# Starbuck



## rabbit (Feb 8, 2008)

How come when I drink coffee from starbuck I seem to feel more alert and when I drink coffee from home I feel more jittery? Is starbucks putting something in their coffee? Is it the beans?

Can different beans have different effects?


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 8, 2008)

It&#8217;s a dark roast and they make their coffee...oh... about 15 times stronger than necessary

Personally I can't stand the stuff and sadly they are just about everywhere


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## still learning (Feb 8, 2008)

Hello, Yes,  There are hundreds of different coffees in the world, even the same coffee plant can be different if grown in the upper parts and lower parts of volcanic lands.  The caffine contents can vary

Also the person is processing can differ ( soakng over night after pulping) vs mulesage(not sure of spelling) will make the coffee less acidity.

Also roasting coffee (three common) light roast, medium roast, dark roast or french roast, the darker the less caffine.

Blends?  ...depends on the how they blend or amount of mix types of coffee can have a different effect.

I am not an expert on coffee....My wife family rises coffee (25 acres appx)  They pick, pulp,dry,roast and package there own coffee.

ON the internet (Waiaha River Coffee Company)  Toll Free: 888-322-5214
Whole bean or grind, One pound ($18.00) last time I check?  100% Kona coffee...Hawaii is the only STATE to rise coffee plants and commecial sales, BIG Island of Hawaii. Grown on the slopes of volcano lands with the right amount rain and sunshine makes it a perfect place to grow.

Starbuck brands has their own blends when you buy from them...plus the  coffee does not sit longer than 1-2 hours before making a new batch too!

Change your home brand?  ...or combine them with 100% Kona mix in your brand!  or drink 100% Kona coffee!

Aloha,  (we get paid about 50-60 cents for every pound you pick...many times up to 4 x 100lbs bags or more per day, for fast pickers and peak season too!)

PS: Let me know when you are coming? ....Coffee season..than you can learn to pick and earn money?  .......Maybe?    UFO aliens can apply?


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## jks9199 (Feb 9, 2008)

Or... you paid LOTS more for the Starbucks so you believe it'll be better.  Y'know... placebo effect...


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 9, 2008)

And it pretty much cost the same no matter where you go. It was the same price in Beijing when I was there in US dollars which was about 20 Chinese dollars. 

I went in because I was looking for coffee (after a week and a half for some reason I wanted a coffee) and that was all there was inthe area I was in at that moment. And just to let you know it was just as bad there as it is here, I didnt finish it. 

As a note the best coffee in Beijing was at Pizza Hut and they called it a Latte.

Before anyone asks why the heck I would go to a pizza hut in Beijing; I was there because that is what my sister-in-law thought I wanted since I am American, she was wrong but hey at least they had a decent cup of coffee.


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## theletch1 (Feb 10, 2008)

At 4 bucks a cup in the Starbucks you were more alert because you'd just been raped and your self defense sensors had just kicked in.:ticked:  I'm with Xue here.  I can't stand Starbucks coffee.  I can get the same flavor at home if I brew a pot of coffee and let it sit for two or three days before drinking it.


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## Jade Tigress (Feb 10, 2008)

I'm not a Starbucks fan either. From what I understand McDonalds is giving them a run for their money. I don't think they're doing so well these days. Heard something about them lowering their prices too. I prefer McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts coffee to Starbucks. Not to mention I brew a damn good pot of coffee at home.


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## theletch1 (Feb 10, 2008)

Same here, Jade.  I've got the Cuisanart with the built in grinder and our water is straight from the mountain then runs through a double filter here in the house.  I love Kona coffee if I brew it here at the house...none of that 10% kona blend stuff either.  We're getting it from a specialty shop here in town...at $11.00 per pound.:whip:  And that's why we only drink the Kona once in a while.


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## Kacey (Feb 10, 2008)

I don't drink coffee, so I don't have this problem - occasionally my neighbor brings me something (her nephew sells gift cards as a school fundraiser), but since I don't drink coffee, it's usually either hot cider or chai tea.


