The Sound of Starbucks

[Longjohn ★]

 

[late]

I hate Starbucks.

[Longjohn ★]

15 minutes ago, late said:

I hate Starbucks.

Me too but I liked the parody.

[Randomguy]

37 minutes ago, late said:

I hate Starbucks.

Their tea is way better than anything in the grocery store.

[Longjohn ★]

48 minutes ago, Tyler Hamilton said:

Their tea is way better than anything in the grocery store.

You’re teasing us, Starbucks doesn’t sell tea.

[Square Wheels]

Just now, Longjohn said:

You’re teasing us, Starbucks doesn’t sell tea.

They do.  It's all I've had there.  Silly, overpriced, funny-sized tea.

[Dottleshead ★]

Their coffee blows.

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

They do.  It's all I've had there.  Silly, overpriced, funny-sized tea.

It's good. I have ordered my share on bike ride breaks. Their coffee sucks though.

[Square Wheels]

Just now, Dottles said:

It's good. I have ordered my share on bike ride breaks. Their coffee sucks though.

It is good, but I think it's silly to pay $4+ for a cup of tea I can make at home for a nickle.  I'm not rich like you.

[Dottleshead ★]

Just now, Square Wheels said:

It is good, but I think it's silly to pay $4+ for a cup of tea I can make at home for a nickle.  I'm not rich like you.

When I am on the bike all day, I can swing by and pop for one. That's 50¢ an hour. Splurge.

[Razors Edge ★]

2 hours ago, late said:

I hate Starbucks.

Which one? They have a sheot-ton of locations.

Tom

[ChrisL]

40 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

It is good, but I think it's silly to pay $4+ for a cup of tea I can make at home for a nickle.  I'm not rich like you.

It's not quiet that much but yeah more than home brew. I love the Starbucks Jade Citrus Mint tea and get it frequently.  It's a couple of bucks for the medium sized cup. 

We have Starbucks coffee dispensers at work and so get a cup daily for free. It's better than any office coffee I've had before...

[Longjohn ★]

7 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

It's better than any office coffee I've had before...

 

[Razors Edge ★]

20 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

It's not quiet that much but yeah more than home brew. I love the Starbucks Jade Citrus Mint tea and get it frequently.  It's a couple of bucks for the medium sized cup. 

We have Starbucks coffee dispensers at work and so get a cup daily for free. It's better than any office coffee I've had before... 

It's better than any office coffee before Starbucks existed as a national brand.  Essentially, Starbucks made it so folks can beotch about how bad Starbucks is relative to whatever their coffee preference is NOW.  Note, none mention it being worse than the sheot they were drinking in the 70s, 80s, or early 90s.  Folgers? Sanka? Yep.  And please don't compare it to the Keurig swill so many drink without complaining.

Tom

[ChrisL]

17 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

It's better than any office coffee before Starbucks existed as a national brand.  Essentially, Starbucks made it so folks can beotch about how bad Starbucks is relative to whatever their coffee preference is NOW.  Note, none mention it being worse than the sheot they were drinking in the 70s, 80s, or early 90s.  Folgers? Sanka? Yep.  And please don't compare it to the Keurig swill so many drink without complaining.

Tom

Or the thick coffe flavored mud they had in Army mess halls.

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

Or the thick coffee flavored mud they had in Army mess halls. 

The good old days

Tom

[late]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

Which one? They have a sheot-ton of locations.

Tom

All of them.

I have a Starbucks rant. It's too long to type.

Starbucks is a boil on the ass of civilisation. It takes one of the things that made the modern world possible, and debases it.

 

[Razors Edge ★]

6 minutes ago, late said:

All of them.

I have a Starbucks rant. It's too long to type.

Starbucks is a boil on the ass of civilisation. It takes one of the things that made the modern world possible, and debases it. 

Rock your rant!

What brand of coffee were you drinking in the 70s? And are you still drinking it today?

Tom

[late]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

It's better than any office coffee before Starbucks existed as a national brand.  Essentially, Starbucks made it so folks can beotch about how bad Starbucks is relative to whatever their coffee preference is NOW.  Note, none mention it being worse than the sheot they were drinking in the 70s, 80s, or early 90s.  Folgers? Sanka? Yep.  And please don't compare it to the Keurig swill so many drink without complaining.

Tom

You ever drink their brewed coffee?????

