# 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:** 5
**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 3, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/81 "2004-12-03T18:45:38Z")
Just as a quick reference point for myself. I got a cup of joe at Starbucks today, their “light” breakfast blend. Actually, not too bad, not burnt tasting, so I’ll give it a thumbs up. Now, if their light coffee could be consistently as easy to drink as this one, I might buy from them more often. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/82 "2004-12-03T19:36:29Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > Keep in mind that this was in 1999, when every half-baked comedian looking for material with the whole “Why can’t they just call it a small? I always go in there and ask for a small, just to be a dick, then they try and correct me and then I yell at them” schtick. Wouldn’t surprise me if the guy had some wise-ass coming in every half hour to do his own variation on this in real life. Ah, I get it. When I moved to Boston in 1999, I was the stereotypical small town hick in the big city, and had somehow missed out on the whole Starbucks thing until that point. My little brain was just confused by the term “tall” being used for something that was small. Thanks for clearing that up, and sorry for the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/83 "2004-12-03T19:42:33Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > Starbucks Event Horizon has been reached on fashionable Robson Street in Vancouver, BC. Here there are two Starbucks _directly kitty-corner from one another._ You can sit in one and watch the people in the other. (Maybe that’s the point…) :dubious: No, the point is that Starbucks actually does a damn fine job of customer research and marketing. It turns out that for some reason people are likely to be willing to walk down the street to get a cup of coffee, but less willing to cross the street. So by having two coffee shops directly across from each other, you end up with a larger market share in that area with less competition between the two shops than you might expect. There’s one other coffee chain–I think it’s Tully’s–whose expansion plan basically amounted to “see where the Starbucks shops are and put in one of ours across the street.” Getting back to the original topic, I’m with the “bitter and burnt” crowd. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/84 "2004-12-03T20:03:16Z")
I’ve got an uncle who told me that he had a cup of coffee at the original Starbucks back when they were first starting out and thought it was the best he’d ever tasted. I don’t doubt that with the massive expansion of the company, the quality has probably gone way downhill – that seems to be the case with any major chain. But it was good enough back in the day to convince my uncle to invest – and I suspect that’s working out pretty well for him. 🙂 Personally, I’m more of a hot chocolate drinker. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/85 "2004-12-03T20:53:29Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Starbucks has great ambiance, but it way overpriced for my proletariat pocketbook. Now, see, the “over-priced” thing I don’t get. I hate when people claim that a cup of coffee is $4 at Starbucks. It’s not. A plain ole cuppa joe at Starbucks is no more expensive than coffee at 7-11 or Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s the fancy frou-frou drinks that are $4. Not the regular coffee. Really. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/86 "2004-12-03T22:06:45Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > THere’s a 12 mile stretch of Ventura Blvd that averages 1 Starbucks per mile. > > I’be been in plenty of Starbucks. I always get a cup of black coffee. > And it’s always good. You mean that you might have to travel up to 1/2 a mile for a cup of Starbucks :eek: At might last office building, I had 4 Starbucks in a 6 block radius. You couldn’t escape Starbucks no matter which direction you went. I preferred Dunkin’ Donuts coffee myself; there were only 3 of them in that same radius. That was downtown NY, near Broadway and Fulton. Now I’m in midtown (5th and 44th), and I know of only 2 Starbucks in the same radius. However, I haven’t fully scouted the area. And not a Dunkin’ Donuts to be found. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/87 "2004-12-04T01:00:40Z")
> [@lightingtool](#): > > Other guy: (exasperated sigh) When you’re in a Starbucks, that’s a tall, that one’s a grande, that one’s a ventricle, and that one’s a walla-walla-bing-bang. Try reading the menu. And here’s your _ **Tall** _ coffee. > Me: (Something about where he could stick that tall coffee) If that kinda thing makes you irritated, then you’ll love [this profane rant from Scary Squirrel](http://www.scarysquirrel.org/special/movies/foamy/sml1.html). (NSFW: language) I don’t think Starbucks is really all that good. Especially not for the price of the coffee beans. Trader Joes sells far better coffee at far better prices. And this month’s Consumer Reports agreed with me. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/88 "2004-12-04T01:30:44Z")