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## tellner (Feb 10, 2008)

It's fashionable to dump on Starbuck's. I'm not sure if it's a sort of reverse snobbery or if it's the one largish company that it's patriotic to hate. Probably the latter since it's a bunch of effete lefties who use *shudder* French and Italian terms. Not like us virtuous hard-working types who like an honest workingman's cuppa Joe. 

But if you look at their prices they're no worse than anyone else selling a similar product. Their coffee is a lot better than the brown crayon in hot water that described pretty much all of American (North and South) coffee that came before them. And having drunken the magical mystical French and Italian versions I can say that they're really no better. The "original" versions just come with a little more cultural baggage. They've pretty much single-handedly raised the bar for coffee and coffee drinking around the world. Their business practices are much better than any other company of their size. Most of all - and I think this is why people hate them - they found a need and filled it effectively stealing a march on everyone else.

And the evidence is pretty clear. The presence of a Starbuck's actually increases business for other coffee shops in the area.

Am I a fan? No. My preference is for _kopi tarik_ which tastes much better than roasted coffee and has double the amount of life-giving caffeine. But I'm not a reflexive hater like the pilers-on.


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## theletch1 (Feb 10, 2008)

Disliking Starbucks could also be a product of simply not liking their coffee.  I don't frequent coffee shops at all (or VERY infrequently).  When I do buy coffee in a store it's at the local Sheetz while I'm on the road.  As a general rule I brew a pot and carry a thermos to work.


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## jks9199 (Feb 10, 2008)

I just personally am not over impressed with Starbucks -- or most of the other "snobbier" coffee places.  I drink coffee black, no extra stuff, so all the stuff at Starbucks or many of the other places just literally overwhelms me.


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## Archangel M (Feb 10, 2008)

The only choices I want with my coffee is cup size and cream+sugar ammounts.

Thats it.


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## Darksoul (Feb 10, 2008)

-One of the most beautiful women I have ever met worked in a Starbucks for several years. She loved it, although I think it was the access to coffee and the constant interaction with people. Seems to me I remember another employee there saying that they roast the beans twice, which may be the "darkening" of the brew.

-I'll admit to going to Starbucks every now and then, but if I'm going there, its not for regular coffee. That I can make at home and usually do, taking thermos to work. Hills Brothers is the brand I'm using at the moment, although I like to slip in a little flavored coffee to the mix; big fan of Folgers french vanilla. However, I cannot drink it straight black, not even out of desparation.

-Anyways, going to Starbucks means getting something sweeter, vanilla latte, green tea frap, whatever, then its supposed to be a treat. In Denver we have another coffee establishment called DazBog, which is similar. Love the White Russian Chai!!!  But yeah, there literally is a Starbucks on every corner, just a little out of control. But I see other coffee shops as well, or food places that heavily advertise their coffee.

-Friends of mine back home are really into more earthy, low processed, coffees. Thinking of EarthTones, or maybe some other brand, haven't tried it so not sure what it tastes like. Maybe worth a shot.

Andrew


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 10, 2008)

tellner said:


> It's fashionable to dump on Starbuck's. I'm not sure if it's a sort of reverse snobbery or if it's the one largish company that it's patriotic to hate. Probably the latter since it's a bunch of effete lefties who use *shudder* French and Italian terms. Not like us virtuous hard-working types who like an honest workingman's cuppa Joe.


 
Never been fashionable and I don't plan on starting now

I did not like coffee at Starbucks from the first time I tried it. Not being fashionable, just don't like it, but if honesty is fashionable then so be it.



tellner said:


> And the evidence is pretty clear. The presence of a Starbuck's actually increases business for other coffee shops in the area.


 
Not in my area, there have been a few coffee places go belly up because starbucks moved in.