I don't mean the hot milkshakes, I mean coffee, nothing more than a little milk and sugar. It's disgusting, some of the worst coffee I've ever had.

Back in the 70s, I used to drink the world's best coffee. It's nearly impossible to find now, you need to know somebody. Most Jamaican goes to Japan where they pay more for a cup of it,  than you'd pay for a pound.

Coffee, as a rule, was better in the 60s and 70s. Most of it was mediocre, but nowadays the same brands are usually tasteless or terrible. And you could get the good stuff.

Dunkin Donuts coffee used to be better than average. I had a cheap espresso machine that was more like a moka pot. Dunkin Donuts coffee was pretty good made that way.

What happened is that a lot of coffee is grown low now, in fields. It doesn't make for a good drink.

I feel a little guilty even saying it, because the good stuff is hard to find, and there is a real learning curve to brewing. Take a good Costa Rican, and those delicate flavors, fruit notes, sweetness, a hint of caramel, they can just vanish if you used to much, or brew too hard or too long.

Learning curve...

 

https://www.coffeereview.com/

[Razors Edge ★]

3 minutes ago, late said:

Coffee, as a rule, was better in the 60s and 70s. Most of it was mediocre, but nowadays the same brands are usually tasteless or terrible. And you could get the good stuff.

I like your rant-lite, but I guess I missed the "golden age" of coffee. 

Tom

[Randomguy]

8 minutes ago, late said:

You ever drink their brewed coffee?????

I don't mean the hot milkshakes, I mean coffee, nothing more than a little milk and sugar. It's disgusting, some of the worst coffee I've ever had.

Back in the 70s, I used to drink the world's best coffee. It's nearly impossible to find now, you need to know somebody. Most Jamaican goes to Japan where they pay more for a cup of it,  than you'd pay for a pound.

Coffee, as a rule, was better in the 60s and 70s. Most of it was mediocre, but nowadays the same brands are usually tasteless or terrible. And you could get the good stuff.

Dunkin Donuts coffee used to be better than average. I had a cheap espresso machine that was more like a moka pot. Dunkin Donuts coffee was pretty good made that way.

What happened is that a lot of coffee is grown low now, in fields. It doesn't make for a good drink.

I feel a little guilty even saying it, because the good stuff is hard to find, and there is a real learning curve to brewing. Take a good Costa Rican, and those delicate flavors, fruit notes, sweetness, a hint of caramel, they can just vanish if you used to much, or brew too hard or too long.

Learning curve...

 

https://www.coffeereview.com/

It all tastes like ass to me.

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, Tyler Hamilton said:

It all tastes like ass to me. 

Well, that depends on whose ass you were tasting. Seemingly, you've tasted at least one??? So, I must defer to you.

Tom

[ChrisL]

20 minutes ago, late said:

You ever drink their brewed coffee?????

I don't mean the hot milkshakes, I mean coffee, nothing more than a little milk and sugar. It's disgusting, some of the worst coffee I've ever had.

Back in the 70s, I used to drink the world's best coffee. It's nearly impossible to find now, you need to know somebody. Most Jamaican goes to Japan where they pay more for a cup of it,  than you'd pay for a pound.

Coffee, as a rule, was better in the 60s and 70s. Most of it was mediocre, but nowadays the same brands are usually tasteless or terrible. And you could get the good stuff.

Dunkin Donuts coffee used to be better than average. I had a cheap espresso machine that was more like a moka pot. Dunkin Donuts coffee was pretty good made that way.

What happened is that a lot of coffee is grown low now, in fields. It doesn't make for a good drink.

I feel a little guilty even saying it, because the good stuff is hard to find, and there is a real learning curve to brewing. Take a good Costa Rican, and those delicate flavors, fruit notes, sweetness, a hint of caramel, they can just vanish if you used to much, or brew too hard or too long.

Learning curve...

 

https://www.coffeereview.com/

I usually get the tea I mentioned above but I don't dislike their brewed coffee and get it (in the shop) several times a year.  It's usually a tad in the strong side so I put a few blocks of ice in it and it's good.

I started drinking coffee in the mid 80's and it wasn't good but was hot and kept me awake. I had wonderful brews in Seattle at converted photo mats and absolutely delightful coffees in Europe. but I can't say there is a better brew I can get on a day in day out basis than Starbucks.  

[late]

2 hours ago, Tyler Hamilton said:

It all tastes like ass to me.

