Has Starbucks lost its soul?
- Thread starter ponyo
- Start date
Most people don't realize this, but Starbucks wasn't always all about mass-quantities of coffee. In the beginning, their few stores were equipped with manual machines, not super-automatics. Beans were freshly roasted, not packaged for months (to be fair, they still do get relatively fresh beans, but the consuming public generally doesn't have access to them; if you want them, ask for beans from the silver bag). Unfortunately, it's very difficult to serve large numbers of people with manual machines, and consistency tends to suffer because you can't perform the same process exactly right each time. The end result is the Starbucks we have today.
Some cities still have the original espresso machines (Cleveland had a few), but even then quality suffers as staff isn't properly trained on the equipment.
So, in the coffee purist sense, they did lose their vision; however, from a business perspective, absolutely not.
Some cities still have the original espresso machines (Cleveland had a few), but even then quality suffers as staff isn't properly trained on the equipment.
So, in the coffee purist sense, they did lose their vision; however, from a business perspective, absolutely not.
Drinking Starbucks has always been about as hip as buying Bose.
Neither had a soul, and neither has been hip. Ever.
Neither had a soul, and neither has been hip. Ever.
destrekor
Lifer
- Nov 18, 2005
- 28,799
- 359
- 126
indeed. Well, the well edumacated public thinks it's hip. But that's the great buying machine that is the general public. They all sing the same tune after watching a few commercials or seeing the same branding in someones hands over and over.
Me? Starbucks is convenient on campus sometimes, and they offer good iced drinks or a good quick coffee. A regular large cup of coffee, at least here on campus, is also very cheap. $1.50 or something to that tune. I can't really complain about that when it comes to convenience of grabbing one in-between classes.
Before classes, if I have time, I'll prep my own drip coffee and that's satisfies me enough. Haven't bought any espresso roast but I do have my grinder and cheapo espresso machine(o?) in the kitchen as well, ready for whenever I want to use it. That, however, requires time and patience, and I typically have neither in the mornings as I wake up groggy and with not enough time before I have to leave. Mornings suck, especially when I'm up most days before the freaking sun. bah.
Anubis
No Lifer
I haven't seen any 'buck cups in a long time. It's all Timmies, Second Cup or Coffee Time. Hell, I've even seen more Country Styles than Starbucks.
starbucks isn't expensive compared to other coffee here in NYC... DD charges a similar price for diluted coffee, and Pax isn't that much cheaper. don't even mention the horse piss that they pass off as coffee at most deli's...
JEDI
Lifer
- Sep 25, 2001
- 29,391
- 2,738
- 126
drive thrus arent what sbux is suppose to be about.
it's about the "third place." home, work, sbux
there's talk about walk up sbux w/o the ability to walk inside. WTF?!
you just walk up to the window and order. then leave.
sbux is under severe stockholder pressure to get it's earnings (ie: stockprice) up.
it has sold out to the man.
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