# I give up on Starbucks **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 1, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940 "2006-01-01T10:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/1 "2006-01-01T10:04:42Z")
Today, after their “barista” remade my drink for the third time, I walked out and tossed it straight into the bin outside. It tasted like crap. Take some old soy milk, overpull a few shots of ground beans found on the floor and cook the mixture just shy of boiling. eeergh. In the past I’ve never noticed the infamous “burnt beans” flavour people talk about, in fact, I’ve always rather liked Starbucks. I also don’t mind paying 4 bucks for a nice coffee drink (if the coffee drink is able to be consumed). I also liked the fact you could walk into any Starbucks and the drink tasted the same. Not anymore. I’ve noticed their drinks going downhill across the board for the last year or so. I really notice the burnt flavour now. In fact, some drinks I’ve had this year have been damn bitter. I’ll happen to guess some of this is due to extreme growth but I bet the single biggest problem is hiring people that **don’t drink coffee**. That’s kind of like hiring a blind dude to snap your wedding photo’s. (the machine does most of the work but they never know if they’re getting the big picture) I have a three strikes you’re out rule when it comes to shopping and businesses. This is the third drink I couldn’t drink from Starbucks. I’m done with them. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/2 "2006-01-01T13:41:14Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > Today, after their “barista” remade my drink for the third time, I walked out and tossed it straight into the bin outside. It tasted like crap. Take some old soy milk, overpull a few shots of ground beans found on the floor and cook the mixture just shy of boiling. eeergh. > > In the past I’ve never noticed the infamous “burnt beans” flavour people talk about, in fact, I’ve always rather liked Starbucks. I also don’t mind paying 4 bucks for a nice coffee drink (if the coffee drink is able to be consumed). I also liked the fact you could walk into any Starbucks and the drink tasted the same. > > Not anymore. > > I’ve noticed their drinks going downhill across the board for the last year or so. I really notice the burnt flavour now. In fact, some drinks I’ve had this year have been damn bitter. I’ll happen to guess some of this is due to extreme growth but I bet the single biggest problem is hiring people that **don’t drink coffee**. That’s kind of like hiring a blind dude to snap your wedding photo’s. (the machine does most of the work but they never know if they’re getting the big picture) > > I have a three strikes you’re out rule when it comes to shopping and businesses. This is the third drink I couldn’t drink from Starbucks. I’m done with them. Coffee? Bitter? Wha??? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/3 "2006-01-01T15:47:47Z")
They must ship their beans to Alaska from some warehouse in Africa. Yesterday, I had a 12 ounce with three shots and _still_ couldn’t taste the coffee. I avoid them whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/4 "2006-01-01T16:09:42Z")
The main reason that most people don’t taste the nasty in Starbuck$ is all the crap they load INTO the coffee. Coffee is best tasted black, or with minimal cream and sweetening agent. Occasionally a slight touch of cinnamon or vanilla [one eighth tsp per full pot of coffee in the basket of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of _real_ vanilla extract per full pot of coffee] is good, but this whole adding liberally of flavor syrups is just covering the cheap arsed beans they buy. You dont need to buy only Jamaican Blue Mountain, or Kona, or beans eaten and crapped out by a critter, you have to understand a bit about the 2 main types of beans [mocha vs arabica] and the different levels of roasting [roasting brings out and emphasized different components of the natural oils by which oils are burnt off the bean.] Though it is true the best coffee comes from buying whole beans and grinding them yourself. I am somewhat of a coffee _purist_ in that I have NO freaking idea why anybody would want blueberry flavored coffee … don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/5 "2006-01-01T16:54:37Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > The main reason that most people don’t taste the nasty in Starbuck$ is all the crap they load INTO the coffee. I generally drink my coffee black. No cream, no sugar (unless I’m stuck with Folger’s or something). Starbucks generally doesn’t taste bad. Not as good as the beans I grind and press myself in the morning, of course, but certainly not nasty. > [@](#): > > You dont need to buy only Jamaican Blue Mountain, or Kona, or beans eaten and crapped out by a critter, you have to understand a bit about the 2 main types of beans [mocha vs arabica] I find it pretty hilarious that someone being as condescending as you are would mess this basic fact up. There are only two types of bean, period - robusto and arabica. Everything else is a varietal of those two types (true Mocha is an arabica bean grown in the hills around Mocha, Yemen). > [@](#): > > I am somewhat of a coffee _purist_ in that I have NO freaking idea why anybody would want blueberry flavored coffee … don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? Generally, but I did have a blueberry flavored coffee at the local gas station a while back and it was tasty. Just a hint of blueberries. Sometimes I’ll get that just for a change. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/6 "2006-01-01T17:06:58Z")