My all time favorite was a strain of  Colombian that is now extinct. For $8, in the late 70s, I could get a pound, and the aluminum bag had a little imitation canvas bag that looked like the old shipping bags. Nowadays, coffee is shipped in metal containers flushed with nitrogen.

Anyway, I'd take some over to Mom. She had a crappy little Mr Coffee brewer. But having good coffee is always 90% of the game. It would fill the whole house with this amazing smell. I'm a cream and sugar guy, but I would often drink that with just a little cream, it had a slight natural sweetness, and a low acidity. One time I even had it black, it was ok. I never drink it black.

You never know, but I think you'd like good coffee.

 

[Dottleshead ★]

2 hours ago, Tyler Hamilton said:

It all tastes like ass to me.

Should I be asking how you know what ass taste likes?  Um.  No.

[Airehead]

I know a guy, @Couch_Incident, who roast me a special bean. Magnificent. 

[pedalphile]

6 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Rock your rant!

What brand of coffee were you drinking in the 70s? And are you still drinking it today?

Tom

Lavazza, and Yes, I am still drinking it daily, at home and at the concession they have at work.

[pedalphile]

6 hours ago, ChrisL said:

I usually get the tea I mentioned above but I don't dislike their brewed coffee and get it (in the shop) several times a year.  It's usually a tad in the strong side so I put a few blocks of ice in it and it's good.

I started drinking coffee in the mid 80's and it wasn't good but was hot and kept me awake. I had wonderful brews in Seattle at converted photo mats and absolutely delightful coffees in Europe. but I can't say there is a better brew I can get on a day in day out basis than Starbucks.  

I cannot think of a daily available coffee that is worse than Starbucks. Seriously, because there isn’t one, Costa is better than it, as is McDonalds, at half the price, too, any supermarket cafe own brew is better than SB’s, SB’s is the pits of my coffee worlde, fact.

[Dottleshead ★]

32 minutes ago, pedalphile said:

I cannot think of a daily available coffee that is worse than Starbucks. Seriously, because there isn’t one, Costa is better than it, as is McDonalds, at half the price, too, any supermarket cafe own brew is better than SB’s, SB’s is the pits of my coffee worlde, fact.

Starbucks bought out Seattle's Best coffee which served McDonalds.  I have no idea what MickeyDs serves now but I agree with you -- it's better than Starbucks.  But there are a host of local brands here that measure up that I would be willing to take head to head.  But oddly, my favorite coffees come from the island of Kauai'i.  I spend a more cash than I should to ship it here but I don't drink beer or ales or whiskey or anything.  I'm a bloody teetotaler.  So the money spent on a half year of coffee costs me the same as a couple nights at the local watering hole. I can live with it.

[late]

30 minutes ago, pedalphile said:

Lavazza, and Yes, I am still drinking it daily, at home and at the concession they have at work.

Apologies in advance, but here's my espresso rant..

Espresso was born of neccessity. Coffee was very expensive, and after spending months getting there, it picked up some flavors I associate with Starbucks, these days.

So they burned it. That covered up most of the off flavors, and the lack of natural coffee flavor, and then they blasted it to extract as much as was possible because it was so bloody expensive.

Compared to what it was in the 1700s, coffee is cheap now. We know how to grow to get the best flavor, we know how to ship to keep ahold of the flavor. And we know how to brew to get that flavor into a cup.

Espresso is obsolete. It's a tradition in Europe, but it's not very good. In fact, the best espresso I've had was a Northern Italian style (brown) espresso done here. I wouldn't say I liked it much, but it was drinkable.

        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The place I got a lot of coffee has La Minita back in stock. La Minita is the most consistent coffee estate in the world. This is their second tier coffee, I don't know where to find their top tier brew, without going to their estate. It's a light coffee, with a natural sweetness, and hints of fruit and other flavors dancing in the background. Use a manual brewer, the Melitta is fine, and be prepared to take a few tries before you get it right. It's way too easy to bury the flavors you spent all that money to get.

http://store.georgehowellcoffee.com/coffees/laminita.html

 

Something else I really like is a good Yirgacheefe, but my health doesn't let me drink coffee, and I haven't seen a good one in an age. That's one of the reasons I linked Coffee Review, it should be a good place to start.

