You'll always make a better cup of coffee at home for less.
But people pay a little extra for the convenience of not doing it. Starbucks however is banking on their reputation to overcharge, which seems to be finally backfiring.
The coffee is better at home, sure. But I can't make what is essentially a specialty milkshake at home without going out and getting the tools and ingredients.
Sometimes I can have little a of Starbucks, as a treat.
I will never understand people who get drip coffee at Starbucks... back when I got things from there it would just be the occasional over the top milk shake. Starbucks legitimately has the tools to produce ridiculous drinks with far less hassle then it'd take at home.
Yeah the only Starbucks in my area I'll go into is the reserve but that's because it's just really cool in there. If I want a busy environment that feels like a steampunk world then it's the place to be. Coffee there still sucks tho and even with the cool location I'm still only in there maybe a couple times a year
I avoid Starbucks for all kinds of reasons but can't say it's 100% abstention. Sometimes it's just a little too convenient for that overpriced slop. Sometimes called Charbucks because of how the coffee is always burnt.
I don't like candy bars or milkshakes. If I'm going to a Starbucks its at 3am in an airport, it's the ONLY option, thus I'm willing to tolerate burnt to fuck drip coffee.
No not always. I knew this Turkish immigrant who had his own little coffee shop you could not make close to the stuff he made let me tell you. God I miss him.
Try vanilla bean paste if you haven't - its actually good unlike the extract. Extract tastes bad because of concentration of cheap vodka, and paste has more vanilla so there's less vodka per volume.
There was an article during the convention that listed supporters. I'll look for it.
ETA- my mistake. It was a fake that was shared on Facebook and Twitter. It must have been here too because i don't have Twitter and my Facebook is only cats and relatives.
Starbucks does not directly support the RNC. But that doesn't mean that Starbucks' lobbying money doesn't primarily support Republicans. Per the PDF you linked, the majority of Starbucks' contributions to lobbying organizations went to those that donate at least 75% of their lobbying to Republicans.
From your link:
National Restaurant Association: 75% of all donations to Republicans; 50% of Starbucks' donations to this organization went to lobbyingBusiness Roundtable: "75 percent of donations from the median chief executive were directed to Republicans"; 40% of Starbucks' donations to this organization went to lobbying
Edit: Added the word "lobbying" before "money" in the first paragraph. Should have been in the original.
They never will though. Recently, they had "expert tasters" test how long their espresso shots tasted good, and their result was that "Starbucks espresso shots last up to 90 seconds." This just so happened to take place right as they started introducing a new system on how to sequence drinks while on the espresso and cold beverage bars lol.
(Also, as a footnote, Espresso shots die after 5-10 seconds; the crema just dissipates after then, making the shot taste acidic)
Not exactly? Traditionally, it's served in a 2oz cup and you would slurp it to coat your tongue and get all the flavors while not outright burning your tongue. Over at Starbucks however, we tend to pour steamed milk or ice on top to shock the shots and make them stay at one taste. A good example is a plain iced doppio espresso: it's just ice poured over two shots, with sugar, syrup, and cream to preference.
(Also, as a footnote, Espresso shots die after 5-10 seconds; the crema just dissipates after then, making the shot taste acidic)
Espresso shots "dying" within 10 seconds is a myth, apparently started by Starbucks' training funnily enough. The flavour of a shot definitely dies down as it gets cooler and the crema dissipates, but it's a matter of minutes rather than seconds before a shot tastes bad.
Heck it takes more than 10 seconds to get the drink to the clients in every café I've worked in. If espresso dies after 10 seconds, I have never served a good espresso. I've also apparently never had good espresso at work, because I swear every damn time I pull a shot for myself a client comes right in before I can take a sip :P
When your coffee tasting notes are "burned, charcoal, ash", and you make up for it by offering £7 worth of sugar, it's not surprising when people only shop there for so long.