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So whats the deal with Starbucks?

I don't drink coffee. My mom loves *$ though, so I sometimes pick her up a quad venti latte on weekends. I don't get it.

I've tried their hot chocolate, and I honestly think the packet stuff you can buy at safeway or whatever tastes the same. So I usually opt for the latter. Although, I do like their chocolate croissants... Anyone know of any place close to the San Francisco/Daly City border that I can get a decent choco criossant?
 
n10sive said:
I live by a Starbucks roasting plant and have taken a tour of it. I can tell you the beans come from where they say they do and they do have an army of bean procurers. Like them or not, the process of roasting beans is pretty high tech there. They blow them little babies thru shoots three stories in the air with jet aircraft engines. Based on the blend/roast they have it timed to a nat's ass as to how much heat they get. It's all computer controlled and the quality of the roasting is spot on all the time. Willy Wonka would be proud of that place! :)

I think that is what makes them unique. I have bought home roasted from small shops and sometimes you get 'burnt' and sometimes you get 'extra crispy' :)
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You’ve just had hand-roasted beans that weren’t done right. Not surprising, as roasting is a skill that is learned over years of experience and training, and though there are a lot of storefronts that do it right, there are many that don’t.

In fact, the super-high tech roasting process you describe is one of the things that make Starbucks beans suck so badly. A computer can’t look/smell/hear. Someday, perhaps, but we ain’t there yet.

A skilled artisan beats a computer every time, as it is any other food/beverage. Making dough and baking it, to cooking, to roasting coffee. No computer can do it right. (…yet)

To see what I mean, take any Starbucks bean, and crush it in between your thumbnail and index finger. You’ll see a color gradation across the bean. That is an inconsistent roast. Now take a properly roasted bean and do the same, you’ll see a consistent roast.

Of course, there is more to it, like sourcing good beans, and preparation, but if you start with poorly roasted beans, you can’t save it. Alfred Peet showed Starbucks the way when he taught them the artisan roasting process, they just abandoned it in favor of growth and commercialism.
 
Looks like a good spot to hang...
 

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it's funny to read all the "reverse snobbism" here :twofinger
 
Hooli love your avitar btw...

YOu know I read ALL the posts and I am not a coffee drinker cuz it makes me sh*t but I love the taste for sure...

All coffee is good, some people like it foo foo and some like it std black.. blah blah and if anyone of thought of the buck dealio back in 96 or whatever we would love to own a part of it.. I know I would.

Now in the parts where they put out of business "mom and pops" places yeah that sucks hard... In my local deal we have 1 right down the street from my home and the local shop had a few years contract to be in the plaza and they kicked ASS... bucks came in a basically paid the landlord a load of money and paid to finish the plaza and ran the local shop out... Sucked and I do not like them for it just on "principal" you know?

So I guess what I am saying is if Bucks will sponsor me personally I WILL go on a crusade to make them more popular with riders and racers.. :)

ANd btw if you meet at a bucks your making them look busy and getting more people buy bucks coffee...
 
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we've a new place here in san jose, on the alameda at cleaves called crema. they roast their own beans and seem to be doing well enough, even with the unmentioned "big two" just down the street. maybe the coffee is good because they are in the coffee business, not the milk and sugar business.
 
although I used to be a caramel machiato fiend, i stopped drinking coffee for the most part. i prefer either a good english tea with a dash of half-and-half. I still go to starbucks every now and again since a few of my friends who started out as regular store employees have worked themselves up to corporate. if and when i do go, i just drink hot tea or a cup of their normal brewed stuff
 
heh, you got it half right. peets across from starbucks, but thats a good question: whats the closest starbucks there is to a starbucks that anyone knows of?
 
schumacher62 said:
heh, you got it half right. peets across from starbucks, but thats a good question: whats the closest starbucks there is to a starbucks that anyone knows of?
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I knew what you meant, I was just pulling your chain a bit. ;) Starbucks has over 10,000 stores now where Peet's has 163 at last count. Just seems like more since most of them are in NoCal.
 
