Poll: How do you feel about Starbucks?

I don't really like their attitude that they have to be everywhere and that they make every place look and feel the same, taking away the uniqueness of smaller towns, but unlike Wal-Mart, which does the same thing but on an even larger scale, they at least don't donate to Republicans, and they seem to have reasonably good business practices. Well, aside from the 'let's put a store on every street corner' idea.

But the caramel apple cider is to SLAY for

i was just about to say that! i hate their coffee. but that carmel apple cider..nnnnnngh. i get mine w/no whippedcream. so it doesnt get chunky as i drink it. it's SO FREAKIN GOOD.

The caramel apple cider kicks ass. Next time you're there, ask them if they can make it with cinnamon dolce syrup instead of regular cinnamon syrup. Mmmm...

Plus, Starbucks provides health care even for part-time employees. Nowadays, you cant beat that.

i lost my taste for the caramel apple cider when i found out it was just apple juice. bleh. if you're going to call something "cider," shouldn't you make it from, oh, i dunno, cider?

that being said, i dig their passion iced tea lemonade, their peppermint hot chocolate, their mint mocha frappucinos, and a number of pastries. but i'm partial to the groovy independent coffeeshop up the street.

In the US, there is almost no appreciable difference between products labeled "apple cider" and "apple juice".

Link

That cider sounds *fantastic*

really? that surprises me, because to me, they have very different tastes. but i'm usually wrong about everything, so i'll take your and wikipedia's word for it.

in fact it's my last choice when it comes to buying a cuppa joe.

i do'nt really like it when people talk of them closing down the independant coffee shops, because frankly, starbucks created the coffee boutique culture in north america, yes, there were some coffee shops around, but not like there are now.

also, it is dumb that there's a starbucks on every corner, but damned if there isn't the market for it. in downtown vancouver there are two starbucks kitty corner to each other on the SAME intersection. and yet, at least a few years ago, they were two of the highest grossing locations in the lower mainland.

Well, putting a starbucks on every corner probably creates (or helps create) a market for it. That's what capitalism does. It doesn't just respond to needs. it creates them.

Also, there have been cafe and coffeeshops around for awhile. Starbucks definitely made it more chic and yuppie, but frankly, the environment in Starbucks isn't really boutique. It's rather sterile and uninviting compared to other independent coffeeshops with more personality.

I don't have much issue with them, to be honest. I suppose it's because I happen to be lucky in that
a) my town does have an independant coffee shop (2, if you count the old school diner up the block)
b) the closest Starbucks is ~10 miles away. granted there are 3 in that particular area (drive thru, regular & the one in the supermarket).

Maybe rural western PA isn't really the Starbucks' target market. Perhaps it's the only advantage of being surrounded by rednecks ;-)

don't believe it's possible?� check their store locator & pop in zip code 16063. :-D

enjoy the pastries :).

their blueberry scones are great!

Yeah, they're a typical big company with all the profit margin crap that's associated with it. But the reason I hate S$ is their terrible coffee (I'm talking about coffee here, not espresso drinks, which I'm not really into). They burn the poor beans into oblivion during the roasting process and their coffee tastes like charcoal, and brilliantly market it as "gourmet". At that level of roast, there's no difference in taste from one coffee to the next, so they can use cheapass beans.

Granted, I'm a coffee geek to the point that I roast my own at home, but come on over sometime. I'll make you a cup of city-roasted Yirgacheffe and we'll see if you ever crave Charbucks again.

This summer, I lived on the green iced tea lemonade. Oh... dear god it's good.

I work for Starubcks part-time and take advantage of their 401k and health insurance plan. I don't care for any coffee, but at least I can go to school and I can have good health insurance.

*the best partner secret new drink: the cinnamon dolce latte with 1 pump of white mocha*

...but they have the best chai and other yummy options. I can count on them wherever I go, and the people are usually awesome. No issues.

their coffee is absolute crap.

But I don't care one way or the other about the corporation.

I feel their products taste like flavored water.

Since I live in some sort of coffee mekka there's a lot to choose from :D

I'm rather into all kinds of espresso drinks but in the morning teh best thing is what the Diesel Cafe calls a kickstart: black coffee with 2 espresso shots :)

I don't like coffee at all.

I prefer Caf-B. Oh wait... that was fictional. Damn.

I just heard that Bach's Coffee Cantata is now sometimes called the Starbuck Cantata.