# Starbucks coffee? Good coffee or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [October 31, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226 "2015-10-31T03:20:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/61 "2015-11-01T15:07:25Z")
> [@Dobbs](#): > > I don’t disagree with any particular point, but you left out home brewed, fresh ground beans in a French press. Coffee is a simple recipe, hot water and freshly ground beans, and with a little time, you can make for yourself better coffee than anything you can buy in a shop. Brewing coffee yourself is a simple process, and like a good hamburger, homemade with simple tools will yield a superior product. While I drink coffee, I don’t like it _enough_ where I’d care to go through the trouble. > [@](#): > > I will also state that good coffee doesn’t need pollutants, and bad coffee (_cough_ Starbucks) can’t be saved with them. snobs only impress other snobs, the rest of us are put off by your attitude. > [@Acsenray](#): > > The only problem with that scenario is that a coffee snob wouldn’t use a percolator, which repeatedly boils already brewed coffee liquor and makes it scorched. > > The automatic drop coffee maker was a huge improvement over the percolator. used _properly_ a percolator is fine. You start with the coldest water possible, then once you see brewed coffee start to blurp its way up the tube you kill the heat. most people never used them properly. they just did the usual “let it go until it’s good and done.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/62 "2015-11-02T00:16:31Z")
I’m not a coffee snob, so all that bothers me about Starbucks is the high prices and the phony pretentiousness. I like Biggby’s (a local/regional chain) a lot more, they have more variety. ---
**Author:** ![bb49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bb49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bb49)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/63 "2015-11-02T04:14:17Z")
I’ll have to agree with many of you that Starbucks is somewhat bitter, though occasionally I have a cup there and it tastes quite nice. Since I only visit a Starbucks a half dozen times a year, I’m probably not getting the same coffee I had the time before. As for buying coffee in-house, the best I’ve found is McDonald’s. And this has been borne out in a number of studies. It’s just that their atmosphere sucks. Most of the coffee I drink at home is through a Keurig, and after trying a few dozen flavours and brands, surprisingly enough the best so far is Starbucks Pike Place Roast. It beats them all, even what many coffee houses have to offer. A recent discovery that I enjoy is Newmans Special Blend. Not as good as Pike Place, but very acceptable. I haven’t tried McDonald’s single pod serving yet, as I only buy them on sale and I haven’t seen McDonald’s on sale yet. As for the single serving pods it seems everyone is getting into it and many taste like crap. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/64 "2015-11-02T04:27:18Z")
Nobody goes to Starbucks, it’s too popular. It is funny to see Starbucks labeled “pretentious” though. Folks, Starbucks is about as pretentious as Outback Steakhouse. I guess if your usual dinner out is McDonalds or Dennys then Outback Steakhouse with their cloth napkins and metal silverware can seem fancy. Starbucks is not pretentious. Starbucks is mass market. There are pretentious coffee shops, they’re filled with people who enjoy looking down on people who get coffee at Starbucks. Not that Starbucks is great coffee either. As I said, it’s a mass market chain with mass market appeal. And their biggest seller isn’t coffee, it’s coffee-flavored milkshakes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/65 "2015-11-02T04:49:05Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Exactly. The problem isn’t that it’s burnt, but that people are getting the light roast (Pikes). Instead, they usually have a good dark roast if you go there before noon, and they’ll brew an individual cup after that, if you ask. Light roast is flavorless no matter where you go. The Pike Place roast is what they consider a medium; their light roasts aren’t half bad. Veranda and Willow blends are what they’re called. They’re not awesome, but for mass-market, grocery store coffee, they’re solid IMO, and not burnt. They’re comparable to the other grocery store blends like Peet’s, Seattle’s Best, Gevalia, etc… while their medium/dark roasts are overdone, and somewhere between say… Community and Folgers in terms of palatibility. I do agree that McDonald’s coffee tastes like roasted manure though… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/66 "2015-11-02T19:32:52Z")
Coffee tastes have changed. Compared to what was generally available when Starbucks took off, it was great. Compared to what’s out there now, not so much. The burnt flavor was incredibly standard for coffee in the US for decades. Starbucks actually went for a less-burnt flavor compared to the Folgers-percolater type stuff of years gone by. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/67 "2015-11-02T20:20:31Z")
I keep Starbucks in business. I love the iced espresso. Quad shot over ice in the large cup. Great flavor, not bitter. I’ve tried from a lot of other plces, never as good. Sometimes quite bad. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/68 "2015-11-02T20:33:39Z")
Starbucks is … acceptable. I prefer Caribou but they’ve moved out of the area. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/69 "2015-11-02T21:10:45Z")
Just popping in here to cast another vote for Dunkin Donuts having the best coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/70 "2015-11-03T00:56:18Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Coffee tastes have changed. Compared to what was generally available when Starbucks took off, it was great. Compared to what’s out there now, not so much. > > The burnt flavor was incredibly standard for coffee in the US for decades. Starbucks actually went for a less-burnt flavor compared to the Folgers-percolater type stuff of years gone by. Coffee commercials were as brutal as the coffee back then — [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cnjjkgIO3Ck/maxresdefault.jpg "Folgers Coffee Sexist 60's Ads") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnjjkgIO3Ck) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/71 "2015-11-03T01:36:37Z")
It’s adequate, which is the best I can find within a ten minute drive of work. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/72 "2015-11-03T04:27:50Z")