 

 

[late]

2 minutes ago, Dottles said:

Starbucks bought out Seattle's Best coffee which served McDonalds.  I have no idea what MickeyDs serves now but I agree with you -- it's better than Starbucks.  But there are a host of local brands here that measure up that I would be willing to take head to head.  But oddly, my favorite coffees come from the island of Kauai'i.  I spend a more cash than I should to ship it here but I don't drink beer or ales or whiskey or anything.  I'm a bloody teetotaler.  So the money spent on a half year of coffee costs me the same as a couple nights at the local watering hole. I can live with it.

I like Hawaiian coffee, but you really should get adventurous, there's better.

[pedalphile]

34 minutes ago, late said:

Apologies in advance, but here's my espresso rant..

Espresso was born of neccessity. Coffee was very expensive, and after spending months getting there, it picked up some flavors I associate with Starbucks, these days.

So they burned it. That covered up most of the off flavors, and the lack of natural coffee flavor, and then they blasted it to extract as much as was possible because it was so bloody expensive.

Compared to what it was in the 1700s, coffee is cheap now. We know how to grow to get the best flavor, we know how to ship to keep ahold of the flavor. And we know how to brew to get that flavor into a cup.

Espresso is obsolete. It's a tradition in Europe, but it's not very good. In fact, the best espresso I've had was a Northern Italian style (brown) espresso done here. I wouldn't say I liked it much, but it was drinkable.

        -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The place I got a lot of coffee has La Minita back in stock. La Minita is the most consistent coffee estate in the world. This is their second tier coffee, I don't know where to find their top tier brew, without going to their estate. It's a light coffee, with a natural sweetness, and hints of fruit and other flavors dancing in the background. Use a manual brewer, the Melitta is fine, and be prepared to take a few tries before you get it right. It's way too easy to bury the flavors you spent all that money to get.

http://store.georgehowellcoffee.com/coffees/laminita.html

 

Something else I really like is a good Yirgacheefe, but my health doesn't let me drink coffee, and I haven't seen a good one in an age. That's one of the reasons I linked Coffee Review, it should be a good place to start.

 

 

No need to apologise to me for any of this, I have learned things here compleatly outside my coffee orbit, you are clearly very knowledgeable on this subject, far more so than I ever hope to be. But not knowing much I at least know what I like and dislike, and I love my lavazza espressos, and shall doubtless in my naivety continue to enjoy them, knowing nothing better, like.

[late]

20 minutes ago, pedalphile said:

No need to apologise to me for any of this, I have learned things here compleatly outside my coffee orbit, you are clearly very knowledgeable on this subject, far more so than I ever hope to be. But not knowing much I at least know what I like and dislike, and I love my lavazza espressos, and shall doubtless in my naivety continue to enjoy them, knowing nothing better, like.

This is a bit dry, but it's also a fascinating study of markets, conflicting cultures, and the introduction of coffee to Europe.

https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Trader-Ballantine-Readers-Circle/dp/0375760903/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540372880&sr=8-1&keywords=coffee+trader+david+liss

[Longjohn ★]

I have a personality clash between what I like and my frugality. I refuse to like stuff just because it is expensive but sometimes expensive stuff is really good. When I had the cafe I brewed the kind of coffee I liked. It was a bit more expensive but I think the roasters gave me a special deal because they liked me.

Does anyone remember pre-eighties vending machine coffee? Talk about swill, that crap tasted worse than Starbucks. They managed to sell it because they put the machines in places that you had no other choice if you “needed” a cup of coffee. I remember when they wheeled the first modern vending machine into the break room down in Metaltech in Pittsburgh. The machine used whole coffee beans and after you made your selection it would grind the beans and brew your coffee. It was a big improvement. A few days after it was delivered the guy that owned the vending company asked how I liked the coffee now. I told him it was a big improvement but I was a little disappointed it wasn’t better.

He asked me how I drink my coffee and I said with cream. He said that is your problem right there. In a vending machine we cannot use real cream so we use that powdered crap. Then he bought me a cup of black coffee and told me to try it. I have never gone back to putting additives in my coffee again.

The vending machine used a type of French press devise for brewing one cup at a time. I miss the coffee I drank at work but I don’t miss work. I did stop in one morning this summer and had a cup, it’s still good.

[pedalphile]

10 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

I have a personality clash between what I like and my frugality. I refuse to like stuff just because it is expensive but sometimes expensive stuff is really good. When I had the cafe I brewed the kind of coffee I liked. It was a bit more expensive but I think the roasters gave me a special deal because they liked me.

