Starbucks updates ...

[RA40]

Now they have machines pre-programmed to dispense the slurry of water and some roasted bean. Starbucks had a nice thing but with growth it's now shifted and we don't think a quality taste experience is one of their goals.

There are still enough mom-pop shops where they roast their own beans and have the ability to grind and pack the coffee so that it tastes good when you drink it. Like dining...there are tasty places to experience outside the huge chain eateries.

 

[KC2IXE]

First off, quit bashing sbux,

Can I bash them for stealing the tips of the Baristas? They just got hit with a 100M fine on this

 

[nerdgineer]

Don't know jack about coffee and don't usually drink it at home. However I do drink it when on travel and I was AMAZED at the coffee I got in Rome. Every last piddly low end source of coffee was GREAT, way better than anything I'd gotten at Starbucks or any of the few other premium stores I'd been to in the US. The coffee pot at the free (modest) hotel breakfast counter was SO good. Any street vendor had it at least as good or better - and I don't think those guys had $1000 machines in their trailer carts. At the airport, I got a cup of a great coffee/chocolate drink for I think $1.50 US.

So while it's not a big deal to me - not being a regular drinker, it certainly seems to me that there's something the Italians (and maybe all Europeans) have there that we don't have here.

Maybe a good thing as otherwise I'd be drinking coffee more, and I have enough vices.

And I'm not going to talk about the ICE CREAM in Rome at all.....

 

[geepondy]

Higher energy costs must really put a dent in businesses like Starbucks. Not that I was ever a big Starbucks fan other then a few trips a year but places like those are the first thing I give up when the gas prices go up.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Don't know jack about coffee and don't usually drink it at home. However I do drink it when on travel and I was AMAZED at the coffee I got in Rome. Every last piddly low end source of coffee was GREAT, way better than anything I'd gotten at Starbucks or any of the few other premium stores I'd been to in the US. The coffee pot at the free (modest) hotel breakfast counter was SO good. Any street vendor had it at least as good or better - and I don't think those guys had $1000 machines in their trailer carts. At the airport, I got a cup of a great coffee/chocolate drink for I think $1.50 US.

Really! I hated the coffee in Italy, from almost every source. Not the espresso-style coffees, which of course were heaven and I drank whenever I could. But I found the standard brewed coffees were uniformly bitter and lacking balance. On the other hand, my wife is with you, she loved every pot from everywhere we went.

Maybe a good thing as otherwise I'd be drinking coffee more, and I have enough vices.

Ah, but now you open up the question of whether it's actually a vice! Different topic entirely though

 

[HighLight]

When I order from Starbucks here in Canada I just ask for their regular coffee and it too tastes like crap. Every time I taste it I say to myself "Whats suppose to be so great about this coffee?.it tastes like crap to me. YMMV

 

[Pellidon]

I like most of Starbuck's brewed coffees a couple are a bit too strong or dark or burnt or something. I don't do the fancy frappa-whatsits drinks so I can't comment on them. I did manage to hit my local SB when they were just starting to brew both the brewed coffees and rather than wait, they upgraded me to the coffee americano, three shots of espresso and 17 ounces of hot water (venti size) and it was charred compared to the brewed stuff.

I bought some espresso roast beans there and some Komodo Dragon also. The espresso roast was also charred but it mixes well with the KD to make a decent non burnt tasting espresso in my home unit. Which is cheap but doesn't perform too badly.

The people that make the Aerobie flying disks also make the Aeropress. A large syringe that you fill with coffee and in 20-30 seconds press out a very nice dollop of coffee somewhat like a french press but with normal ground coffee. The ultimate for a techno geek coffee freak?

 

[jinx626]

I usually buy the coffee from mom and pop shop like the one that sales it in the vietnamese bread shop. The type that mixed expresso with condense milk. They're bout $1.75-$2.25 a pop. Taste very good and strong too.

I only go to starbuck for the enviroment. Just buy a cup and sit there for 1-2 hrs and BS with friends.

 

[James S]

one doesn't go to starbucks for the coffee, but rather for the coffee CAKE...

As far as the coffee it's just not possible to deliver a food product in those quantities that is exceptional. I like a mocha or a latte once in a while, but they are more like a piece of candy than a daily expense.

I also started burning my own beans recently So I finally know what really good coffee tastes like! But for coffee consumed by the gigaton Starbucks is better than any other commodity brand can deliver.