If you get a drink that has espresso in it, the espresso has to be done right, or the whole drink is crap. And I’ve been surprised to discover that a lot of Starbucks do _not_ make very good espresso. Burnt, bitter, and without crema is **not** how espresso is supposed to be, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/7 "2006-01-01T18:08:19Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > The main reason that most people don’t taste the nasty in Starbuck$ is all the crap they load INTO the coffee. But Starbucks isn’t in the business of selling coffee. They’re in the business of selling milk. And the more milk they put into their drinks (and the less coffee), the more they charge. Not that it matters to me. I can’t stand even the slightest flavor of coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/8 "2006-01-01T21:03:36Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? No. I drink it for the caffeine or the warmth on a cold morning. Of course, I can’t remember the last cup I had. May, maybe, or possibly July. It was surely sweetened, though, and probably had amaretto creamer in it as well. I’m not so fond of coffee’s natural flavor but I love roasted almonds and/or peach pits. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/9 "2006-01-01T21:09:28Z")
I think that their coffee + milk drinks are pretty good–better than what I can be bothered to make at home anyway–but their flavorings can get really nasty. About a month ago I ordered an Eggnog latte out of seasonal enthusiasm, and it actually tasted rotten. Sort of that hair oil and cigarettes smell in a bowling alley? That’s how it tasted. Yesterday I bought a slice of “gingerbread loaf” with my double latte, and it had the same nasty rancid taste. I can’t figure out what’s going on, but I’m not buying their baked goods or their flavored stuff anymore. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/10 "2006-01-01T21:20:22Z")
[Here](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5073210) is somebody with a theory that ties bad baristas to an upswing in the economy. Basically, he says the talented baristas have gone on to better jobs, and we’re left with the (oooh, a pun) dregs. Gevalia makes some nice flavored coffees, including blueberry. I like coffee flavor but I don’t much care for coffee by itself, even the “good stuff”. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/11 "2006-01-01T22:36:47Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > No. I drink it for the caffeine or the warmth on a cold morning. I drink coffee because I enjoy coffee-flavoured sugar and cream. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/12 "2006-01-01T22:43:44Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I am somewhat of a coffee _purist_ in that I have NO freaking idea why anybody would want blueberry flavored coffee … don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? I love the taste of coffee. I also love the taste of coffee with a bit of blueberry in it. Or raspberry, or irish cream, or kahlua, or toffee, or… ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/13 "2006-01-01T23:17:50Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > The main reason that most people don’t taste the nasty in Starbuck$ is all the crap they load INTO the coffee. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > But Starbucks isn’t in the business of selling coffee. They’re in the business of selling milk Agreed. Starbucks has moved from being a coffee business into a beverage business. I’d guess just under half the things on their drink menu now do not contain coffee. > [@aruvqan](#): > > Coffee is best tasted black, or with minimal cream and sweetening agent. > (snip) > > I am somewhat of a coffee _purist_ in that I have NO freaking idea why anybody would want blueberry flavored coffee … don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? I disagree. To find out how well the roast of your beans came out, or the true flavour of the bean, then yes. Drink the coffee black. But I disagree this is the single best and only way to have coffee. I normally have a soy mocha with about 4 shots of coffee. I’d have regular milk, but I can’t drink it. I don’t like soy much so a little dab of chocolate helps hide the taste of the soy but the coffee flavour still shines through. I almost never have just plain black coffee anymore. After years and years of drinking it this way you could say I’ve become bored of it. I prefer a latte or a light chocolate mocha. Some people like their steaks rare, other well done. There is no “true” way to eat food stuffs. