Not long after Starbucks first came to Chicago, I became mildly addicted. It was strong, flavorful coffee of a sort that most restaurants never imagined their guests would enjoy.
However.
Over time I started sampling good coffee at other coffee houses as they sprouted around the landscape here in the land of Lincoln, drinkin' and fraud. And what I noticed almost immediately was that the coffee from Starbucks was strong in a not-very-coffee-like way. So now, when I want a good cup of coffee away from home, I do not automatically head for the nearest green and white sign.
This morning I came across a marvelous little blog post at The Atlantic on the subject of Starbucks and wanted to share it with you. It's by Megan McArdle, who's fast becoming one of my favorite bloggers. Money quote (her suggestion for improvement): "...tell the whoever runs the flamethrower they use on their coffee beans
to throttle back on the oxygen and leave some actual flavor in the
roast. Otherwise it's just too easy for potential customers to
economize by dissolving a charcoal briquette in eight ounces of
industrial solvent."
McArdle on Starbucks
How about you? What's your opinion of Starbucks coffee?
lioneljay posted on Apr 18, 2008
| views: 532
Comments
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uniquely-ironic said on Apr 18, 2008....
It's better than what I brew at home. I like Peet's a little more. -
secretlife said on Apr 18, 2008....
we don't have one anywhere close enough for me to become addicted to it.
when i went into the old office, there was one around the block, and every afternoon we had a guy who'd make a SB run........
After a few months, he decided to just buy their coffee and brew it himself. It was cheaper......and more convenient.
We always looked forward to the coffee ...
In my neighborhood there's a Duncan Donute......actually 2. When I have coffee out, that's where i go. I love their iced coffees in the summertime....
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lioneljay said on Apr 18, 2008....
UI, I used to buy the SB coffee at the grocery store to make at home but now I go for a mid-level brand (whatever's on sale in that range) and pay a tad more than half of what SB charges for their stuff. And it's always more flavorful coffee to my taste.
SL, I grew up on Dunkin' Donuts coffee as that's all we had in Maine aside from the usual Mom and Pop restaurants (we got no franchise places like Mickey D's until I went to grad school and had left home). It's even better now and since they offer such effete things as lattés, what's not to like, right?
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kelly said on Apr 18, 2008....
Definitely Peet's. :-) I don't know if it's just me but it seemed like a long time ago Starbucks coffee got quite a bit weaker and more watery. Now I'm a die hard Peet's fan. -
lioneljay said on Apr 18, 2008....
Sounds like I need to look for some Peet's and give it a try. -
Eilan said on Apr 18, 2008....
I have never been to Starbucks. In fact, I'd probably have to travel 90 minutes in any direction to find one. -
Zayda said on Apr 18, 2008....
I prefer our locally owned coffee shop to any chain be it Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, or Tim Horton's. Of the chain's, my preferences are Tim Horton's (which is more than just coffee), Dunkin' Donuts and then Starbucks.
However, we have no Dunkin' Donuts in the town I live in while we do have 3 Starbucks. And the Duncan Donuts in the town I work in are all out of my way, so much so that given gas prices it's not worth going out of my way for a Dunkin' Donuts coffee.
And the coffee place on campus is a Starbucks, so that's my only option, other than machine coffee, which is just beyond gross. And I have to admit that I do rather like Starbucks Green Tea Lattes and Iced Green Tea Lattes. -
lioneljay said on Apr 18, 2008....
Eilan, there are times when I wish that the nearest Charbucks was 90 minutes away from here as well. A little peace and quiet could be good for my soul.
Z: Green tea latté? You have got to be kidding me! Please say it ain't so, z, say it ain't so. -
Lucytorial said on Apr 18, 2008....
We don't get either here, I just stopped by to say;
Where the heck have you been boy! god missed you round here.....
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mobil said on Apr 18, 2008....
