I don’t drink (I am on medication that will not mix well) but, I wholeheartedly agree with you with this:
“I drink my coffee unadulterated. Straight-up black, no sugar, no flavors, no syrups, no besmirchments of any kind. To me, Starbucks coffee is burnt swill (yes, I repeat the "S" word, but when it fits, it fits). I'm not alone in this assessment, and I figure the wide popularity of the product has a lot to do with a huge number of its drinkers preferring it besmirched and masked with sugars, fats, and other flavors. It's thus a tribute to marketing, especially toward the young who are more prone to wanting to be in on what's popular and trendy. Starbucks told people “this is what you should like,” quite successfully.”
Echo Mark's comment here. I don't drink anymore, but when I did, it was rarely Bud Light. But coffee? Definitely black, and definitely not Starbucks. Back when Starbucks was the "next hip thing" and finally branched outside of the big cities, I jumped on board. Loved the stuff when it was dressed up all fancy (milk, flavor syrup, etc.). Eventually that became too expensive so I tried it black, and that's when I learned the truth - it's stomach rotting crap. Now, I make my own at home
Quite interesting how similar were our posts this morning. Corporations trying to force woke ideology on consumers rather than focusing on selling their products and services will be their self-inflicted demise.
And I am 100% in agreement with you - Starbucks is swill. People who like *coffee* do not like Starbucks - it is a place for people who like sweetened, blended drinks. As a side note, I once learned from someone that they *intentionally* over-roast their beans so they can achieve a consistent flavor wherever you may go. In that, they have succeeded - wherever you visit a Starbucks, you will find their "coffee" to be burnt, bitter, and downright nasty.
Interesting about the over-roasting being intentional. I had figured that might be the case, because that's about all you can taste through the sugars and caramels and other crap.
I've always drank (drunken?) Bud Light when I'm doing all day drinking such as boating (not driving) at the lake or hanging out at the beach, for maintainability purposes. Watery, low alcohol content, you're good to go the distance until the sun goes down and I switch to good whiskey. I was once in a band with a drummer who would drink a case (yes, case) of Natty Light in a day. Anyone who's ever been in a band knows about drummers; they just aren't right in the head. See Keith Moon, John Bonham, et al. But he unwittingly coined a great marketing phrase without even realizing it. He would walk in with the case on his shoulder and say "When you're only having 24..." And he didn't even have a Wharton degree.
I wasn't personally offended by the Bud Light trans fiasco, but I was put off by the VP who double down and degraded BL's most dedicated customers. I've personally sworn off Nike and other products that I've previously supported, but it remains to be seen if I will refuse to buy Bud Light. Check back with me on Memorial Day when I go to the lake. There's plenty of other swill options so who knows.
As for Starbucks, I work with some Millennials who are completely hooked on their products. They spend more on coffee than I do in gas for my car. I drink the free plain coffee that the company provides at work, and a better grade of Kona coffee at home. I've had plenty of Starbucks drinks over the years and I just never really saw the appeal.
I didn't care one way or the other about the Mulvaney campaign, either.
I'm still of a mind that most "woke" stuff big corporations do is defensive in nature, akin to painting lamb's blood above the door so that the Twitter hordes, aka the creeping death, will move on to other targets.
Now, however, with Gen-Z wokesters leaving their academic reinforcement chambers and rising through the corporate ranks, some of this is very likely affirmative in nature, as in "we are going to shape society."
I'm with you on drawing a blank on what BL should "do" to rehab the image. Should have left well enough alone. There's 10,000 alternatives today - of course your market share is going to decline. Whatever you "do" - don't be offensive!
Starbucks' (and imitators) schtick is to buy the highest quality beans that stand up to the very highest roasting temps, which frees the flavonoids - witness the oily sheen on each bean - which makes for a very strong, concentrated taste. Lower quality beans won't survive the process and come out broken and dry. They also put twice as much freshly ground beans into each brew batch - so it is strong and very rich. But I get that some folks don't prefer that. I don't prefer to spend that kind of money on coffee! Not when I have a machine at home that grinds the beans fresh before making each cup and I can select strength and temperature.
I paid big money for a top quality burr grinder, and grind fresh every day (dark roasts - the various Indonesian beans are my favorites). But, I'm not fussy about what I buy prepared. Dunki Donuts is plenty good, as is McDonalds, and many local coffee bars. It's just the Starbucks burn that I can't stomach.