I love Starbuck’s coffee- all the different kinds and I buy some pretty regularly. The stores smell like fat and milk to me (which I like, too). I like stong flavors like wintergreen, licorice, sauerkraut, so strong coffee flavor is right up my alley. I don’t think their signature roast is “burnt” tasting in the least, but is definately a very dark roast. My local Starbucks is a nice place to hang out with overstuffed chairs and couches, and newspapers and magazines on the coffee tables. I though I saw a scrabble game under one of the tables recently, too. I also like the fancy coffee drinks like the frappicinos, but don’t have them much as they seem more like desserts than coffees to me (and because they seem to have too much fat and calories for me). I have heard from the employees that Starbucks is a great place to work for some of the reasons already mentioned. They are a happy and friendly group. At home, I buy dark roasts and grind the beans myself. I use a thermal carafe so it doesn’t “cook”. Sometimes I like lots of milk and sweetener, sometimes I use evaporated milk (but never any of the powdered stuff- ugh), and sometimes I just have it plain. I believe I may be immune to caffiene at this point (although I didn’t realize dark roasts were less caffienated)! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/89 "2004-12-04T01:42:36Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Tim Horton’s. Well, it’s not _bad_ coffee; but I wouldn’t call it ‘mighty, mighty fine’. It’s okay. The doughnuts are just okay as well. Better than Krispy Kremes. (But that’s a pretty low standard.) Not as good as Winchell’s or Spudnuts. > > I like 7-11 coffee. It’s cheap, and they have flavoured creams you can put in. (I like the amaretto.) Good hot dogs, too. Be … be … better than Krispy Kremes? \*\*\*Low \*\*\*Standard? I think I’m having an aneurysm. Those words combined in that order just don’t compute. And 7-11? Good? I think I’m having another. (I like Starbucks fine for what it is but I drink coffee maybe once every three months. I much prefer my caffeine in the form of chai or just normal iced tea with a squirt of lemon juice.) ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/90 "2004-12-04T02:07:59Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > I don’t think Starbucks is really all that good. Especially not for the price of the coffee beans. Trader Joes sells far better coffee at far better prices. And this month’s Consumer Reports agreed with me. Damn you! I read through this entire thread hoping I’d be the first to post that Trader Joe’s whole bean is super spectacular. I didn’t know about the Consumer Reports, uh, report, though. Starbucks coffee is bitter and burnt tasting. However, you really are getting a bang for your buck. I can’t remember where I read it but their coffee has about fifty percent (if not more) caffeine than their closest competitor. For an addict such as me, that’s good to know. Sadly, I’ve stopped patronizing Starbucks. They raised their already exorbitant prices and that was just too much for me. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I missed my Grande Breakfast blend every morning but a gal’s gotta take a stand. Against what, however, I do not know… ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/91 "2004-12-04T09:09:48Z")
This is really getting weird. I find Trader Joe’s coffee to be mediocre at best. And I find _some_ of their varieties to be undrinkable. I’ve actually thrown away an entire pound of it because it tasted so terrible that I couldn’t even finish one cup. Some of their varieties are just O.K.; none are extraordinary, IMO. ---
**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 4, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/92 "2004-12-04T15:47:57Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Be … be … better than Krispy Kremes? \*\*\*Low \*\*\*Standard? I think I’m having an aneurysm. Those words combined in that order just don’t compute. And 7-11? Good? > > I think I’m having another. Rather than hijack, [a new thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=290008). ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/93 "2004-12-04T15:58:05Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > Now, see, the “over-priced” thing I don’t get. I hate when people claim that a cup of coffee is $4 at Starbucks. It’s not. > A plain ole cuppa joe at Starbucks is no more expensive than coffee at 7-11 or Dunkin’ Donuts. > It’s the fancy frou-frou drinks that are $4. Not the regular coffee. Really. Come on, though … you can get a cup of coffee at 7-11 for 79 cents. They don’t really have anything that cheap at Starbucks. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/94 "2004-12-04T16:49:16Z")
> [@aaslatten](#): > > Come on, though … you can get a cup of coffee at 7-11 for 79 cents. They don’t really have anything that cheap at Starbucks. Actually, I got a small coffee at 7-11 the other day, and it was $1.09. IIRC, at the Starbucks nearest to me, a small (a “tall” in Starbucks-ese) is $1.30. Yeah, it costs more, but not exorbitantly so. I was just pointing out that so often in these type of threads, there’s always someone (not you, or **Shirley Ujest** , she just happened to mention price) who bases their rant against Starbucks by saying, “Four dollars just for a cup of coffee? I can get the same thing for $1 at the 7-11!” That argument just doesn’t hold water … or coffee, if you will. 😉 A plain old cup of regular coffee isn’t really $4 - it’s the fancy-schmancy drinks that require twice as much work to make and are full of milk and chocolate and flavored syrups that cost that much. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/95 "2004-12-04T20:43:58Z")
Out of curiosity, **BiblioCat** were the smalls in question the same size? In some places a small is 12oz, and in others it’s 8oz. If your 7-11 coffe was a 12oz and your Starbucks was an 8oz, then you’re paying 20% more for 50% less coffee. I’d call that exhorbitantly more expensive. Hell, I’d call 20% more for the same amount substantially more expensive. And out of curiosity, how much does a 20oz. vanilla cappucino without any fancy extras cost at Starbucks? I can get one at pretty much any gas station in town for $.99, so I’d guess there’s at least a kernel of truth to that argument. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/96 "2004-12-04T21:37:51Z")
of course the really good stuff is Green Mountain Coffee, especially their [seasonal “creative” roasts…](http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/navCategory.aspx?Name=LimitedEdition&DeptName=OurCoffees) Blueberry Pumpkin Spice Spicy Eggnog Gingerbread ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/97 "2004-12-04T21:47:13Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > At might last office building, I had 4 Starbucks in a 6 block radius. […] That was downtown NY, near Broadway and Fulton. Now I’m in midtown (5th and 44th), and I know of only 2 Starbucks in the same radius. However, I haven’t fully scouted the area. And not a Dunkin’ Donuts to be found. ☹ There’s a Dunkin’s on 42nd between Madison & Grand Central. Next closest I know of is up at 59th & 3rd. There is an absolute BUTTLOAD of Starbucks in close proximity to you. Punch in zip code 10017 [here](http://www.starbucks.com/retail/locator/default.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/98 "2004-12-05T16:17:06Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Out of curiosity, **BiblioCat** were the smalls in question the same size? In some places a small is 12oz, and in others it’s 8oz. If your 7-11 coffe was a 12oz and your Starbucks was an 8oz, then you’re paying 20% more for 50% less coffee. Yeah, I know - I should have checked the exact sizes. At Starbucks, the smalls are 12 ounces, I think. When I got the small at 7-11, it was bigger than I wanted. I had a headache and just wanted a quick caffeine fix, and the smallest cup seemed pretty big. It was definitely at least 12 ounces, and might have even been 16. Their large coffee cup was huge, like a coffee Big Gulp. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/99 "2004-12-06T09:14:21Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Out of curiosity, **BiblioCat** were the smalls in question the same size? In some places a small is 12oz, and in others it’s 8oz. If your 7-11 coffe was a 12oz and your Starbucks was an 8oz, then you’re paying 20% more for 50% less coffee. Yeah, but the 7-11 coffee is much weaker, so the additional volume is just water. It’s the coffee beans that cost money, not the water. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452/100 "2004-12-06T15:39:26Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > You just reminded me of how, when I was in college in the '70s, I used to buy coffee from a vending machine that squirted the stuff into a paper cup, and also dispensed hot chocolate and chicken soup (through separate nozzles, thank Og). Now that was some…uh…adventurous coffee. Ooh. ooh. Now add some of those spirally cinnamon buns that came two to the pack in the machine next to it. That is breakfast!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-anything-is-wrong-with-starbucks-coffee/277452.md?page=6)