Friday, January 30, 2009

Say It Ain't So Starbucks



I’m not a huge Starbucks fan. Sorry about that Kevin. To me, their coffee is just too strong! I just don’t like the taste. And I really don't like what they charge for a cup of coffee! Now, I will admit, when I traveled to Seattle a few years ago, I did break down and drink a cup of Starbuck’s finest. When in Seattle, what else should you drink?

But now, Starbucks has gone one more step to keep me from drinking their coffee. See, to be perfectly honest, I’m not a really big coffee fan period. I love the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I love to go to coffee shops and just sit and smell. Well, I don’t like going to Starbucks for that—again remember, I don’t even like the smell of their coffee.

But now, Starbucks has made the business decision to stop brewing decaffeinated coffee after morning hours.

The Seattle coffee giant has instructed its United States’ baristas to stop regularly brewing batches of decaffeinated coffee after noon, according to a memo reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the company. Instead, baristas will brew decaffeinated drip coffee only when a customer orders it, a process the company says takes about four minutes.

Stores with higher demand for decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon and evening are being instructed to brew it more regularly if they believe there’s enough demand. “For many of our stores, the demand for decaf is greatly reduced in the afternoon and therefore yields high waste with the current standard,” the memo says.

Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino said the change shouldn’t affect customers. “We’re not saying we’re not going to have decaf coffee,” she said. “We’re just saying brew it based on your store needs rather than a one-size-fits-all.”

Well, okay. If I am really desperate, I’ll head to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. And, I’ll stand in line waiting as you brew my decaf cup for me. Then, charge me, like what, $5 for a cup that I could have brewed at home (at a far better taste) for a few pennies.

Yes, there’s no doubt about it. Our economy is really hurting. $5 for a cup of coffee. I wonder what the people standing in the soup lines during the Great Depression would have thought about that. Don’t think we are quite to depression days yet. Still one too many Starbucks within five miles of my office!

7 comments:

  1. You hater!!

    I dislike the taste of Starbucks coffee too. That's why I always get their enormously sugary concoctions that taste very little like coffee and very much like a drop of heaven in a cup.

    LOL!

    Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes...those are little tastes of heaven...but, they are a thing of the past! Not much sugar in my diet these days!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've never even been IN a SB. I don't like coffee. Love the smell, though.

    Bernard, on the other hand. . . .

    ReplyDelete
  4. SB was all the rage when I was a missy. We had three in Chiang Mai (there are more there, now) and whenever we traveled in China, it was always fun to stop in and buy a City Mug.

    I don't have to have SB coffee. I think the beans are over-roasted. It is often too strong. It is always too expensive.

    I wrote a post on it back when I lived there: http://www.rickboyne.com/2006/09/coffee-snobs.html The comments were the best part!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You could've had a Tully's, another Seattle-based coffee chain. ;-)

    But the regular cup-a-joe "drip" coffee, which category the decaf would fall, is much cheaper than the fru-fru drinks with names longer-than-I-care-to-spell at $3.50-$5 a pop.

    That's crazy, but also why they're closing another couple hundred of stores and lettign several thousand people go (source) - people are really slowing down on guzzling those fru-fru drinks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Like Karma I don't drink coffee so I won't miss the decaf nor will I have to wait in line.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's funny, I would think more people would want decaf in the afternoon or evening. I'll take all the caffine I can get in the morning.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I can't wait to read what you have written.