Their coffee has the same story. Grinding Starbuck beans results in what looks like ashes from a campfire, and doesn't release those wonderful smells from the oil. Just smell the difference when you grind a higher quality bean, never mind how much more appetizing the texture looks.
My understanding, from working in the industry for a short time, is that Starbucks roasts the largest quantity of beans in the world and that is why their coffee is so burnt. It's impossible to control the temperatures when they roast these large quantity of beans with much precision, so they compensate by over-roasting them.
That said, coffee snobbery isn't a good thing, and their drinks aren't that bad when you put in tons of sugar or milk. But without the dressings, it's pretty terrible quality.
Third wave independent coffee shops harp on the idea it takes months of palette training for their baristas to calibrate tasting minute differences and somehow every other person comes in here to opine about how burnt or nasty tasting their cup of bean juice is.
Starbucks optimizes for different things than other shops. They over roast as a signature, to create bolder flavor. Over the past decade they have great control over their supply chain and beans yet they still over roast beyond the flavor signature because when most of their products are milk-based drinks the extra flavor of the espresso comes through.
It's meant to be that way, not because of some conspiracy to deliver mediocrity, but because it's their culture. And ignorance paired with pretentiousness in coffee culture is on whole other level cargo cult-iness.
Besides, when one really wants to talk about bad coffee and they're not mentioning Philz then they have no clue.
You're trolling, right?
You have your bean temperature, air temperature, and drum temperature, all of which are controlled separately. You also need to bring them up at the right speed. You also control how much you circulate the air versus venting it. And all of these things are interrelated, adjusting one will change the others. I help maintain the roaster at a small coffee company, and the head roaster likes to manually control each roast. The PLC can automate an entire roast, but since there are so many variables, he likes to run it manually.
For me, for DIY: Aeropress and recently roasted beans. Grind yourself.
The people who are snotty about it (including me) are generally located in the few enclaves, like Portland, where there's genuinely better alternatives. Going to Starbucks in Portland is like eating at the Olive Garden in Times Square.
I can't speak for every Starbucks customer out there, but I always assumed the reason is that it's a status symbol.
To some degree, they want to be seen with the cup. They haven't tried the competitors, so they assume Starbucks must be very good to justify the price. If they really enjoyed coffee for coffee's sake, they'd probably be going to an independent shop for their drink.
I think Starbucks' coffee isn't terrible, but I definitely prefer to brew it myself or spend the same amount at a smaller cafe, preferably if they roast their own beans.
I grew up in a poor country. One Christmas Season, I took a part-time job at a bank's back office. The full-time employees would go to the McD across the street from the office building, and get a take-away. The journey cut their 60-minute lunch break by half. I remarked how expensive it was, but my colleague told me: "Remember how much they're making, they can probably afford it!"
:-)
People buy the expensive branded clothes because...they know what they are getting. No one really wants to walk around with a swoosh on their chest! Going for no-name clothing, there is no reputation to go by, how can you tell if that shirt is going to feel good or wear well? Muji does no-name well, you can trust their quality even if they don't put their name everywhere, but even that is a "brand."
You can also end up with something that's pretty much a milkshake with caffeine but instead of walking around looking like a fatty with your DQ blizzard cup you can be cute and trendy with your Starbucks cup.
It will be interesting to see how Starbucks is going to react when a big player like ALDI is going to take their territory.
So, the prices aren't as different as you think.
My personal theory, anyway.
McDonalds:{12oz:"$1.00" 16oz:"$1.50" 20oz:"$1.80"}
Starbucks:{12oz="$1.75" 16oz:"$1.95" 20oz:"$2.25"}
If I want to enjoy the drink on-location I'll pick Starbucks every time. The ambiance is generally pretty okay. If I just need a quick brew and can grab it in a drive-thru then McDonalds will do just fine.
Starbucks is widespread enough to count on and convenient almost wherever you are, and for many good enough and better than McDonald's, etc.
Now, its been quite a while since I had a McDonald's coffee drinks, but when I have, its been bad, far worse than anything I've had a Starbucks.
At the same time, there are plenty of independent coffee shops that have better coffee, and, if I am someplace where I know one, I prefer them. But Starbucks is good enough, and reliable and consistent enough when I am somewhere where I don't know what the good local independents are (and, when I am near my home, its a lot more convenient than the nearest preferable independent.)
My normal morning coffee is brewed at home using fresh, but mass-produced beans (usually one of Trader Joe's varieties).
I'm going through this right now with trying to wean myself off a bubble tea habit. There are just so many amazing options near my office and I have at least one giant one per week. The struggle is real.
How did you successfully cut down?
Last year, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, so I could no longer eat Starbucks food. I often grabbed my large coffee along with a pastry or sandwich.
Will power not required. Sorry I can't be of any help.
I'm legitimately asking, I'm not into the whole Starbucks scene.