic purpose. I think people go for Apple because they like the design, the ecosystem, the simplicity (we can argue about this later) and the cache that comes with Apple products. I think people go for Starbucks because of laziness, ignorance, convenience, or because there's no other choice. There are also those who treat Starbucks as a caffeine delivery system: give me a bigun' and I'll plug 'er in and I'm good. Taste is not even part of the equation. This makes me sad.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Please send CARE package STOP Morale plummeting STOP Can't last much longer STOP
cheers Chris Maunder
So...that's Castlemaine, Bundy, Vegemite, and a box of killer spiders? :laugh:
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I disagree. Apple (hardware) products are very, very well designed. Their phone works well as a phone. Their laptops work extremely well as laptops. Their music players shaped what we came to expect from a music player. Starbucks coffee isn't, as far as I can tell, actual coffee. It doesn't actually fulfil its basic purpose. I think people go for Apple because they like the design, the ecosystem, the simplicity (we can argue about this later) and the cache that comes with Apple products. I think people go for Starbucks because of laziness, ignorance, convenience, or because there's no other choice. There are also those who treat Starbucks as a caffeine delivery system: give me a bigun' and I'll plug 'er in and I'm good. Taste is not even part of the equation. This makes me sad.
cheers Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote:
Taste is not even part of the equation.
Surprisingly, this is designed in. Starbucks use reverse osmosis filters to remove all minerals (and impurities) from the local water, to make it all the same. And that badly affects the taste of coffee: Secret to perfect cup of coffee lies in the quality of the water researchers say - Telegraph[^] If you want coffee to taste good, you need a water high in magnesium!
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
Last one closed in 2003 here... As today - after a hit of the 5 NIS coffee campaign - you can buy a very good coffee (according those drink that stuff) for about $1.3...How much Starbucks cost?
Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
What exactly do you not like about them? I like their coffee, but not the foo-foo drinks.
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
Wrong on every imaginable count. Coffee:* Most stores, at least in the US, are company stores. For that reason they discard and replace unsold coffee on schedule, not when it's all sold or too nasty. Usually, however, it's sold out first.
- Dark roasted - although those admittedly nasty light roasts were made available for those who used that as an excuse not to buy coffee there
- They use more coffee to make their coffee - never watery - and, much as some like the element of surprise, no mystery about the quality=reliably high
- I haven't bought a fancy mixed coffee beverage in years (that wasn't alcoholic) there or anyplace else.
Environment:* Each Starbucks is different - usually with real furniture - the one nearest me has a fireplace. - and their business model is to encourage people to linger over their coffee - making it easy to study, use laptops, etc., with free WiFi and electrical connections
- Their planned niche is to make their place one of your comfort places - and there's nothing wrong with that
Social Consciousness:* Part Time employees, a great many of them, earn vacation time, sick time, medical benefits, college tuition, etc., which is rare, indeed, in the US for a chain (especially q.v., Walmart, McDonalds, etc.) - They were trend-setter in their coffee sourcing, getting the money directly into the hands of the growers when possible - and now it seems everyone's doing it
- Even their 'card' program - I don't have one, but apparently the changes reflect customer requests. A customer is now 'fully credited' for buying multiple items in a transaction, rather than 'per visit'. This would not be to my advantage, but it's clearly fairer.
Now, they don't sh^t as sweetly as the whip-cream that tops many a beverage, and have made mistakes, but when it comes down to it, they're a reasonably socially responsible company. And they, at least in the US, are the ones who really popularized the concept of drinking real coffee instead of the traditional swill that used to pass for coffee. Uh-Oh! There goes my CP account!
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfecti
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
Same applies to McDonalds and Hamburgers. ...or Budweiser and beer. It's not meant to be/taste good, but to standardise. It's a brand; nothing more and nothing less.
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
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Discuss.
cheers Chris Maunder
What's to discuss. vote with your wallet, don't go there. When i have to have (rarely) coffee and there's nothing else in the area, than a SB, then I just get a simple expresso or a small latte.
I'd rather be phishing!
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Chris Maunder wrote:
Taste is not even part of the equation.