But with all that being said, I do not drink all that much coffee anymore I drink tea and other than their awake tea that is $1.00 more than any place else I pretty much have little use for their tea too. I would love a good cup of green tea from time to time but they do not have a plain green tea they add herbal stuff that I can't stand. And what the heck is the deal with 2 tea bags?


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## rabbit (Feb 10, 2008)

jks9199 said:


> I just personally am not over impressed with Starbucks -- or most of the other "snobbier" coffee places. I drink coffee black, no extra stuff, so all the stuff at Starbucks or many of the other places just literally overwhelms me.


 
I like my coffee black too! but only if it is Starbucks


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## tellner (Feb 10, 2008)

It's one of those not all the time but on average things.

But for everyone's edification I present Tiel Ansari's (kickass Sufi  poetess) take on the Green Mermaid:



> * Stirbucks *
> 
> They come at night, the secret agents in their green aprons. They scour the city for unused spaces; vacant storefronts, empty corners of parking lots, odd-shaped plots wedged between light-industrial complexes. And of course, empty lots on busy streets in upscaling neighborhoods.
> 
> ...


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## Blindside (Feb 10, 2008)

Jade Tigress said:


> I'm not a Starbucks fan either. From what I understand McDonalds is giving them a run for their money. I don't think they're doing so well these days. Heard something about them lowering their prices too. I prefer McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts coffee to Starbucks. Not to mention I brew a damn good pot of coffee at home.


 
In the Pacific Northwest, McDonald's stocks "Seattle's Best" as its drip coffee, Seattle's Best is owned by.... Starbucks. 

If you do grind and brew your own, try some of the other blends, many are mellower than the dark roast which is standard in the stores.  I like the Estima.

Lamont


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## Langenschwert (Feb 14, 2008)

Blindside said:


> In the Pacific Northwest, McDonald's stocks "Seattle's Best" as its drip coffee, Seattle's Best is owned by.... Starbucks.


 
I know!   I was pleasantly surprised when I got a kick-*** cup of coffee at a McDonald's in Wahsington state.  I couldn't believe it.  I'm also a fan of starbucks coffee, but I tend not to buy from them because of their support of anti-firearm groups.  I don't want those people using my money for their political agenda.

Oh, and Washington state, in addition to having good coffee in McDonald's, also has IMO the friendliest, most beautiful women in the world.  Just replying to those Valentine's Day threads has got that in my brain today. 

Best regards,

-Mark


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## CoryKS (Feb 14, 2008)

tellner said:


> It's fashionable to dump on Starbuck's. I'm not sure if it's a sort of reverse snobbery or if it's the one largish company that it's patriotic to hate. Probably the latter since it's a bunch of effete lefties who use *shudder* French and Italian terms. Not like us virtuous hard-working types who like an honest workingman's cuppa Joe.


 
I find this statement amusing, because around here the complaints about Starbucks tend to come from the effete lefties.  The song usually goes, "Starbucks is a capitalist parasite that moves in and sucks the business away from local cafes who support a rich and vibrant artistic community, and they sell beans raised in slave-labor conditions unlike [local cafe] who supports organic fair-rate growers who look vaguely like Che and yadda yadda yadda..."

It's fun to watch lefties eat their own.   Especially while sipping a hot cup of Starbucks coffee.


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## Archangel M (Feb 14, 2008)

Caffine trumps politics I guess.


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## Blindside (Feb 14, 2008)

CoryKS said:


> I find this statement amusing, because around here the complaints about Starbucks tend to come from the effete lefties. The song usually goes, "Starbucks is a capitalist parasite that moves in and sucks the business away from local cafes who support a rich and vibrant artistic community, and sell beans raised in slave-labor conditions unlike [local cafe] who supports organic fair-rate growers who look vaguely like Che and yadda yadda yadda..."
> 
> It's fun to watch lefties eat their own. Especially while sipping a hot cup of Starbucks coffee.


 
Starbucks made the market for snobby locally owned cafes in most of the US.


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## thardey (Feb 14, 2008)

I was spending a few months in So. Cal. just as Starbucks was beginning it's rise, and they were still sorting things out.