The main problem with Starbucks over here is students using it as an impromptu study hall for their regular classes or cram schools. A group of 10 students might buy a couple of small drinks between them and take up a couple of tables for three hours. Multiply them by the whole place, and it’s difficult to find a seat. Some companies are even starting to do this for their business meetings. They’re trying to set time limits now. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/73 "2015-11-05T00:26:24Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Nobody goes to Starbucks, it’s too popular. > > It is funny to see Starbucks labeled “pretentious” though. Folks, Starbucks is about as pretentious as Outback Steakhouse. I guess if your usual dinner out is McDonalds or Dennys then Outback Steakhouse with their cloth napkins and metal silverware can seem fancy. > > Starbucks is not pretentious. Starbucks is mass market. There are pretentious coffee shops, they’re filled with people who enjoy looking down on people who get coffee at Starbucks. Using “grande, venti, tall” etc instead of actual sizes is a big part of the reason they are thought of as pretentious. And yes, I’m aware you can say “large” or whatever while ordering and not get looked at like you have lobsters crawling out of your ear, but it’s still there on their board. Meanwhile outback has novelty crap hanging from the walls, of course they aren’t pretentious. Maybe starbucks should start using real sizes and hang an alligator from the lights or something. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/74 "2015-11-05T00:54:48Z")
I hate their drip coffee. I’ve had some of their other coffee concoctions. As long as you bury the coffee taste with sugar and fat, it’s just fine. My problem is I like drip/filter coffee, or even better an Americano. All black, no sugar. I’m a French roast drinker myself. Lots of people would call this “burnt,” but Starbucks doesn’t taste like burnt beans; it tastes like it’s been burned after the fact. You know, the last 2 cm in the pot that’s been sitting there for two hours. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/75 "2015-11-05T02:50:48Z")
Side note for trivia: The highest-grossing Starbucks in the world is in Tokyo, overlooking Shibuya Crossing, that intersection you see a lot on film with the diagonal crosswalk. It’s located just above Tsutaya Bookshop and so busy that only Tall sizes are served to discourage lingering. We’ve patronized it, and it really is a blast watching people cross the street when the light changes. (100,000 pedestrians pass through the intersection _each hour_.) ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/76 "2015-11-05T15:41:14Z")
I appreciate Starbucks for the convenience, and enjoy their Flat White, on occasion, but the one near me has a [Clover](http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/kitchen/clover-coffee-maker.htm)machine (I wish they all did) and using African or SA coffee beans and the correct temp for that bean, they make some of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had. Has anyone else tried their Clover-brewed coffee? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/77 "2015-11-05T16:09:38Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Addiction is characterised by “narrowing”. Caffine is, in the old sense of the word, addictive. The more addicted you are to caffine, the more sterotyped your behaviour becomes, and, as part of that, the narrower your range of “acceptable” coffee that you use to feed your addiction. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > That’s not how it works. The more addicted you become to caffeine, the more willing to consume any sort of swill that contains caffeine you become. > > The narrowing you refer to is the eventual pushing out of everything that is **not** related to the addiction. > > QtM, practitioner of addiction medicine. Anecdotally, most of the alcoholics I’ve worked with have narrowed their choices as they tried to quit, and in attempts to hide or control their drinking. - They stop drinking mixed drinks because it’s too expensive and inefficient. - Then they stop drinking hard liquor in an attempt to control their addiction. - Then that becomes logistically impossible (the buzz/pee ratio for beer and wine is intolerable!) - Then they go back to hard liquor but only the “good stuff” because “the cheap is causing all those nasty symptoms in the morning.” By the time they hit bottom, they have generally standardized on vodka, gin or rum, in the large plastic bottles. Or whatever they can get if they no longer have income. You seldom see caffeine addiction become disruptive enough to cause any of that. Although I once had a co-worker who declared she was switching to tea because she was drinking too much coffee. All I could think was “next the bathroom trips become disruptive.” LOL! 😛 As to the OP, my favorite is Gevalia Kona. I can make it super-strong the way I like it, with never any bitterness. Lovely! Of the more available choices I like Peet’s, Major Dickason’s blend. Rich and chocolaty Yum! Put me ont he “Starbuck’s is burned” bandwagon. I do like a grande espresso frappe with an extra shot, whip, and only one pump of the frappe mix. But they are prohibitive in both cost and calories so it’s a rare treat. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/78 "2015-11-05T16:56:09Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Just popping in here to cast another vote for Dunkin Donuts having the best coffee. I just don’t get this. I won’t sing any praises for Starbucks, but if there is a Starbucks next to a McDonalds next to a Dunkin Donuts, I’ll choose the Starbucks. If the line is too long (because it’s not that much better than the others), McDonalds is next, followed by Dunkin. That’s assuming there’s nothing other than deli, diner or street\* coffee available, like Panera or Au Bon Pain or a couple of other higher end sandwich shops that actually care to put out a decent pot of coffee. The only real difference are that Starbucks and McDonalds/Dunkin are mediocre on opposite ends of the taste spectrum (whereas most deli/diner/street coffee are cheap and convenient, if barely drinkable, for a caffeine fix). \*Upon review, I realize that some may not be familiar with the ubiquitous food carts that dot NYC sidewalks. That is what we call street coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226/79 "2015-11-05T20:57:05Z")
I like it as an occasional treat and for the chance to sit and talk with (over)caffeinated friends. I’m not enough of a coffee purist to be able to say if it’s “good coffee,” but I find it quite palatable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starbucks-coffee-good-coffee-or-not/736226.md?page=3)