Roadstergal said:
As far as quality goes - like anywhere else, you get a good drink there if the barista cares, and a lousy one if he/she doesn't.
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Ahah you got it man. I am a barista right now, and I'll put it to you like this, don't ever be an asshole to any of the baristas on staff. If you aren't in a good mood going in, fake it. They'll appreciate the good gesture...I do anyway. And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not take your drink back because you weren't satisfied ESPECIALLY if its even relatively busy . I'm not sayin' I spit in peoples cups or anything, but I certainly try my best to make it worse than I did the first time. When you take your drink back you come across as some picky, punk, inconsiderate bitch (You might not like it, agree with it or care, but thats the way it is). Of course, if your drink is lukewarm or something along those lines, you should take it back and the barista should be more than willing to hook you up right. Tipping doesn't hurt either.:thumbup

There it is, ordering at Coffee Bean/Starbucks 101.
 
muchacho pat said:
http://www.gergltd.com/users/isaac.gerg/starbucks/
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there's a shopping center here in fresno with two starbucks within a couple hundred yards of each other, along with another starbucks inside target a couple hundred yards further.:wtf 5, 6, and 7 in the picture.

starbucksyw7.jpg
 
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WillStunt said:
And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not take your drink back because you weren't satisfied ESPECIALLY if its even relatively busy . I'm not sayin' I spit in peoples cups or anything, but I certainly try my best to make it worse than I did the first time. When you take your drink back you come across as some picky, punk, inconsiderate bitch (You might not like it, agree with it or care, but thats the way it is).
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im confident ill not let your unskilled position at the mcdonalds of the coffee world dictate how i am supposed to act as a paying customer. you either appreciate the work you do and take pride in it, or you suffer through the day finding any excuse to be the picky punk bitch you talk about: a nasty customer, a missed bus, a 25 cent raise above minimum, a rainy walk to your coffee corner. you have your ideas of customer service, but i am quite confident your "boss" has a different idea. and the people buying that coffee certainly do. i mean really.
 
WillStunt said:
Ahah you got it man. I am a barista right now, and I'll put it to you like this, don't ever be an asshole to any of the baristas on staff. If you aren't in a good mood going in, fake it. They'll appreciate the good gesture...I do anyway. And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not take your drink back because you weren't satisfied ESPECIALLY if its even relatively busy . I'm not sayin' I spit in peoples cups or anything, but I certainly try my best to make it worse than I did the first time. When you take your drink back you come across as some picky, punk, inconsiderate bitch (You might not like it, agree with it or care, but thats the way it is). Of course, if your drink is lukewarm or something along those lines, you should take it back and the barista should be more than willing to hook you up right. Tipping doesn't hurt either.:thumbup

There it is, ordering at Coffee Bean/Starbucks 101.
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Yeah, the nerve of people thinking they should get a decently made drink for their $4-5. :rolleyes

FYI, that advice might apply when one is a customer in the Green Monster, I dunno, but I can personally assure you that your attitude wouldn't make for a very long career elsewhere. ;)
 
WillStunt said:
Ahah you got it man. I am a barista right now, and I'll put it to you like this, don't ever be an asshole to any of the baristas on staff. If you aren't in a good mood going in, fake it. They'll appreciate the good gesture...I do anyway. And FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not take your drink back because you weren't satisfied ESPECIALLY if its even relatively busy . I'm not sayin' I spit in peoples cups or anything, but I certainly try my best to make it worse than I did the first time. When you take your drink back you come across as some picky, punk, inconsiderate bitch (You might not like it, agree with it or care, but thats the way it is). Of course, if your drink is lukewarm or something along those lines, you should take it back and the barista should be more than willing to hook you up right. Tipping doesn't hurt either.:thumbup

There it is, ordering at Coffee Bean/Starbucks 101.
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Are you kidding ?!?! If I'm unhappy about my drink I will certainly bring it back and make you try again while I'm standing there watching you. If you cant make a drink on the Starbucks menu right then you should be at McDonalds flippin burgers. :hand And surely you jest when you are telling me how I should act when I walk in. I'm paying you, YOU be nice and chipper, thats not my job. If I'm in a bad mood I certainly dont intend on being a bitch but if youre gonna be a lil punk then I'll definately make your day just a lil bit brighter. :rolleyes

Get a clue kid.
 
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