I drink only coffee from Sardinia, these beans are picked by hand and only women over eighty years of age are allowed to pick. The deepest chocolate black beans from anywhere in the world. These elder woman hand the beans over to the younger village females each of them above sixteen years of age.They wipe a da beans on there little juice makers, giving them texture and additional flavorsome bud taste. This production method is slow and these beans expensive. Sardinians are the longest lived people in the World, only 148 customers do the Sardinian's allow and I've been fortunate enough to be one of them. I grind my beans with a Melvin 6000 stainless steel grinder then I put them thru a Climatic French Coffee Press. No one can match the flavor, the aroma. I tell you LJ, one cup of this and you are my bitch. -
Zayda said on Apr 18, 2008....
Yes, LJ, green tea latte. I also like their Honey Latte. -
hotaka said on Apr 18, 2008....
Coffee? Never order it anywhere. I go to Starbuck's for the Java Chip Frapaccino and maybe one of the less expensive sweets. But I loved the flamethrower quote. -
dyingman said on Apr 19, 2008....
I mix their grind a little less than half and half with a hazelnut coffee.
The folks at work rave.
Shhhhhhhhhhh.
Don't tell anyone.
Their coffee is nasty....
Their hot chocolate is nasty....
...and all of it unfathomably expensive.
The only reason to buy their arrogant exploits of mediocrity is to get wireless for the hour or two you need it.
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lioneljay said on Apr 19, 2008....
Mobil, you spin a good yarn but I lost the thread of your thinking halfway through the paragraph. ;)
Z, I'll never be able to vote for you for the Coffee Drinkers Hall of Fame. I'm so sorry.
Hotaka, sometime I'll have to tell the story about a friend who found a unique use for bottled Frappaccino. :D
Dyingman, just this morning I told my wife that we might not be able to survive retirement together if I have to smell her froo-froo French hazelnut Swiss creme raspberry "coffee" every morning. She suggested separate coffeemakers whilst I opined that maybe separate retirement mates was the answer. She was not amused. I do, however, agree entirely with your last paragraph. However, all the SB stores around me charge for their wi-fi so I go to Panera instead. Is free wi-fi a new thing chez Charbucks?
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Zayda said on Apr 19, 2008....
Green Tea Latte....mmmmm....good -
lioneljay said on Apr 19, 2008....
Z, I wonder why I picture you in a schoolgirl uniform as you say those words ever so tauntingly, as if to beg for a spanking. :D -
sweetsoul said on Apr 20, 2008....
I don't drink coffee so can't add my vote but thanks for the lol about the Frappaccino bottle. Every time I see one, I think of him.
Good to see you posting again LJ.
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lioneljay said on Apr 20, 2008....
Hey there, SS. Glad I could bring you a chuckle. As I recall, you're a tea person. Have you ever ventured into the green tea with milk territory? -
Lucytorial said on Apr 21, 2008....
Okay so I am invisible... fine, I just popped in to say hello now I'm going and I will just hang my head sniffling and holding back my tears....
Green tea with milk is as nice as peppermint tea with milk. but thats okay you don't care anyway..
boy oh boy I'm sad.... ;-(
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lioneljay said on Apr 21, 2008....
Lucy, I'm so sorry. I skipped over your comment without commenting and I have absolutely no excuse.
How about if I give you a few well-placed spanks for the crime of being invisible?
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hotaka said on Apr 21, 2008....
Whenever you have time, let me read it. -
Lucytorial said on Apr 22, 2008....
okay.... *grumble grumble*
Good to see you back again hon!
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lioneljay said on Apr 22, 2008....
Lucy, I'll remember this agreement. You never know when I might find an excuse to visit down under.
Hotaka: this friend used to use his left over Frappacino bottles for a private form of self-amusement. And as far as anyone knows, his palms didn't turn hairy and he didn't go blind.
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Zayda said on Apr 22, 2008....
LJ: Because that's the way your imagination works. ;) -
Zayda said on Apr 22, 2008....
FWIW, this morning I am enjoying iced hazelnut flavored coffee made in my own kitchen. :D -
lioneljay said on Apr 22, 2008....
[/shiver] -
one_wired_kitty said on Mar 17, 2009....
I LOVE starbucks caramel frapps :D
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