Starbucks: Evil corporate whore or Mmmmm... delicious?

All right. I really enjoy going to Starbucks and getting these chai tea & cream frappuccinos, they are really yummy. I know they are an evil corporation, but I can't help myself. My girlfriend is completely hooked on Starbucks, she too knows they are evil, but she claims that you really can not get a consistently good cup of coffee anywhere but Starbucks. Looking around at the Starbucks that we frequent I noticed that most of the people there weren't even drinking coffee. They were drinking these franken-coffee creations with whipped cream, caramel and nutmeg powder shaken all over them. Then I noticed that some of these people were ten year olds. I just sat back, shook my head and was in awe at the marketing genius behind this. Starbucks is a coffee house that has essentially gotten people in their doors who a.) don't drink coffee and b.) are too young to be a part of the traditional coffee culture. I hate coffee. But I have been going to Starbucks for the past five years. I am going to try to make the Chai tea frappuccinos at home and wean myself off of Starbucks. Wish me luck.

:evilgrin:

I stopped going there because I was spending $4.50 on a Venti non-fat Pumpkin Spice latte about every two or three days and it was going to nickel and dime me to death.

i love the pumkin spice latte.

I'm the one who turned you on to the pumpkin spice lattes to start with.

After Christmas, do NOT, I repeat NOT, go into Starbucks in January for the toffee nut latte. :)

But here's the thing. Order a tall. A double tall if a single shot o' coffee isn't enough. Double tall non-fat pumpkin spice latte. Well, maybe a grande if it's Saturday. No ventis!

I wish the pumpkin spice would last through the holidays. The gingerbread lattes aren't as good. Although.....Borders Cafe makes a mean gingerbread latte....

but I have broken myself of it in the name of keeping as many dollars as I can out of georgie's economy. And it's real easy: every time I think about making any unnecessary purchases, I think of how much I hate bush.

Works every time!

Try this on for size: If you work 20 hours a week for three months at Starbucks you are eligible for medical benefits! Do you know how many people that helps.

The Chairman of Starbucks put this policy in place by choice. He's not competing with all the other coffee mega companies for employees. He remembers when his father went without health insurance with a full time job.

Ease up on Starbucks.

BTW, they do seem to treat their employees well and they have some nice personnel safeguards in place to make sure there is as little discrimination of all types as possible.

I'm trying to avoid companies that give heavily to the GOP. My suspicion is that Starbucks leans left but I'd like clarification on that.

I do like Starbucks. Let's hope I don't have to practice "responsible consumerism" on them!

The feedback I get is great. I suspect that they are either 50-50 or lean DEM. They do try to respond to 3rd world exploitation by doing 'fair trade' coffee which means they observe certain labor standards. I have no problem with them and I'm hypervigilant about avoiding repuke leaning companies. How Republican can they be with their health care benefits?

Plus, they provide doubl-dose in-house coffee which I think accounts for their popularity.

met someone that works there and they say the working conditions are pretty good..trying to find an Indy coffee place is hard now. i wish they would have a coffee only line so you don't have to waite 10 hours when they make mooky macky fru fru frothy hen bane latte slurpy low fat elk milk de-caf espresso enima iced zingers for 30 republicans ahead of you in line.

Republicans supply their own coldness / ice :-)

First off, crappy, overroasted coffee. I don't care how much cream, sugar or other masking agents you add, it just doesn't cover that burnt flavor. And secondly, they overcharge for their goods from what I've seen. I can't say that I can comment on any of their other business practices, but those two factors alone will keep me from darkening their doorstep for the forseeable future.

Instead of going to Starbucks, why not try their local competition. Probably better coffee at better prices. The burg where I live has several coffee shops, none of them Starbucks, and I somehow doubt with that kind of competition Starbuck's won't be moving in soon. I think that in many areas such as this, our country would be better off if we bought local, but that's just me.

We do try to go indy coffee houses, but when we are on the road(a lot) Starbucks is a place that we know we can go to.

Yes, their coffee is WAY over roasted so it can cut through 20 ounces of milk. Blech. If you ever try a straight shot of their espresso it ain't so special.

I would recommend supporting your LOCAL COFFEE ROASTER!!

OK, I am a coffee roaster so I have a vested interest. But still- even when we get folks from out of state ordering our coffee we recommend they look for a local roaster. Buying local rocks.

even though in Seattle that CAN mean Charfucks. Not in my house.

