Starbucks in league with Satan

metalinmyveins wrote:

I don't mind a straight up coffee, but I'm more of a cappuccino or latte kind of guy. Even though I will go to Starbucks on occasion, I will steal a line from Ron Burgundy; "That stuff is pure gasoline". It's by far the strongest coffee I've had. In my experience it goes in this order:

Gloria Jeans (if you can find one) > Dunkin Donuts > McDonalds > Starbucks...

Gloria Jeans is really good. I highly recommend 7-11 as well, no joke. 100% HQ Arabica beans, perfect water temp (that's the other problem with Sbux--190+ degrees is way too hot for brewing), and from what I hear they have a 15m changeout rule in the morning. That's fresh. Only thing I'm not sure of is if the grind is local or shipped.

I drink between 6-8 cups of coffee every day before I leave for work.  But mine is just auto-drip Maxwell House French Roast; no foo-foo coffee for me.  No sugar either; just a little skim milk to take the edge off.

If I can find a mom & pop coffee shop, I'm always eager to check those out.

For instance, the best cappuccino that I've ever had is at Cafe Patachou in Indianapolis. They also have the best damn omelets I've ever had, but one has to go to the location across from Butler University off of 4911 North Pennsylvania Street in Indianapolis.

S.D. wrote:

I've been enjoying Intelligentsia Coffee recently, there are a couple locations here in Los Angeles.  All direct trade, organic, good stuff.  

I'll check them out next time in the area.

corplhicks wrote:

S.D. wrote:

I've been enjoying Intelligentsia Coffee recently, there are a couple locations here in Los Angeles.  All direct trade, organic, good stuff.  

I'll check them out next time in the area.

I also buy their coffee for home use, Amazon sells it.

corplhicks wrote:

QuothTheRaven wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

That explains the burnt taste in every cup they serve.

THANK you! I have friends who are head over heels about Starbucks and I can't stand it. I've had coffee from gas stations and fast food restaurants that taste better to me than Starbucks. We have a local coffee shop in the town where I live that kicks Starbucks' ass from here to next week. And cheaper too!

It's a business model based on high volume. Instead of purchasing Arabica beans, Starbucks sticks with MOSTLY Robusta beans for their brew--which have to be roasted to practically char to produce any satisfactory flavor. This is mostly with their bold line, however, like Sumatra and Pike's Place, which is what they usually put on the brewing line. Robusta beans are much cheaper than Arabica. Because of the high overhead and wages that the company pays out, this is one of the corners they cut. Their's also something about Italian tradition that they usually spoke about an the area-wide meeting, but I have yet to find any verifiable research regarding that. It's not BAD coffee per se--that would be Columbian--but it's certainly not premium.

Keep in mind that coffee imports and tariffs have spike in the past decade, and Starbucks has maintained their stock just above the red. Thus the mass closure of stores across the globe.

IMO Peet's has the best coffee, which is why they've refused to a) grow beyond their region and b) let Starbucks buy them, even after the many, many inviting proposals that have been made.

Actually, Starbucks does not use Robusta beans... that's just an "internet rumor" started to discredit the chain (probably started by Maxwell House or Folger's since their business went into the shitter once Starbucks really took off. They use good beans, some people just don't like how dark they roast the beans (they go a bit darker than most places, and it's not because they are trying to hide the cheap beans)

I would rather drink Starbucks over McD's or 7-11 any day of the week..... there are better Coffee places out there - Caribou Coffee would be one. I also tried a bunch of places (don't remember the names) when I was in Seattle years ago and the coffee was excellent (why drink Starbucks in Seattle - you can get that anywhere!)

My favorite is 100% Kona Coffee (got addicted to it when I was in Hawaii) - that stuff you have to check closely, most of the high availability stuff on the mainland is mixed with other beans.

And for the record, the Metal foam is funny, but I doubt it's a true story.

S.D. wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

S.D. wrote:

I've been enjoying Intelligentsia Coffee recently, there are a couple locations here in Los Angeles.  All direct trade, organic, good stuff.  

I'll check them out next time in the area.

I also buy their coffee for home use, Amazon sells it.

I'll have to try that one!

corplhicks wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

I don't mind a straight up coffee, but I'm more of a cappuccino or latte kind of guy. Even though I will go to Starbucks on occasion, I will steal a line from Ron Burgundy; "That stuff is pure gasoline". It's by far the strongest coffee I've had. In my experience it goes in this order:

Gloria Jeans (if you can find one) > Dunkin Donuts > McDonalds > Starbucks...