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/14 "2006-01-01T23:25:00Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > The main reason that most people don’t taste the nasty in Starbuck$ is all the crap they load INTO the coffee. > [@RealityChuck](#): > > But Starbucks isn’t in the business of selling coffee. They’re in the business of selling milk Agreed. Starbucks has moved from being a coffee business into a beverage business. I’d guess just under half the things on their drink menu now do not contain coffee. > [@aruvqan](#): > > Coffee is best tasted black, or with minimal cream and sweetening agent. > (snip) > > I am somewhat of a coffee _purist_ in that I have NO freaking idea why anybody would want blueberry flavored coffee … don’t you drink coffee for the taste of the coffee? I disagree. To find out how well the roast of your beans came out, or the true flavour of the bean, then yes. Drink the coffee black. But I disagree this is the single best and only way to have coffee. I normally have a soy mocha with about 4 shots of coffee. I’d have regular milk, but I can’t drink it. I don’t like soy much so a little dab of chocolate helps hide the taste of the soy but the coffee flavour still shines through. I almost never have just plain black coffee anymore. After years and years of drinking it this way you could say I’ve become bored of it. I prefer a latte or a light chocolate mocha. Some people like their steaks rare, other well done. There is no “true” way to eat food stuffs. ---
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/15 "2006-01-02T00:33:30Z")
[slight hijack] This is the best coffee you will ever find on the American Continent: [http://www.cafemam.com/](http://www.cafemam.com/) I promised myself I would never become a coffee snob, but after drinking this stuff, I’m a convert. This is the coffee God would drink, if he existed.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/16 "2006-01-02T00:53:45Z")
I heard that Starbucks started to buy Indian coffee beans last year (or a couple of years ago) because it’s cheaper than South American beans. I noticed the story because the plantation they contracted with was Tata – the same name of the company that send ‘contractors’ to my last job before half of us were laid off. Could the decline in the taste of Starbucks coffee be tied to their use of cheaper beans? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/17 "2006-01-02T02:37:50Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > I have a three strikes you’re out rule when it comes to shopping and businesses. This is the third drink I couldn’t drink from Starbucks. I’m done with them. Try "Weigels,"a quick stop in Knoxville, TN for gas, snacks, and/or a cup of the best coffee in town and the morning paper for $1 ! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/18 "2006-01-02T02:50:24Z")
_Baristas_ indeed! I am a porter for one of the largest shopping malls in clearwater florida and let me make you understand that the coffee gurus at the above mentioned _Temple -O-Java_ could not give a lot less than a shit about you and or your fucking coffee ritual. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/19 "2006-01-02T02:56:57Z")
> [@Leviosaurus](#): > > This is the best coffee you will ever find on the American Continent: [http://www.cafemam.com/](http://www.cafemam.com/) Good coffee – but you wouldn’t call it the _best_ if you compared it with [Cafe San Miguel](http://www.levelground.com/cafesanmiguel.php), which gives me a reason to get up in the morning. And I’ll just take this opportunity to snerk about Starbucks’ [recent loss in court](http://www.courttv.com/people/2005/1230/charbucks_ctv.html) to a roaster that calls its burnt beans “Mr. Charbucks.” Heh. That’s one good thing that Starbucks has done for roasters, I guess – used to be, cafe del fuego just went out with the trash. Now it’s _marketable_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940/20 "2006-01-02T03:09:32Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > [Here](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5073210) is somebody with a theory that ties bad baristas to an upswing in the economy. Basically, he says the talented baristas have gone on to better jobs, and we’re left with the (oooh, a pun) dregs. > > Gevalia makes some nice flavored coffees, including blueberry. I like coffee flavor but I don’t much care for coffee by itself, even the “good stuff”. That piece totally resonates with how my girlfriend feels, being one of the few remaining talented baristas. Mrs. dewgrrl was a manager of a store when she lived in North Dakota, but due to the relocation of Starbucks employees to the Atlanta area thanks to Hurricane Katrina, combined with her desire to leave some of the management headaches behind, she’s been slogging it out as a shift supervisor since she moved here in November. She is now an efficient, skilled, curteous, friendly, and well-oiled gear surrounded by complete hacks. It is truly a sad thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-give-up-on-starbucks/337940.md?page=2)