Does anyone remember pre-eighties vending machine coffee? Talk about swill, that crap tasted worse than Starbucks. They managed to sell it because they put the machines in places that you had no other choice if you “needed” a cup of coffee. I remember when they wheeled the first modern vending machine into the break room down in Metaltech in Pittsburgh. The machine used whole coffee beans and after you made your selection it would grind the beans and brew your coffee. It was a big improvement. A few days after it was delivered the guy that owned the vending company asked how I liked the coffee now. I told him it was a big improvement but I was a little disappointed it wasn’t better.

He asked me how I drink my coffee and I said with cream. He said that is your problem right there. In a vending machine we cannot use real cream so we use that powdered crap. Then he bought me a cup of black coffee and told me to try it. I have never gone back to putting additives in my coffee again.

The vending machine used a type of French press devise for brewing one cup at a time. I miss the coffee I drank at work but I don’t miss work. I did stop in one morning this summer and had a cup, it’s still good.

Very sound analysis that, John, I especially right there with you re additives: they should really be named negaters or minuses, these things people put in coffee, but are not coffee, let them henceforth be known as coffee Detractors.

[Dottleshead ★]

9 hours ago, late said:

I like Hawaiian coffee, but you really should get adventurous, there's better.

Oh I venture out. Sumatran blends are probably my all time faves. But I toured the plantation on Kauai and just feel a connection there. They had all their roasts for the tasting and it was great.

[Razors Edge ★]

9 minutes ago, Dottles said:

Oh I venture out. Sumatran blends are probably my all time faves. But I toured the plantation on Kauai and just feel a connection there. They had all their roasts for the tasting and it was great.

I agree on the tastiness of the Kauai coffee.  It was on Kauai that I officially became a "coffee drinker".  I find the Kauai stuff generally really mild (a good thing in this case), but I also like coffee of other types and blends and roasts.  I also think that consuming coffee in the place it was "created" is a big enhancer.  Costa Rican coffee in Costa Rica, of Kauai coffee in Kauai, or Sumatran in Sumatra   Even foreign beans fresh roasted in the coffee shop you are sipping it in makes it "special".

Same is true with wine and beer.  Maybe with tea, too?

Tom

[Dottleshead ★]

I like a couple of their bold roasts. Those I haven't seen sold local... It's why I send away for them.

[dinneR ★]

24 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I agree on the tastiness of the Kauai coffee.  It was on Kauai that I officially became a "coffee drinker".  I find the Kauai stuff generally really mild (a good thing in this case), but I also like coffee of other types and blends and roasts.  I also think that consuming coffee in the place it was "created" is a big enhancer.  Costa Rican coffee in Costa Rica, of Kauai coffee in Kauai, or Sumatran in Sumatra   Even foreign beans fresh roasted in the coffee shop you are sipping it in makes it "special".

Same is true with wine and beer.  Maybe with tea, too?

Tom

Except that many coffee growing countries export their best beans and keep the crappy ones.

Yemen Mocha is one of my favorites. 

[Razors Edge ★]

4 minutes ago, dennis said:

Except that many coffee growing countries export their best beans and keep the crappy ones.

Yemen Mocha is one of my favorites.  

They hold back some of the good stuff for the rich Westerners!

Tom

[dinneR ★]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

They hold back some of the good stuff for the rich Westerners!

Tom

Good idea. 

[Razors Edge ★]

3 minutes ago, dennis said:

Good idea. 

I've never been to Yemen, though.

They may not be that way.

And if the Turks were serving me their "best", heaven forbid I ever taste their "not best".  That stuff was tough.

Tom

[Dottleshead ★]

14 minutes ago, dennis said:

Except that many coffee growing countries export their best beans and keep the crappy ones.

They send the best Fuji apples from Washington out. I actually go to a Korean grocery here to get the good ones.

[dinneR ★]

1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

I've never been to Yemen, though.

They may not be that way.

And if the Turks were serving me their "best", heaven forbid I ever taste their "not best".  That stuff was tough.

Tom

Yemen is a mess. Too bad, because their coffee is divine. 

Turks drink a lot of Nescafe. Not sure why. Turkish coffee is something else. 

[dinneR ★]

1 minute ago, Dottles said:

They send the best Fuji apples from Washington out. I actually go to a Korean grocery here to get the good ones.

Look for SweeTangos. Delicious.