I don't care how good the coffee is, it's not worth $5 a cup. Even worse is their other stuff - $3 for a crumbly, stale, dried out scone? I would much rather go to Panera or someplace like that.

based in Texas. They kinda fool folks with their franchise names... in our area it is "St. Louis Bread Company", so people think it is a local company. NOT!

http://www.panerabread.com/about_co.aspx

Where is Panera Bread headquartered?
6710 Clayton Road
Richmond Heights, MO 63117
Tel: (314) 633-7100
Fax: (314) 633-7200

I get me a Chai latte every morning.

I am trying to work there for THAT alone!

They make positively putrid coffee.

...Caribou. There is no Caribou Coffee here in the vast expanse that is the West.

I love many of Starbucks specialty latte creations, and although I don't drink it anymore because it's just too too fattening, their white chocolate mocha is great. However, I can't drink just a cup of brewed coffee from Starbucks because it is, as has been said, bitter and overroasted. I like to drink brewed coffee black, and that's impossible for me with Starbucks.

Whenever we go home to MN, my husband and I load up on several pounds of Caribou to brew ourselves.

I realize that 'bucks is a big corporate monster, but I'm addicted to soy lattes. Anyway, at least they put on the appearance of being a fairly progessive corporation, ala Borders.

P.S. - I think Peat's (in the Bay area) is the best of the coffee joints, in the U.S. anyway. Friends from Italy and France were pretty bitterly disappointed, however.

than small, medium or large.

Is the association with yuppies? DD is imitating Starbucks with the same market penetration; i.e. putting a damn store on every corner, yet nobody rants against them. They sell delicious coffee, and it's less expensive than Starbucks, but guess what--they don't pay as well or offer benefits. How about Subway, which screws its franchisees by allowing other stores to open up virtually next door? Not tony enough to hate?

I don't understand the Dunkin' Donuts thing at all. There used to be a Dunkin' Donuts by me about 15 years ago, and it sucked big time. Needless to say, it's not there anymore, nor is there a single other Dunkin' Donuts anywhere around here (although, strangely enough, they were everywhere when I was living in Greece). I guess the idea is that they have good coffee, right?

Locally owned bakeries almost always have donuts that are much better, and taste fresher. Their coffee isn't too bad, though. I miss my Supreme Donuts. There are only two stores, in Flint, Michigan, and I go to one every time I visit family. We don't seem to have Donkin Donuts where I live now, and only one Krispy Kreme, which is weird because I live in the South.

but only because I can't afford to buy more mochas there. ;)

They recently opened three Starbucks in my city last year (we finally made the leap into the 1990's), and people seem to be pretty happy about it.

I'd rather worry more about what Wal-Mart and McDonald's are doing to this country than Starbucks.

Evil Corporate Whores that Sell Battery Acid in the Guise of Coffee?

>Evil Corporate Whores that Sell Battery Acid in the Guise of Coffee?<

How about Evil Corporate Whores Who Help Their Employees Pay For Health Insurance and College Tuition?

I'll keep spending my measly pocket money with folks that actually go out of their way to make a nice situation for their employees. Howard Schultz may be a lot of things, but he is progressive enough to pay people well, and ensure that they can follow their aspirations by getting them through school and making sure that they have health coverage.

Julie

Less Evil than Halliburton Corporation that Sells Battery Acid in the Guise of Coffee? ;=)

I guess I'm not making my point.

The posters here complain about "evil corporations" that don't care for their employees. It's your choice to not drink Starbucks. It's my choice to support a corporation that has gone out of its way to be a great and caring employer.

"less evil than Halliburton"? Comparing a company that exhibits progressive values to one that has raped and pillaged our national treasury?

Julie

I was joking. I just despise their coffee.

My choice as well!

yes, their coffee is expensive. yes, many people dislike it. yes, they are good to their employees. yes, they can put local places out of business. on the other hand, a decade ago, most of the coffee in this country simply sucked. Diners, for the most part, have bad coffee. stands have, for the most part, bad coffee. You thinki that in 1993 you could get an espresso in Toledo? maybe at an italian retaurant, but not on the street. Starbucks raise the bar, across the country, for decent coffee. Local roasters make more moeny because *$s created the market. This, if nothing else, should bring Portland and Seattle to honor (the portland chain, Coffee People and *$s split the market, *$s worked out, CP didn't, nationally.) There are more local coffee shops in the country because of Starbucks, not instead of it.