Surprisingly, this is designed in. Starbucks use reverse osmosis filters to remove all minerals (and impurities) from the local water, to make it all the same. And that badly affects the taste of coffee: Secret to perfect cup of coffee lies in the quality of the water researchers say - Telegraph[^] If you want coffee to taste good, you need a water high in magnesium!
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I'm giving you a flat look for sending me research published in a British newspaper about coffee. Britian and coffee is like Australia and drizzly days: we just can't quite get it right. I would put to the jury that the secret of a good cup of coffee is to start with good coffee
cheers Chris Maunder
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Last one closed in 2003 here... As today - after a hit of the 5 NIS coffee campaign - you can buy a very good coffee (according those drink that stuff) for about $1.3...How much Starbucks cost?
Skipper: We'll fix it. Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this? Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.
Cost of coffee varies, depending upon location (rent surely rolled in - cost of living, maybe). From what I've observed, the real cost of coffee, not 'a cup', but comparing true volume:volume is pretty much the same at Starbucks as elsewhere. That not taking into account that the amount of coffee per unit volume is so much higher at Starbucks than the 'bargain' coffee (Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, etc.). Compared to a local coffee shop in my 'town', at Starbucks, the cost is slightly lower, the beverage volume larger, and the service better (this last one can be untrue during local special events and beautiful summer beach weekends). Israel is heavily laden with coffee-production locations that produce real coffee - it would be hard, indeed, to compete. Everyplace seems to produce coffee on a per-cup basis. I was even looking for some on an Egged bus.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein
"As far as we know, our computer has never had an undetected error." - Weisert
"If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you are seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010
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What's to discuss. vote with your wallet, don't go there. When i have to have (rarely) coffee and there's nothing else in the area, than a SB, then I just get a simple expresso or a small latte.
I'd rather be phishing!
It was 5AM and I needed a coffee and he only option in this establishment was Starbucks. It's unconscionable. But yes: your strategy is sound. My mistake was that instead of grabbing a macchiato I went for a latte and it all went downhill from there. Michael Martin can attest to the dangers of a latte.
cheers Chris Maunder
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I'm giving you a flat look for sending me research published in a British newspaper about coffee. Britian and coffee is like Australia and drizzly days: we just can't quite get it right. I would put to the jury that the secret of a good cup of coffee is to start with good coffee
cheers Chris Maunder
Start with good coffee, and a good roast (and a barista who knows how to roast): Absolutely! But the water is critical as well. Too pure, and it's too inert to take up the coffee oils properly; too many minerals and it deforms or masks the actual flavour. Then there is the cleanliness of the equipment, the grind, the age, the packaging, ... it's delicate and complicated stuff, coffee. Just like wine really - one mistake and you have grape vinegar. Get it right...and you have Chateau d'Yquem 1787. :-D
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What exactly do you not like about them? I like their coffee, but not the foo-foo drinks.
In all seriousness, and with respect to the company as a whole (their branding, their social efforts, their consistency etc etc) I find the coffee weak and bitter. North America seems to have a fascination with coffee bean cremation. Even local cafes in Toronto often start out smooth, full bodied, and with an excellent aftertaste, and then soon enough the roast turns darker and more bitter until you're back to the norm: a coffee that has the subtlety burned out of it. The other issue is that they never seem to be able to get a decent microfosm going. Get it right and it makes the coffee smoother and sweeter. Instead they scorch the milk and break down the goodness. It really makes a huge difference. (Caveat here is I'm talking about espresso based drinks, not the coffee-through-a-wet-rag filter coffee. )
cheers Chris Maunder
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Start with good coffee, and a good roast (and a barista who knows how to roast): Absolutely! But the water is critical as well. Too pure, and it's too inert to take up the coffee oils properly; too many minerals and it deforms or masks the actual flavour. Then there is the cleanliness of the equipment, the grind, the age, the packaging, ... it's delicate and complicated stuff, coffee. Just like wine really - one mistake and you have grape vinegar. Get it right...and you have Chateau d'Yquem 1787. :-D
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I think some of the beans I had this morning were from 1787.
cheers Chris Maunder