Gloria Jeans is really good. I highly recommend 7-11 as well, no joke. 100% HQ Arabica beans, perfect water temp (that's the other problem with Sbux--190+ degrees is way too hot for brewing), and from what I hear they have a 15m changeout rule in the morning. That's fresh. Only thing I'm not sure of is if the grind is local or shipped.

I like the Dutch Brothers that has moved into the Carmichael area. Have you tried it?

thejokeriv wrote:

Actually, Starbucks does not use Robusta beans... that's just an "internet rumor" started to discredit the chain (probably started by Maxwell House or Folger's since their business went into the shitter once Starbucks really took off. They use good beans, some people just don't like how dark they roast the beans (they go a bit darker than most places, and it's not because they are trying to hide the cheap beans)

I would rather drink Starbucks over McD's or 7-11 any day of the week..... there are better Coffee places out there - Caribou Coffee would be one. I also tried a bunch of places (don't remember the names) when I was in Seattle years ago and the coffee was excellent (why drink Starbucks in Seattle - you can get that anywhere!)

My favorite is 100% Kona Coffee (got addicted to it when I was in Hawaii) - that stuff you have to check closely, most of the high availability stuff on the mainland is mixed with other beans.

And for the record, the Metal foam is funny, but I doubt it's a true story.

I actually can see how this would have started as a rumor, and I stand corrected. It sure leaked into the stores, because that's where I learned of it, from GM's and even DM's. This was at the tail end of my stint, when the tide was shifting and poor hiring choices were being made, leaving everyone disgruntled. So a bad rumor was something for them to latch onto. For the record, I do enjoy Starbucks coffee, save for a few like Pike's Place (the worst offender) and Kenya.

You're absolutely right about Kona. Best damn coffee on the planet.

chewie wrote:

I like the Dutch Brothers that has moved into the Carmichael area. Have you tried it?

We have a couple of those in town; I've yet to try their black coffee. Their foo foo drinks are pretty good.

I don't buy coffee from any of the places mentioned. I use flavored Gloria Jeans's Keurig coffee with plenty of flavored creamer and sugar. I only have one cup in the morning before work to wake me up, keep me warm (though that is not going to be necessary in a few more weeks), and to keep me fairly regular. I only drink coffee loaded with sugar, I just don't like anything bitter.

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

exact33 wrote:

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

Oh Yeah! Coffee is insurmountably better than the taste.One of my favorite things to pick at Amazon is a great smelling bag of coffee.

exact33 wrote:

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

I totally get that. I work with a guy who says the same thing.

But me, I'm an addict. So much so that I have to get up earlier than I want to on weekends because my head starts to throb if it doesn't get its caffeine infusion.

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

I totally get that.  I work with a guy who says the same thing.

But me, I'm an addict.  So much so that I have to get up earlier than I want to on weekends because my head starts to throb if it doesn't get its caffeine infusion.

I used to be like that. What's weird is caffeine doesn't have that effect on me anymore. In fact, it makes me sleepy. Could be the comfort of having a hot cup of joe in the morning rather than the caffeine itself, but for I don't get that surge of energy that I used to have. Unfortunately I can't have more than one cup a day due to my A-fib. I miss knocking but soup bowls of the stuff back in the day. mmm.

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

I totally get that.  I work with a guy who says the same thing.

But me, I'm an addict.  So much so that I have to get up earlier than I want to on weekends because my head starts to throb if it doesn't get its caffeine infusion.

i have pretty much stopped caffeine consumption. I like mostly got it through soda but now its all water.

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

I love the smell of coffee but i dont like the taste.

I totally get that.  I work with a guy who says the same thing.

But me, I'm an addict.  So much so that I have to get up earlier than I want to on weekends because my head starts to throb if it doesn't get its caffeine infusion.

i have pretty much stopped caffeine consumption. I like mostly got it through soda but now its all water.

I did that quite a while back for a year. I was having incredibly excruciating headaches on almost a daily basis relative to how much or how little caffeine i had. The first few months without caffeine there was almost no improvement but then after that the headaches were gone completely. When I eventually got back into caffeine overload I never had that problem again. Strange.

Welcome back, DallasBlack!

Required Fields wrote:

Welcome back, DallasBlack!

Good to be back .