# What, if anything, is wrong with Starbucks' coffee? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [December 1, 2004, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452 "2004-12-01T04:35:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/21 "2004-12-01T13:46:17Z")
I’m no coffee connoisseur, but when it tastes like someone scraped a burnt piece of toast into my cup, something is wrong. Maybe people think they’re getting more value with a dark roast, or dark and bitter is “better” somehow, stronger. If you got a charred up steak at a restaurant, it would sure be full of flavor, but most of us don’t think that would make it automatically better. And the coffee is pretty pricey. Comparable to the boutique coffee houses in the area, but more than the delis. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/22 "2004-12-01T14:00:02Z")
1–Starbucks creates a new “specialty coffee” by sweeping up all the beans & dirt spiiled on the floor the day before, grinding it, & coming up with a sappy name. :rolleyes: 2-- What I _really_ object to is the price of their bottled water. [http://www.snopes.com/rumors/starbuck.htm](http://www.snopes.com/rumors/starbuck.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/23 "2004-12-01T14:18:16Z")
An article in Smithsonian Magazine this summer on coffee growers included a quote from one person, saying “Starbucks is in the milk business, not the coffee business.” I agree with that sentiment, and it’s not only Starbucks. Far too many coffee shops make a crappy cup of coffee, preferring instead to make the frou-frou drinks that probably bring in more cash. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/24 "2004-12-01T14:32:02Z")
I like Starbucks, it’s not the best but it’s pretty decent. It’s also the only place around within walking distance of my office that doesn’t water down its coffee. Not as good as making my own, which I usually do, but it’s not like they’re scooping freeze dried Maxwell House into a cup and adding hot water, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bimble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@Bimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bimble)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/25 "2004-12-01T14:36:59Z")
I love love LOVE Starbuck’s decaff soya lattes!! Oh YUM!! Add one of their skinny rasberry and peach muffins with that!! And tehy do a FAB vegan falafel and humous flatbread!!! Yum yum YUM!!! Oh mi GODS!!! Any other “high street coffee shop’s” coffee tastes SOOOOO bitter to my tastebuds!! 🙂 … … but then again, just as I started to read this thread title, I started to make myself an instant decaff coffee with OODLES of dried skimmed milk… The only OTHER type of coffee that I like… ☹ ---
**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:** [December 1, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/26 "2004-12-01T14:42:15Z")
I heard that Starbucks is now buying coffee from the Indian company Tata. Tata is the company who sent ‘consultants’ to my former employer, which resulted in many, many people losing their jobs. Down the block from where I used to live, there was a coffee house called Petterson’s. It was a great place. There was the front area where you bought your coffee, a large back room with several tables and a stage, live performances by local musicians, art displays, a couple of tables and some chairs outside, and a magazine stand. When Starbucks opened a couple of blocks away, Petterson’s closed. Petterson’s had a small annex across the street that was not nearly as nice as their larger location. It’s very small; about the size of a typical coffee house. I spoke with an employee there, who told me that when Starbucks opened they made ‘an offer they couldn’t refuse’ to the owner of Petterson’s. So Starbucks moved in and paid off the owner of a _much_ better coffee house to close down. Okay, the owner of Petterson’s wasn’t _forced_ to close (AFAIK); but Starbucks had the bucks to convince him it would be in his ‘best interest’. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/27 "2004-12-01T14:43:02Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Bitter and burnt-tasting, to me. > > But I’m a bit of a coffee purist Wow. I could have written the above. I just got back from a week in Chicago and all of the service areas on the turnpikes and thruway had Starbucks and “bitter and burnt” is exactly how I described it to my husband when he asked why I was making that scrunched up face while I begrudgingly drank it. I also say that I’m a coffee purist, usually when someone offers me something like raspberry chocolate cream coffee or some such flavor. Give me a medium Dunkin Donuts light and sweet any day. By the way, while I was in Chicago, I ordered my DD coffee “light and sweet” and the woman behind the counter looked at me as if I had just dropped down from outer-space. Culture clash? Oh, and instead of paying $1.72 here in NY, I paid $1.29 in Chicago! That was nice. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/28 "2004-12-01T15:08:51Z")
