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[–] 10 points 5 months ago* (11 children)

I don't understand why anyone goes to Starbucks. I just go to the local coffee houses, and they are awesome.

It's certainly not just a US thing.

starbucks map

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago (6 children)

    I don’t understand why anyone goes to Starbucks

    Me neither. I still can't figure out why they burn the fuck out of their beans, or who likes that flavor. Outside of some bottom of the barrel instant shit it's literally the worst coffee I've ever had.

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  • [–] 5 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    My guess is dark and medium roasts are more common than light roasts because it masks low quality coffee beans better.

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  • [–] 6 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Used to work there, that's exactly right. Same reason McDonald's makes their burgers so well done. What chains sell isn't quality, but consistency, and it's easier to produce a consistent overcooked food product

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  • [–] 1 point 5 months ago

    Yeah, also why it isn't hard to outdo fast food with home cooking. The sauces might not be as good (since the food industry has those down to a science) but I made homemade meatballs on a whim last night and they were somehow both kinda bland as well as way better than any chain burger and comparable to premium burgers just from the cooking quality (despite the circuit breaker going off because my air fryer and freezer cycled on at the same time and having to guess at how much time was left on the timer lol).

    Though IMO McDonald's has the lamest patties out of all the fast food places. No idea how they got and stayed so big based on them. A&W and Wendy's have far better burger patties, though even they are still a far cry from good homemade ones cooked well (but not well done).

    Consistent but low quality is so boring.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Yes. Coffee is as susceptible to terroir as wine and can vary season to season. So lots of companies mix up their beans from different farms and over-roast them (reducing the caffeine in the process) in order to get a consistent flavor. And when I say "consistent" I mean they all effectively taste the same. I buy "medium roast" coffee from Costco from time to time. I've bought it from several different labels and the beans all taste the same. So I just took to mixing it all up into my "here's what I'm drinking because I can't spend more on good coffee now" bin. Which is clear. Before mixing it up it all looks the same as well. Hell, it might all actually just be the same coffee being sold under different labels!

    Also burnt coffee is bitter and drives people to add flavor shots, etc to it. Which Starbuck's likes because that's where the money is.

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  • [–] 4 points 5 months ago (1 child)

    Makes me wish producers were in the game to sell good products rather than to sell as much as they can of anything they think will make a profit.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 months ago

    Yeah, people forget the point of capitalism isn't to satisfy the consumer. It's to maximize returns to the current owners.

    If they can do that with good products, they will. If they can make more money with a shitty product, the that's what's on the menu

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    I have this conversation with my wife. Her reply is that Starbucks has better ordering infrastructure where she doesn't have to get out of the car when she has the kids. I get that.

    I live in Hawai'i. We have locally grown coffee. We have chains that sell said locally grown coffee, located in malls. And you STILL see people lined up at the Starbucks. Branding is a powerful thing. Notice that people who get Starbucks will say "I need a Starbucks" and not "I need a coffee." They've become conditioned to look for that green and that logo.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Having lived in multiple of those countries, lets just say that most of those greens aren't anywhere as green as in a few others and even the most green of all (probably the UK) aren't as green as the US.

    For a lot of those countries (which have long traditions of good coffee), Startbucks have only a handful of stores in one or two major cities, mostly frequented by tourists since the locals can get better coffee from local coffee places and its way cheaper.

    (Were I am now, Portugal, there's a coffee place just about in every corner in any city, plus restaurants, all serving perfect expressos from Italian made expresso machines, with the most expensive cup in a place like Lisbon costing about €1.20)

    You're seriously deceiving yourself if you think there being and handful of Startbuck stores in touristic areas in a country with a strong tradition of coffee drinking is Starbucks being "a thing" there.

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