Old business model for selling coffee: 50 cents a cup for good coffee, unlimited refills, real porcelain cup with a saucer, waitress with a smile serves you and cleans the table when you're done.

Starbuck's business model for selling coffee: $4.95 a cup for crap, no refills, pressed paper cup, surly liberal with degree in women's studies desultorily serves you, and you get to clean up your own mess.

Someone explain to me how Starbuck's ever made any money.

Never underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people.

I started really hating Starbuck's when my old hangout from high school, The Space Station Arcade, went out of business and was bought by Starbuck's. That place had a ton of character, back in the day. Now, it's all strip-mallish and boring.

Whats Starbucks?
PS Anyone ever have blue mountain at the mountain restaurant?

Genesis wrote..

Eh, I have quite a bit invested in my equipment, but the coffee itself, bought green, is about $8/lb. I roast once a week and do about 3/4 of a lb at a time. It's always fresh and always delicious.

Who do you buy your beans from? I've used Sweet Maria's http://www.sweetmarias.com/index.php -- the results were awesome, even with my basic roasting rig. (Folks, if you've not tried roasting your own, and you love good coffee... go for it.) Edit: Never mind, I see Karl's link to http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/prod....

As an acquaintance of mine (a real coffee junkie) said, "There are only so many good coffee beans in the world, and Starbucks isn't getting them."

We like Peets out here, not sure if they're anywhere but west coast.

Mayorquimby wrote..

I dunno Lucky - Dunkin coffee is even worse than Starbucks - there really isn't a good option for coffee on your way to work in a big city - it all sucks. What is a working schlub to do?

If you need a quick hit of caffiene, McD's isn't much better worse better than Star****s, and it's a hell of a lot less expensive. Line's shorter, too. No pretentious Grande/Venti crap, either. Medium is Medium. Large is Large. Short on pretense. Just gimme my ****ing coffee.

Ichirovader wrote..

You're the man Karl. But I feel like there is a White People Problems meme somewhere in that post.

What, White People's Problems don't count? That's Racist (TM).

I have to disagree, however I do put cream and sweetener in my espresso.

At most Starbucks it's fantastic this way. It's why I started drinking espresso in the first place. But not every Starbuck's gets it right, but almost all and way more than any other chain. I've never had it better but there was one McCafe on the Mass Pike that was just as good.

I can't drink espresso at any other place than Starbucks really. The espresso is uniformly too bitter no matter how much I adulterate it at the other places to the point where I ask myself, "Why do people drink coffee from this place? It's so bad compared to Starbucks".

Smacktle wrote..

IMO all coffee tastes like ****.

Yes, but some **** tastes *much* better than others.

Jpg wrote..

Never underestimate the power of large numbers of stupid people.

Quote:

I can't drink espresso at any other place than Starbucks really. The espresso is uniformly too bitter no matter how much I adulterate it at the other places to the point where I ask myself, "Why do people drink coffee from this place? It's so bad compared to Starbucks".

You seriously have to be ****ting me.

Either that or you've never had a decent espresso.

I find SBUX espresso just fine when consumed as a Latte with some sugar; in fact, I rather like it that way. But I can't stand their regular coffee no matter how much milk and sugar I put in it.

-Uwe-

Here y'all go:
http://www.homeroaster.com/homemade.html

My shirt says all you need to know.



If anyone wants this image, you can find the original here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalcolo....

I also put together a tutorial on home roasting coffee in a popcorn popper.
http://www.ineedcoffee.com/05/poppery/

Yep...

Only had a StarSux Coffee, except ONCE, I was Jonesing for some coffee one morning fishing, and a fellow fisherman "shared" (BLACK) about 6 ounces poured into a spare Cup...

MY OPINION on it.....

i've been to County Jail a time or 2....
That Shared Cup of StarSux Coffe tasted NO BETTER than a cup of JailHouse Coffee....
(I wasn't even sure it was EVEN real Coffee.....)

Don't get Me wrong here, I'm a "Coffee junkie", Since My stint in the .MIL ...
I've NEVER had a REAL Cup O' Joe, as our Gracious Host & Guest's describe(s) here...
Me, it's the 3.99 *My Essentials* from FL, is the best I can get, I used to drink "Silky" Folgers before the price shot up to about 10.00 a can...

Though, I can say this..

When i was in Colón,, PANAMA, Walking down Balboa Ave in the Early Morning, you could SMELL Coffee Beans from the "Open-Air" Shops, being Roasted every morning that were Delevered,, FRESH from the Interior of Panama/Costa Rica,They had to be FRESH Coffee beans as small Mom & Pop Shops really didn't have a "way" to keep the beans a long time, much less "Fresh".. It was a AWESOME wonderful smell that I still remember, (much like smelling Tobacco coming from a Flue-cured barn early on a cool Morning).. Going by different Shops, you would smell different types of Coffee beans being roasted/processed, as you walked down the street..
People having coffee, (with a shot of RUM or Seiko), eating Pita Bread/With Cheeze,eggs, different fresh fruits etc...
Aroma's that would assult your senses....Wonderful times.

That sounds awesome Crossthread.

I never had better steak anywhere in the world than in Colombia. Seems the US ISN'T number one in quite a few things.....

Quote:

I never had better steak anywhere in the world than in Colombia.

It's because of how we raise our beef.

Find a local producer that grass feeds only.

Ruminant animals are not designed to digest corn.

Sometimes you can find certified grass fed beef locally. Give it shot.

Both coffee and steak are better in Costa Rica than here. That said, many gringos complain about the meat there because it is not fatty enough. For me, I think that is a perk, not a drawback.

This is the best coffee I ever had - smooth, clean finish and the purest coffee flavor. At the time, it was actually at the mountain restauarant which was the only place in Jamaica that served it.

http://www.fontecoffee.com/product74.htm....

At $90/lb it damn well better be good.

The green beans are lower price -

http://www.bluemountaincoffee.com/index.....

Best coffee bean there is.

I've drank it before. It is good.

I'll say this because I travel alot. Starbucks Via(Italian especially) is perfect when you would rather drink bath water than hotel coffee. I always carry 10-15 packets with me, according to how long I'll be out of town....