Behind the counter was a couple of very young, very fashionable young ladies who appeared incredibly naive. I went up to the counter and ordered coffee. That's it. No latte, or espresso, or whatnot. She said "what kind of coffee?" 

I said, "regular coffee. Do you have any?" She gave a disdainful sigh and indicated the menu board behind her, as if you say "It's all coffee, Dumbass, pick one."

So I tried a different tack: "Do you know 'Juan Valdez?', I'm looking for some of that." Then the light bulb came on. "Oh! It's self-serve over by the door - What size?"

Apparently so few people ordered the stuff that they just made a pot in the morning, left it by the door and dumped it out at night.


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## jim777 (Feb 14, 2008)

I had a business trip to Chicago about 10 years ago and the only coffee I could find there was the Starbucks across from my hotel. On Monday I got it and hated it, but it was coffee so what'cha gonna do?  Tuesday I still hated it, and by Wednesday it sort of just tasted like coffee. Not great, not terrible anymore, just coffee. By Thursday evening I was looking forward to it and actually got a bit panicky on Friday and bought a few pounds to bring home with me (I had no idea where the nearest Stabucks was back then).
Now, we buy the 2 pound bags of french Roast at BJs or Sams Club or wherever and make it ourselves at home. I don't get my Starbucks at Starbucks because it's just too much money, but it is the only kind I've brewed at home since '96 or so. It is really Starbucks or nothing for me at this point, I can't drink regular coffee anymore.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 14, 2008)

I was at the Great Wall at Badaling in China and I was looking at the old buildings and there.RIGHT in the middle of them was this nasty looking STARBUCKS. :duh:

YES I know it was there because foreigners, such as me, want coffee from Starbucks and it is likely they are making large sums of money there but to me it was

Hmmm  a Starbucks.. Isnt that niceBUT ITS WRONG!!!!! :cuss:

Im sorry, I am at the Great Wall to try and forget about the West for a second and pursue one of my interests Chinese history and NOT get horrible over priced coffee from Starbucks. Priced so DAMN high in China that it is likely your average Chinese person CANT afford it or wouldnt want to pay the price for it EVEN WHEN THEY CAN.:ticked:

Yeah that was a rant without warning but I needed to get that out.

Sorry


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## jim777 (Feb 14, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> I was at the Great Wall at Badaling in China and I was looking at the old buildings and there.RIGHT in the middle of them was this nasty looking STARBUCKS. :duh:
> 
> YES I know it was there because foreigners, such as me, want coffee from Starbucks and it is likely they are making large sums of money there but to me it was
> 
> ...


 
Well, it was there because the Chinese Government bid out the spot. So if not Starbucks, it would have been McDonalds or KFC/Taco Bell/Burger King or something else. It's not as if "if not for Starbucks" that particular spot would have been empty but for the dirt and indigenous rocks. Once the Chinese decided to lease that spot of land to the highest Western bidder it was just a matter of who coughed up the cash.
Be thankful you saw it now, when there were still only a handful of horribly out of place capital opportunities, and not the 100's or 1000's that will surely be there in 50 years.

jim


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## CoryKS (Feb 14, 2008)

Xue Sheng said:


> Im sorry, *I am at the Great Wall to try and forget about the West for a second *and pursue one of my interests Chinese history and NOT get horrible over priced coffee from Starbucks. Priced so DAMN high in China that it is likely your average Chinese person CANT afford it or wouldnt want to pay the price for it EVEN WHEN THEY CAN.


 
Kinda hard to do, what with all the cars and lightbulbs and stuff, eh?


