I was wondering how everyone felt about starbucks coffee?

All things being fair, $B was my first experience in the specialty coffee world. And I bet that 99% of the readers/posters here would have to admit to the same thing. HB is right, they brought it to the masses and the bad part of that is they are now "the default" when people think of coffee or a coffee shop. In my endevours to write a business plan for a shop I polled several local people about how they would react to a locally owned coffee shop in the small town and most automatically came back with "You mean like Starbucks style?"

Anyway, I think the coffee is burnt and stale. It just has a burnt taste to me. However, out of all of their coffees I do like their Ethiopian Sidamo and Kenyans when comparing them to other $B coffees..

missbexx wrote:I was wondering how everyone felt about starbucks coffee?

To be fair and to repeat what was already mentioned, I believe you have to qualify whether you're pondering their beverages or their company marketing history. For entrepenuers, their company story is fascinating and deserves respect. As for their products....that's another story.

I always ask non-coffee people........"If you had a friend from Europe come visit, and they asked you to take them to get a real American Hamburger.....?", would you head off to a McDonald's or a Hamburger Hamlet; maybe even an In-n-Out, (popular here in the Southern California market and spreading)?

Dan was being very generous in finding a use for their dark-oily roast. Although, if I want to cut through milk to produce at least the scent of coffee......I'd probably be better off just mixing in some Folger's Crystals!? )

Best, Al

Starbucks is a great training tool. It introduces one to the concept of specialty coffee. And slowly one grows, learns, makes there own good coffee, and discovers the few great shops around - maybe the next state over, and then you quit going to starbucks except for emergencies in airports - although I choose brewed dunkin doghnuts in the desparate situation.

Mark

Another slant here. Agreed, their stuff is less than fresh and their marketing strategy impressive. But pondering at some length my personal reaction to the phenomenon of the place, I realize that for me Starbucks is useful as a focus for personal snobbery. The corner Starbucks is where the hoi polloi of coffee-drinkers congregate. The product is robot-produced, has predictable flavor that begs to be anesthetized with special and costly additives. Set one o' those Venti puppies down on a formica-clad table, park your hinie in semi-comfort, in one of the array of trendy chairs. And proceed to enjoy the next sensory level of successful marketeers: you have heard such on the radio, seen it in publications, been dazzled by it on television... now you know how it tastes. Heh. I'm probably the only one on this forum who thinks this, but I kinda enjoy looking down on those quiet masses huddled over their stylish concoctions, engaged in earnest conversation with other patrons. Communication with fellow-humans, in any context, is commendable, it's true. Even if the libation is somewhat fraudulent. So am I being hostile? Proud? Condescending? Narrow? Um, yeah, yes, uh-huh, and yep.

And am I thoroughly ashamed of myself?

C'mon, admit it.

Well?

We're waiting.

Hah.. Seems to be a lot of similar opinions here; no surprise.
I think Starbucks has simply become part of the morning routine for millions of Americans. You know you've heard it: "So I went to get my Starbucks this morning...". It makes me cringe a little bit every time. It's obvious that they became the de facto coffee shop, despite the fact that there are many independent coffee houses of much higher quality all over the map. American culture in my opinion has become overly concerned with brand names and brand loyalty over the decades. Look at the automotive industry for example. It took the Japanese and German and Korean cars a very long time to penetrate the American market. But that's a discussion for another thread entirely...

Anyway, the fact that the flavor is perhaps not optimal in comparison to other local options is not priority number one. It's a nationally recognized name, it's everywhere, it's convenient, and people just need their caffeine. While a lot of us here on HB drink our coffee for the flavor, I'd guess that the majority of Americans drink it mainly for the buzz. Combine that with national recognition, and there you have it. It's definitely a cultural thing. I'm almost sure that there are no European countries with similar national chains of everyday commodities, but I'd like someone to prove me wrong.

If you view Starbucks as a specialty coffee shop, well, they're not. I view them more as an extension of the ever-expanding American fast food industry. There are two reasons why I'd go to a Starbucks. If I'm with some friends, or if I want to meet and chat for a bit or whatever, the mermaid is a pretty great place to do so simply because of its convenient locations. Everybody and their grandmother knows where the local mermaid is. Secondly, if I'm in a tight spot, simply put, bad coffee is better than no coffee. And I hate to say it, but unless I've heard otherwise, the typical mom 'n pop coffee shop is a crapshoot, and could very well be sub-Starbucks. More often than not, I'm not in the mood to take the chance. Like them or not, the green mermaid has definitely raised the bar.

My FIRST experience with Starbucks was in '75, back when there was only one! I purchased whole bean coffee and had them grind it so I could take it back to my hotel room in Bremerton, WA and get SOME KIND of "decent' coffee. Back then it wasn't too bad (was MUCH better than I could find in most restaurants in the area at the time! Nowadays, too dark, too old, etc (just as many have mentioned above). Before they went the superauto way, you COULD get something that wasn't TOOOO bad (sometimes!). Since they went to the superautos, well.... took them 4 years to get the temp OK (most of the time). Even when out of town and in a hurry I pretty much avoided them for espresso as the shots were almost ALWAYS sour (not as bad as I've gotten from some Caribou Coffee shops tho. SOME of them you could use to tan leather!). Recently they've at least gotten the sour pretty much cleared up, but still a harsh drink (mellowed by milk, but still harsh).

oofnik wrote:I'm almost sure that there are no European countries with similar national chains of everyday commodities, but I'd like someone to prove me wrong.

... ILLY ?

jon