They might be corp whores too but I felt better getting coffee there when I was in Rome.

http://www.caffeladro.com/

They're a good treat.

I rarely to to starbucks, even though I live right next to one. I go there maybe once or twice a year.

I thought I read somewhere that they did...

Starbucks just doesn't taste all that good. Plus the Starbucks I've seen or visited always seemed kind of dirty--tables covered with spilled sugar and coffee rings, etc. I wish Caribou was a bigger chain.

I knew I couldn't be the only Caribou fan here.

Born in Minneapolis in the 90s...the best coffee on the planet.

But when there's one out in the red hell county where I work a couple days a week and it is a welcome oasis.

they are self centered egotistical assclowns with no thought for anyone but themselves, IMO. They stole a piece of Seattle Parks property, and the biatch got up and cried about having their yard wrecked to give it back, and they got to keep it:grr:. My only consolation is theier house was next door to Cobain's, and they've had to put up with the weird little goth/grunge pilgrims visiting the now abbreviated park.

She also wanted the city to cut down trees the Olmstead Brothers planted, because it 'blocked her view' of the lake :grr: fucker.

So a couple years ago, they bought a historical mansion on Lake Washington and tore it down to build their 'dream home' I haven't been down there for a while, but building has dragged on and on and on...

He's wrecked the Sonics.

I piss on Starbucks. Good luck on your plan to wean yourself and maybe you can find a nice little locally owned small business that serves you up a good chai.

I really don't like people that cut down trees, indiscriminately or otherwise and I am a big fan of the Olmsted families work, (Prospect Park, Central Park, etc.) Please tell me they didn't cut the trees down, those are historical treasures.

this excellent wacky guy whose knowledge is-well he's a smart tree guy. Qualified as an expert witness. She pointed those trees out to him and said "I want those gone. Take them out." He said "I can't do that. They are healthy trees and they are on city property. We can't cut them down." "Well, we'll see about THAT!" she spewed. :grr: The arborist fired her after that exchange.

The entitlement factor makes me wanna slap her! I would love to tell her how unattractive she makes herself, and how people revile her.
I think no, the trees were not cut. but in the same neighbourhood a FEDERAL JUDGE ordered his crew of landscapers to cut Olmstead legacy trees down, then lied about it :grr:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/157182_trees19.html?searchpagefrom=3&searchdiff=302

so I don't go there a lot, but I do like Starbucks. I'm from the Seattle area, so I think of them as a local business that has had a lot of success, rather than as a huge scary corporation. I know a lot of people who work there, and have thought about working there myself---it seems like they treat their employees very well. I've never had their drip coffee, but I like their mochas, etc. They offer their leftover coffee grounds to gardeners. I don't think that they put independent coffee houses out of business, just other chain stores.

Why would you not think that? One of the things they have done is move into an area where a small mom and pop stand is running. Look at Eastlake. We had the cart in front of the stop and rob, the cart in front of the 14 Carrot, and the guy next to Bandeleone, and Louisa's. Then Charfuck's planted its large ass in the parking lot of the stop and rob and POOF! the cart a few steps awy disappeared. Now they'll suck customers from John, Louisa's and the 14 Carrot.

Why do they do this? Because the market has been proven in the area. Louisa's and the 14 Carrot will not suffer so badly because they are restaurants, but John's place is a coffee house and they will take walk up customers from everyone.

they're conniving assholes.

but it is still a 15 minute drive, so when I feel like getting some over priced coffee, I'll drive an extra 5 minutes and hit up one of the nice little coffee houses in Princeton. My friends and I hang out in them all the time, the ambiance is so much better.

But with that said, I have nothing personally against Starbucks but they aren't really convenient for me to go to.

Mom and Pop store, and they do it all..latte, capucino, chai (OMG chai milkshakes are the best) tea out the wazoo

I think Starbucks coffee is bitter bitter bitter

It just irritates me when I see one in Safeway, or Barnes & Noble, im like ENOUGH!!!!!! I just have live with it. My friends love that place so when I hangout with them we always end up going 2 one all the time, I never buy anything though because I hate coffee. Espcially Starbucks coffee.

It's a chain that doesn't seem to be nearly as prolific as Starbucks, and I like their coffee better. I used to work right around the corner from one, and it fostered my caffeine addiction.

As a small business owner, I know what kind of effect chains have on individual proprietors & family-oriented businesses.

Corporate whores are corporate whores, no matter which way you slice it.

I firmly believe in supporting the underdog. Always have, always will. :)