Starbucks and coffee
It is hard to define Starbucks role in coffee culture since
people has very strong opinions about it: they either love it or hate it
To be honest, nowadays I almost never go to a Starbucks, unless
it is an emergency of course (i.e. I’m at the airport and it is the only coffee place
available). However, I believe that just
like me, a lot of people were introduced by Starbucks to the World lattes,
macchiato, mochas , ice coffees and all the different ways you could enjoy this
beverage.
Several books have been written about Starbucks and their
success. More than the coffee, I believe that the Starbucks brand provides and
sells an experience to their consumers.
People who claim to know about coffee complain about the
mass-production of the beverage and all the flavors and combinations they add,
where you can taste from caramel to ginger and lose every trace of coffee. It is always funny to watch the person in front of you to order an "iced decaf tall sugar-free vanilla" (??)
My main complain towards Starbucks is because of their baristas. If you
go to a real coffee place each cup seems to be unique, handcrafted by an artist
and in Starbucks you will never see this. I agree that it looks more like an assembly line manufacturing coffee-like drinks in paper cups. You don’t
believe me? Watch the following video and compare what you normally drink at Starbucks
with this one:
Does it look the same to you?
However, as I said
before, it was thanks to them that I started drinking other variations of
coffee, and once that I started, I said goodbye to brewed coffee, no more Cafe
Americano for me!
For many years I
was happy drinking only Starbucks, until I travelled to Japan…
Hi Luis, good post. My Starbucks experience started when the first cafe opened in Mexico City. Me and some friends at the office used to go out and get trays full of venti white chocolate mochas several times a day. It was fun while it lasted, then my stomach was done of it.
ReplyDeleteThen I met early morning espressos in Spain. During my bartender days I learned how annoyed people could get when being offered an american coffee. That's american. And mexican. In many places a regular every day morning coffee is just an amazing full bodied espresso.
So, in complete affinity with your post here, I'd rather buy a coffee at one of those cheap eateries across the street and go back to Starbucks with my laptop, get a sandwich, and enjoy the experience.