I don’t drink (I am on medication that will not mix well) but, I wholeheartedly agree with you with this:
“I drink my coffee unadulterated. Straight-up black, no sugar, no flavors, no syrups, no besmirchments of any kind. To me, Starbucks coffee is burnt swill (yes, I repeat the "S" word, but when it fits, it fits). I'm not alone in this assessment, and I figure the wide popularity of the product has a lot to do with a huge number of its drinkers preferring it besmirched and masked with sugars, fats, and other flavors. It's thus a tribute to marketing, especially toward the young who are more prone to wanting to be in on what's popular and trendy. Starbucks told people “this is what you should like,” quite successfully.”
About to enjoy some black coffee now!
I like my coffee like I like my Sabbath....
Good one!
As Gilbert Gottfried says, "I like my coffee like I like my women - hot...black...and with a small piece of prune danish on the side."
in High School and College I knew quite a few who when it came to beer would only drink one brand ---
ON SALE
Budweiser ranks in among those IMO
Echo Mark's comment here. I don't drink anymore, but when I did, it was rarely Bud Light. But coffee? Definitely black, and definitely not Starbucks. Back when Starbucks was the "next hip thing" and finally branched outside of the big cities, I jumped on board. Loved the stuff when it was dressed up all fancy (milk, flavor syrup, etc.). Eventually that became too expensive so I tried it black, and that's when I learned the truth - it's stomach rotting crap. Now, I make my own at home
Quite interesting how similar were our posts this morning. Corporations trying to force woke ideology on consumers rather than focusing on selling their products and services will be their self-inflicted demise.
And I am 100% in agreement with you - Starbucks is swill. People who like *coffee* do not like Starbucks - it is a place for people who like sweetened, blended drinks. As a side note, I once learned from someone that they *intentionally* over-roast their beans so they can achieve a consistent flavor wherever you may go. In that, they have succeeded - wherever you visit a Starbucks, you will find their "coffee" to be burnt, bitter, and downright nasty.
Interesting about the over-roasting being intentional. I had figured that might be the case, because that's about all you can taste through the sugars and caramels and other crap.
I've always drank (drunken?) Bud Light when I'm doing all day drinking such as boating (not driving) at the lake or hanging out at the beach, for maintainability purposes. Watery, low alcohol content, you're good to go the distance until the sun goes down and I switch to good whiskey. I was once in a band with a drummer who would drink a case (yes, case) of Natty Light in a day. Anyone who's ever been in a band knows about drummers; they just aren't right in the head. See Keith Moon, John Bonham, et al. But he unwittingly coined a great marketing phrase without even realizing it. He would walk in with the case on his shoulder and say "When you're only having 24..." And he didn't even have a Wharton degree.
I wasn't personally offended by the Bud Light trans fiasco, but I was put off by the VP who double down and degraded BL's most dedicated customers. I've personally sworn off Nike and other products that I've previously supported, but it remains to be seen if I will refuse to buy Bud Light. Check back with me on Memorial Day when I go to the lake. There's plenty of other swill options so who knows.
As for Starbucks, I work with some Millennials who are completely hooked on their products. They spend more on coffee than I do in gas for my car. I drink the free plain coffee that the company provides at work, and a better grade of Kona coffee at home. I've had plenty of Starbucks drinks over the years and I just never really saw the appeal.
I didn't care one way or the other about the Mulvaney campaign, either.
I'm still of a mind that most "woke" stuff big corporations do is defensive in nature, akin to painting lamb's blood above the door so that the Twitter hordes, aka the creeping death, will move on to other targets.
Now, however, with Gen-Z wokesters leaving their academic reinforcement chambers and rising through the corporate ranks, some of this is very likely affirmative in nature, as in "we are going to shape society."
The Gen Z shit is infiltrating:
https://nypost.com/2023/04/25/employers-reveal-why-gen-z-is-hardest-generation-to-work-with/
I'm with you on drawing a blank on what BL should "do" to rehab the image. Should have left well enough alone. There's 10,000 alternatives today - of course your market share is going to decline. Whatever you "do" - don't be offensive!
Starbucks' (and imitators) schtick is to buy the highest quality beans that stand up to the very highest roasting temps, which frees the flavonoids - witness the oily sheen on each bean - which makes for a very strong, concentrated taste. Lower quality beans won't survive the process and come out broken and dry. They also put twice as much freshly ground beans into each brew batch - so it is strong and very rich. But I get that some folks don't prefer that. I don't prefer to spend that kind of money on coffee! Not when I have a machine at home that grinds the beans fresh before making each cup and I can select strength and temperature.
I paid big money for a top quality burr grinder, and grind fresh every day (dark roasts - the various Indonesian beans are my favorites). But, I'm not fussy about what I buy prepared. Dunki Donuts is plenty good, as is McDonalds, and many local coffee bars. It's just the Starbucks burn that I can't stomach.