 

[Fallingwater]

Yeah, yeah, rub it in... there are very few people in the States who know what good coffee is because a) it was made predominantly with percolators for at least a generation so that's what a large percentage of the population is used to, and that's possibly the worst way to make coffee, b) we're stupid and we believe advertising, c) as long as it has caffeine, we'll buy it.

Well, I for one don't particularly like coffee, and only drink it when I'm in need of caffeine to keep myself awake. So yeah, I'd probably drink old dishwashing water as long as it was caffeinated enough.
But claiming to like coffee without having ever drunk actual, real coffee made with a moka is completely nonsensical.

So while it's not a big deal to me - not being a regular drinker, it certainly seems to me that there's something the Italians (and maybe all Europeans) have there that we don't have here.

It's called taste for food. You haven't really eaten until you've eaten in Italy.

And I'm not going to talk about the ICE CREAM in Rome at all

Yeah, that's another thing we're famous for. Historically in Europe the Italians make the ice cream and the Germans eat it.

And let's not even talk about that pathetic excuse for pizza you Americans have at Pizza Hut.

 

[Wattnot]

And let's not even talk about that pathetic excuse for pizza you Americans have at Pizza Hut.

WHOA, WHOA, Do NOT judge our pizza by Pizza Hut !!! There's a reason they don't thrive in places with REAL GOOD pizza (like NYC and surrounding areas).

 

[fnmag]

 

[Fallingwater]

WHOA, WHOA, Do NOT judge our pizza by Pizza Hut !!! There's a reason they don't thrive in places with REAL GOOD pizza (like NYC and surrounding areas).

I was kidding, of course. I know not all american pizza is Pizza Hut.
Still, we ARE pizza. Resistance is fut... er, I mean, we fear no comparison.

 

[Wattnot]

Yes, I cannot WAIT to visit your country! We're talking about a trip out that way in 2011. I'm part Italian and so is my wife.

 

[greenstuffs]

In europe we usually use coffee mugs about a cup size made with nice porcelain and usually preheated. Having a $4.00 of so called premium coffee in a paper cup is not my idea of good coffee. But if you go China which Chinese people don't know jack about coffee thinks starbux coffee is good. Of course when you have never tried the real thing you will never know how a good coffee supposed to taste like. The only thing fancy about mixing coffee with icecream, ice, whipe cream and caramel is the name.

 

[TigerhawkT3]

My dad's pretty into coffee. I don't share that interest.

He got an Aeropress and he said it made decent coffee, but he quickly got tired of the effort it took. He now has a Saeco Aroma (it's black, and it has three rocker switches plus a pot, if that helps anyone) which I believe he likes. I don't know if it makes just coffee or espresso too or what. I once made coffee (I think) for him with it when he was really comfortable and didn't want to get up, and IIRC it was decent. That was the first time I had ever made coffee of any sort, so I guess the machine is pretty foolproof.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I was kidding, of course. I know not all american pizza is Pizza Hut.
Still, we ARE pizza. Resistance is fut... er, I mean, we fear no comparison.

Italy has the best ice cream, pasta, wine, cars, shoes, and coffee, but New York has the best pizza. Americans are used to more toppings than they would get on a a pie in Italy. I've heard lots of Americans say when they come back that the food was fantastic, but when asked about the pizza they say not so much.

 

[fnmag]

Italy has the best ice cream, pasta, wine, cars, shoes, and coffee, but New York has the best pizza. Americans are used to more toppings than they would get on a a pie in Italy. I've heard lots of Americans say when they come back that the food was fantastic, but when asked about the pizza they say not so much.

New York pizza is really great. In fact, it is the 2d best pizza in the US. The best pizza comes from Chicago. :twothumbs

 

[TedTheLed]

btw I think it was the Dunkin' D's coffee that outranked Starbucks coffee in ConsumerR(eports)s..

everyone used to roast their own coffee you know..a long time ago before industry took it over..you can get the finest green beans for far less per pound than the cheapest pre-roasted and ground..green beans are available fair traded, and organic too.

 

[Mike Painter]

Consumer Reports rating McDonalds coffee over Starbucks sort of blew their minds, I think. It hasn't done a lot for sales either, I don't suppose.

I have not seen that but remember the night several years ago I stopped in a small town on California 101 for coffee.
A few miles down the road I took a sip, pulled over and made sure it said McDonald's on the cup.
A friend who owned a few of the stores said they were experimenting in the 707 area code.
There is certainly no magic in a good cup of coffee (unless having a good friend prepare it counts.)