What is Digg?137 Comments
- andy101, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34I totally sympathize with starbucks. After all, $5.00 for a small coffee clearly doesn't cut a profit.
- Gregd, on 10/12/2007, -5/+36Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks..
- spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+26Starbucks is one of several coffee companies that promotes fair trade by paying coffee growers above-average wages and providing them equipment and fertilizers. Some very misdirected souls (activists and anarchists) have incorrectly targeted and occasionally sabotaged Starbucks for being guilty of untrue allegations.
The real evil coffee companies are Sanka, Nabob, Taster's Choice, and other bargain basement brands.
And for those who will declare me a plant or viral marketer, I assure you I am not. I worked for Starbucks for about 2.5 months for $8/hour until they fired me for not coming to work on a religious holiday. I was right pissed at the company and went digging for dirt, but found a lot of gold instead. Despite its capitalist image it is a responsible company with good products. I think religion is a load of crap so I still support Starbucks for the greater good. It was one antisemetic manager (Nick in Unionville, Ontario) who is evil, not the company as a whole.
Coffee growers are plagued with strife and uncertainty. Mature coffee takes years to grow and one bad crop can spell disaster for dozens of families. Nabob et al exploits these growers as much as they possibly can which makes them easy targets for local crime syndicates. Coffee growers are often promised hefty wages for planting coca plants - a crime punishable by death in some countries - but the threat of instant death is preferable to slow starvation for many.
Buy coffee from Starbucks or Second Cup or Timothy's or any other company supporting fair trade. Research your favourite company to see whether they have the growers' best interests in mind. If not, I implore you to switch companies. Your extra 5 cents per day really does make a difference to farmers in Venezuela and Costa Rica and Ethiopia, not to mention the nice people who serve you hot beverages for near-minimum wage. - DanteDefiance, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27Juuuuuuust great...if they raise the price anymore I'll have to drink my coffee wearing a monocle.
p_o I say good show. - Pluckie, on 10/12/2007, -6/+28It could really mean a lot to all those workers picking the coffee beans for next to nothing. But my guess is those people aren't going to see any of the added profit from a rise in prices...
- Doubledown, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20I find it funny.... I go to starbucks every morning and get myself a coffee. Not a latte (or any other fancy drink), I get a Grande (medium sized) bold coffee and that runs me $1.79. Now if I go the local Dunkin Donuts or Honey Dew, I will pay $1.75 for their sugar water. I do not understand how starbucks is just for the rich and famous when other coffee/donut shops cost just as much. Personally, I'll pay the extra four pennies to shoot the ***** with CEO's and EVP's in line, and not be rushed through the line and out the door.
- Popdmb, on 10/12/2007, -11/+26Do us all a favor and don't be trailer trash...
- RatherDashing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16And I still bet that 1/3 my office will still be walking around with cups from there in the morning and after lunch.
.05 really means nothing to us, but can mean a lot to them. - labmouse42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16I brew my own coffee at home and bring two travel mugs to work. It’s amazing how much money monthly I save now by not spending $5 a day on coffee.
When everyone realizes how much they waste on Starbucks the company will fail. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Regular coffee is on the menu. You just need to find it amongst the Hot Cinnamon Apple Cider and the Frappaccino Green Tea Lemonade Banana Smoothies.
- sprintmarathon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13I too, like so many others, enjoy the quality and consistency of Buck's, but at a certain point logic kicks in and I realized that I could make my own coffee at the office without much effort. Here's a link for those who like instructions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Better-Office-Coffee
I'm not outraged or even surprised that Starbucks is raising their prices, but I'm unwilling to spend the portion of my disposable income that goes to coffee consumption faster than I need to. - cambrown99, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Shhh... don't give Dunkin' any ideas...
- DanteDefiance, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15But if I don't have my Starbucks cup, what do you expect me to hold when I'm looking down on you?
- utopiagraphics, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10exactly. make your own, save a bundle
- shertzerj, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Except I do believe at that point you'd switch to tea. Hrm, yes, quite, pip-pip, cheerio, and all that rubbish.
- afex, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11that's the third monacle i've lost this week! i simply must stop being so horrified.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I've never paid $3 for regular drip coffee from starbucks. It's $1.79 here (TOO expensive for the crap though) I'd rather get Dunkin Donuts coffee.
And for the record, I brew my own coffee every morning, and only get coffee when I run out and forget to buy more beans. - BionicBeefpile, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9FTA:
"Currently, a tall, or 12-ounce, cup of Starbucks coffee costs between $1.40 and $1.65. Twelve-ounce lattes cost between $2.40 and $3.10, depending on the market, and a tall mocha costs between $2.70 and $3.40."