Nobody mentioned it, but STARBUCKS buys the CHEAPEST coffee beans they can find, then roasts (burns) the crap out of them. I suspect that a lot of what they buy is not arabica coffee, but the cheaper robusta beans (which come from Africa). Really, if you want a good cup of coffee, buy some decent frsh arabica beans, and grind them yourself…you will find the resulting brew much better than St_rb_cks. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/29 "2004-12-01T15:22:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Nobody mentioned it, but STARBUCKS buys the CHEAPEST coffee beans they can find, then roasts (burns) the crap out of them. Do you have any evidence of this? I hear it all the time but never see any proof. Just curious. Full disclosure, I love Starbuck’s French Roast. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/30 "2004-12-01T15:36:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Nobody mentioned it, but STARBUCKS buys the CHEAPEST coffee beans they can find, then roasts (burns) the crap out of them. I suspect that a lot of what they buy is not arabica coffee, but the cheaper robusta beans (which come from Africa). > Really, if you want a good cup of coffee, buy some decent frsh arabica beans, and grind them yourself…you will find the resulting brew much better than St_rb_cks. For the record, plenty of extremely fancy brand names put some Robusta in their blend but they don’t like to say it. Apparently it’s easier to get “crema” (that lovely layer of creamy stuff on, say, a good espresso) if there’s some Robusta involved. Not that much of a bad thing IMO, if it’s not overdone. My opinion on Starbucks. Depends where you are. Doubtful I’d visit one in Milan if they had one, but when we were travelling to a rural area of the US were everything was three hour old drip machine acid we nearly broke out in cheers when we spotted a Starbucks. And living in the Evil empire of Bewley’s (bleeeeeeeeeeegh) I would welcome a Starbucks in my town for the fun of meeting people for coffee when out shopping, though my own coffee would still be miles better. Therefore count me with the majority here who think it’s acceptable but much much better can be got/made elsewhere. (Don’t DO the fancy. Would be highly suspicious of their espressos. Iced coffee I liked, but found that varied wildly as they seem to use whatever roast they have leftover presumably thinking that if it’s iced it doesn’t count.) ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/31 "2004-12-01T15:42:04Z")
I’m with the burnt and bitter group. And BTW it’s not because they use French Roast either. I really, really like coffee and I can hardly finish a cup of Starbucks. I only get it when nothing else is convenient and usually end up throwing half of it away. And what’s the deal with grande, blah, blah, blah for the sizes. I go in and ask for a small, medium or large (usually small for the reasons described above) and the geek behind the counter is always “You mean a …” And I’m like, yeah “I want a small” ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/32 "2004-12-01T15:45:56Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Starbucks coffee. I hear the “burnt” complaint a lot, but it seems to me that used to be called “French roast”, and was considered a good thing. I guess if you don’t like dark roast, then you won’t like Starbucks. I love dark roast & French roast coffee and don’t care for Starbucks. Like many others it tastes over-roasted, bordering on burnt. I can drink it in a pinch but it’s not my first choice. When I do drink Starbucks coffee, I go with one of their frou-frou drinks that cover up some of the burnt coffee flavor. When I make coffee at home I use French roast beans, grind my own & make it nice & strong. But Starbucks coffee - there’s an undertone of char that I really don’t care for. I’ll certainly go without complaint if my companions really prefer Starbucks, but its far from my first choice. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/33 "2004-12-01T15:47:12Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Opinions on Starbucks’ coffee, please. Is it as bad as my wife’s friends (and others I have heard) claim? If so, what’s wrong with it? If not, why do some people say it’s so bad?- It aint timmies ☹ Declan ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/34 "2004-12-01T15:53:55Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > ILike many others it tastes over-roasted, bordering on burnt. Make that: “Like many others, I think it tastes over-roasted, bordering on burnt.