I still don't understand the people who insist that any coffee from Starbucks is $5. - lidflipper, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Well, my girlfriend works for Starbucks and she was just informed that she would be getting a $0.60 an hour raise (I believe every employee is getting a raise in conjunction with the price increase). I guess this should be a lesson for everyone wanting to raise the minimum wage.
- futureb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11as long as i'm getting 5 more cents worth of caffeine...
- 83457, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11gotta keep up with inflation
- avatarpalin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Starbucks hasn't really taken off here in Melbourne Australia, we have so many brilliant coffee Cafe's that Startbucks is deemed.. well crappy...
Personally I think the "Victoria Cafe" on Victoria St Melbourne is the greatest.. photo here..
http://flickr.com/photos/andrewkneebone/168661867/ - rtonkins, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Starbucks always pays well over prevailing green coffee commodity market rates for their green coffee. They also have programs to help the farming community's. They only buy 2% of the worlds coffee. Please learn how commodity markets work and don't act like Starbucks is taking advantage of the farmers. They [Starbucks] wouldn't be where they are without the farmers. Also, when the green coffee market fell flat on its face they still paid well over commodity market prices so the farmers would have money to survive.
http://www.business-ethics.com/starbucks_coffee_company1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_markets - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If I remember correctly, Starbucks offered to reimburse 2 massage therapy sessions every month. Plus they give baristas 3 free coffee drinks per 8-hour shift (my ***** manager made me pay $2 for a glass of milk once) and they get to take home a full pound of beens every week. They really encourage their staff to become familiar with the products they sell.
- wibblewibble, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Thats just whats on their menu, you should ask for whats not on their menu :) (Regular coffee :)
- Pluckie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6@H0tKarl
"Those people" don't have the kind of power and leverage to change prices that much. If it were the coffee workers that raised the price, a raise in 5 cent increase per cup of coffee could only result from an unimaginable jump in prices per pound of coffee, etc. The people who end up picking the coffee are in it to make what little money they can, and if someone were to raise the price that they sell coffee at bulk enough to justify a 5 cent increase per cup, starbucks would just fine another seller to buy their beans from. - labmouse42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If your buying a PS3 daily, then yea.
Over the course of 50 weeks working, I save $1250, which is ~2 PS3s.
(Figure calculated by $5 a day, 5 day workweek, 50 workweeks a year with vacation) - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actually, those are the smallest drinks on the menu but they will make you a "short" size (8 oz I think) by request.
- Pluckie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@spyrochaete
Starbucks does buy some fair trade, but doesn't do nearly enough of it. In fact, they buy so little fair trade coffee that it is absurd to say they promote it. Coming from their own "Social Responsibility Report", in 2005...
Starbucks "purchased 11.5 million pounds of high-quality Fair Trade Certified coffee, representing 3.7% of our total coffee purchases" (http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/FY05_CSR_Products.pdf p. 12).
That means that 96.3% of their purchases were NOT Fair Trade certified. Not a very appealing number.
Nonetheless, just because it is Fair Trade certified doesn't mean the workers are getting a reasonable rate relative to what their product is getting sold for in the United States. - LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4With the frequency that I order anything from them, it might as well be 10 bucks a cup.
I personally go there as a treat for their frappucino's which are to die for. I don't get the people who think they are special for buying normal coffees there... - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I saw an interview with the CEO of Second Cup (a premium Canadian coffee chain). When he opened his first store in a shopping mall he looked at the other stores' prices and charged 50% more. People were intrigued and came flocking, devouring all his supplies before the next shipment arrived.
- wurzelgummage, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Comes to way less than the price of a PS3.
- thenumber42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Espresso timing varies from machine to machine, and model to model. There's not really a "standard" time. As for the 8 seconds, well, that should have been fixed. Point it out next time and it will get fixed promptly.
- lithuin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8@kevin45
OK, you just confused the heck out of me.
Starbucks is snob coffee, but it's as bad as mainstream radio, which is inherently non-snobby? Are your wires crossed?
It's like comparing organically grown Similkameen Valley Ambrosia apples to Florida oranges. WTF? - DBCubix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Exactly... Starbucks raises prices 1.9% when inflation is close to an annual 4%, that's a 2.1% reduction in what the consumer effectively pays. So why is this news again? The title should be 'Starbucks effectively lowers prices.'
- spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Supposedly they put nutmeg in the grinds which gives it a nuttier taste. I'll add that nutmeg has a similar chemical makeup to MDMA (ecstasy) which some of you diggers would surely welcome in your morning coffee!
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4As if their ***** isn't expensive enough.
- kevinarth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think it sucks that they're raising their prices too. Bottom line is they're going to set their price to the highest number that they think people will be willing to pay. There are plenty of people who will continue to pay it. I'm one of them.
After getting out of the service, I drank too much and was a chain smoker. I've given up both vices, but I like a good cup of coffee. I brew a pot every morning, but whenever I'm out and about for more than an hour, Starbucks is usually on my agenda. If I want a $2 cup of coffee, I get one. My family agrees with me that it's better than spending the night at the bar.
Every industry (airlines, retail, shipping) is sharing the cost of fuel and other rising expenses with their customers. It's inevitable. We either live with it or stop buying the product. - thenumber42, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Hate to point this out and burst all your self righteous bubbles, but Starbucks pays well, well over market price for coffee and only buys from small famers. So, the price increase will likely go directly to the pockets of farmers. The rest is likely to go towards a raise for employees.
- CoolHandLuke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm not a Starbucks hater I'll have a cup when I'm desperate and looking for consistent quality.
I got tired of all the trash coffee being sold on the shelves and decided to invest in my own coffee roaster ($70.00) and roast my own beans. I get the beans from Sweet Maria's (google it) and roast better coffee than any chain store or cafe. If you get a good coffee grinder and a french press and you are in business. Once you roast/brew your own, you'll find that what you make is a thousand times better than anything you can get anywhere else.
You will also start to realize that Starbucks burns their roast to push people into buying those fru-fru drinks with whipped cream on them which cost pennies to make. - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3French press coffee is kind of yucky, actually. If you think coffee made in-store at Starbucks is strong then your tongue will explode if you have it with a french press.
However, one thing I enjoyed while working there was tasting new flavours. They even taught us the proper way to taste coffee. You prepare it in a french press as mentioned in this link, pour it in a glass or ceramic mug, and slurp it loudly. The slurping gives a perfect combination of coffee and air so your taste buds can fully appreciate the flavour. For about 10 seconds after slurping you analyze the complexity, acidity, darkness, fruitiness, and aftertaste.
A couple of lucky saps get to do this for a living, travelling the world and slurping loudly, seeking the next Starbucks flavour. - isosceles, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm a coffee enthusiast [geek]. I roast my own and have a great interest in opening my own gourmet roaster some day. Personally I don't prefer Starbucks' drip coffee to my home roast, but their espresso drinks are well made. I cringe when I see someone with Folgers or Maxwell House.
Anyway, I'm in the midwest, not a east or west coast high profile city, and even the small coffee shops here charge the same as Starbucks. I think some charge more. Where Starbucks is 50 cents for an extra shot of espresso, it's 65 cents at others. One thing I dislike are coffee shops that can't give you a normal cardboard sleeve around your cup. Instead it's an ad (and sample) for Alieve or Excedrin. I typically find this in ritzy east side shops that are oblivious to how low they just stooped by wrapping their coffee with an ad. (Anyone know the word I'm looking for to describe this?) - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Thanks for the insightful comment that no one else could have thought up. It totally makes up for your link spam.
- spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I like Tim Hortons' regular coffee much more than the very strong Starbucks drip coffee, but the "espresso" and "lattes" and "cappuccinos" at Tim's are revolting crap. Starbucks' espresso drinks are excellent.
- spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A proper espresso shot takes between 7 and 21 seconds. Any longer or shorter than this and the shot and grounds are disposed of and the barista makes another. They taught me this when I went to "Coffee University" for 2 days before starting at Starbucks.
Don't complain your espresso is made wrong if you don't know how to make it. Baristas dump in an arbitrary amount of espresso grounds and tamp it down with a flattener by feel alone. It takes a lot of practise to do it right. - spyrochaete, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2As much as I love good coffee, I'll admit that ignorance is bliss in this case. If you don't know good coffee from bad then stay away from good coffee! It will only cost you more and make you hate the crap that's served to you 90% of the time.
- themastersb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2So it wasn't expensive enough already?
- wibblewibble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Whats the rate of coffee on the markets?
- wibblewibble, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2FYI: http://www.cafedirect.co.uk/fairtrade/coffee_market.php
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I have to agree with you. It's not snobby because of anything other than price. Coffee at Starbucks cost so much, but people go to it because that's what's popular. I wish people would support their local cafes more.
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