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/35 "2004-12-01T15:54:19Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Nobody mentioned it, but STARBUCKS buys the CHEAPEST coffee beans they can find, then roasts (burns) the crap out of them. I suspect that a lot of what they buy is not arabica coffee, but the cheaper robusta beans (which come from Africa). Starbucks always says they are using Arabica, so if they’re using robusta, you should get them on false advertising. > [@](#): > > Really, if you want a good cup of coffee, buy some decent frsh arabica beans, and grind them yourself…you will find the resulting brew much better than St_rb_cks. Well, duh. Time is your enemy with coffee grinds. Anytime you grind it yourself and immediately use them it will be better than coffee grinds that have likely been sitting out for a few hours. > [@PictsiePat](#): > > I go in and ask for a small, medium or large (usually small for the reasons described above) and the geek behind the counter is always “You mean a …” And I’m like, yeah “I want a small” This line has been such fodder for every talentless comic out there looking for a schtick that I don’t believe anyone who says it anymore. Especially since I generally order small or medium and have never once had any Starbucks employee even blink an eye, much less bother attempting to correct my terminology. ---
**Author:** ![Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linus_Van_Pelt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/36 "2004-12-01T16:42:55Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Nobody mentioned it, but STARBUCKS buys the CHEAPEST coffee beans they can find, then roasts (burns) the crap out of them. If you’ll read up a bit, you’ll notice that I mentioned that very possibility. However, as I have neither personal knowledge, nor a reliable source, I presented it as a theory. Have you any specific knowledge regarding their bean buying habits? ---
**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:** [December 1, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/37 "2004-12-01T16:56:02Z")
I can’t stand the taste of coffee, but I have noticed one thing about Starbuck’s pricing\*: The less coffee you get, the higher the price. \*I went in wondering if they had anything other than coffee. A local coffeehouse (ah, I remember when that term _meant_ something) had a pretty good hot chocolate and was wondering if Starbuck’s did, too. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/38 "2004-12-01T17:07:20Z")
I like the frou-frou drinks just fine. (White mocha, _yummmm._) But when I want straight espresso–which is most of the time–I go to a real coffee shop. (Shout out to Three Bees.) Even if Starbucks had the best espresso around, who wants to drink it out of a paper cup? ---
**Author:** ![Daver914](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Daver914](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daver914)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/39 "2004-12-02T06:22:51Z")
Nobody has mentioned their disgraceful chai yet. The stuff comes from a _jug_, for crying out loud! Maybe I shouldn’t expect good tea from a coffee place, but the local Java Joe’s does a perfectly good chai from real leaves that they brew in a small pot in front of you. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/40 "2004-12-02T08:16:47Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I love dark roast & French roast coffee and don’t care for Starbucks. > Like many others it tastes over-roasted, bordering on burnt. I understand that some people don’t _care_ for it, but I just don’t think it’s intrinsically _bad_ just because they roast it darker than you happen to have a preference for. I agree that there’s _better_ coffee out there, but then you’re getting into really custom/specialty territory. Starbucks is a million times better than your average donut-shop coffee. > [@](#): > > I can drink it in a pinch but it’s not my first choice. When I do drink Starbucks coffee, I go with one of their frou-frou drinks that cover up some of the burnt coffee flavor. Ugh - why not just go get a milkshake at Baskin Robbins? 😉 > [@](#): > > When I make coffee at home I use French roast beans, grind my own & make it nice & strong. > > But Starbucks coffee - there’s an undertone of char that I really don’t care for. > > I’ll certainly go without complaint if my companions really prefer Starbucks, but its far from my first choice. Sure, I’ll agree with that. It’s not gonna be as good as the stuff you make at home that you bought from a specialty coffee store and ground yourself and all that. But it’s still a decent cup of joe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452.md?page=3)