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 14, 2008)

jim777 said:


> Well, it was there because the Chinese Government bid out the spot. So if not Starbucks, it would have been McDonalds or KFC/Taco Bell/Burger King or something else. It's not as if "if not for Starbucks" that particular spot would have been empty but for the dirt and indigenous rocks. Once the Chinese decided to lease that spot of land to the highest Western bidder it was just a matter of who coughed up the cash.
> Be thankful you saw it now, when there were still only a handful of horribly out of place capital opportunities, and not the 100's or 1000's that will surely be there in 50 years.
> 
> jim


 
I am fully aware of this, but you see I didn't much like starbucks before I got there so any one of those, save a 3 story high golden arches, would probably have been less annoying to me. But then there are the Starbucks prices that annoy me too



CoryKS said:


> Kinda hard to do, what with all the cars and lightbulbs and stuff, eh?


 
Actually in the location it was and it was daylight so no, it would not have been that hard at all. And it would not have been that hard if they had made ANY attempt to ACTUALLY fit in. 

If they put it next to the parking lot who cares, I did not mind the fact that there were 2 hump camel rides available even though they were really indigenous to the area and the massive array of high pressure vendors did not bother me either it is just a Starbucks thing.

And when you get to the wall you have 2 options the easy, full of tourist&#8217;s way to go (to the right if you are facing the wall or the harder MUCH less full of tourists way that I took.

Basically I am MORE than willing to admit if it were any other American food Icon I would have been less annoyed IF for no other reason the ones that jim listed, that are in China, charge considerably LESS for what they sell there. Where Starbucks charges EXACTLY the same as they do here, Multiply your latte price by 8 (at the time I was there) and you get that price in Yuan. That is more than a BIT pricy in China. 

Ahh but then the next time I will go to the section of the wall tourist don't and I will likely be much happier... it may mean I will have to go without a latte but then WHO CARES!!!


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## Cryozombie (Feb 15, 2008)

theletch1 said:


> Disliking Starbucks could also be a product of simply not liking their coffee.  I don't frequent coffee shops at all (or VERY infrequently).  When I do buy coffee in a store it's at the local Sheetz while I'm on the road.  As a general rule I brew a pot and carry a thermos to work.



OMG, I miss Sheetz soooo much... I could LIVE on those hamburgers on a pretzel they sell... seriously.

I drink starbucks, because its about the only thing around... if I were in the Colorado area Id be drinkin THIS

because it consistantly beats Starbucks coffee hands down in tri-state taste tests... and because my Uncle owns the company.  LOL.


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## rabbit (Feb 21, 2008)

I wouldn't be suprised if starbucks puts some hidden addicting substance in their coffee that gets you addicted after a week of drinking their coffee.


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## Blindside (Feb 21, 2008)

rabbit said:


> I wouldn't be suprised if starbucks puts some hidden addicting substance in their coffee that gets you addicted after a week of drinking their coffee.


 
I think it is called caffeine.    I recently found out that the caffeine that is extracted during the decaffeination process is then sold to soda and pharmaceutical companies.


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## rabbit (Feb 22, 2008)

Whatever it is it gives me mojo.


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## newGuy12 (Feb 22, 2008)

Cryozombie said:


> OMG, I miss Sheetz soooo much... I could LIVE on those hamburgers on a pretzel they sell... seriously.
> 
> I drink starbucks, because its about the only thing around... if I were in the Colorado area Id be drinkin THIS
> 
> because it consistantly beats Starbucks coffee hands down in tri-state taste tests... and because my Uncle owns the company.  LOL.



YES!  That is so cool!  That's what a real coffee house is like!  In my city, we have many such cool coffee houses.  The favourite of mine is:
http://www.heinebroscoffee.com/

I love it so much, and yes, it freaking _*SMOKES*_ Star-sucks!  Yes!  It EATS THEM FOR LUNCH! 

Why would I go to a Starbucks, where everyone is in some kind of DORKY uniform, listening to some music that some puke in some corporate office decides that is going to be played, with the SAME CRAP cookie-cutter decorations?  

Ah!  That makes me sick!!!

Now, this favorite coffee house of mine, you should see it!  The young people there are much like hippies.  They have dread lock hair and some kinds of piercings and tattoos and such.  No uniforms!  

You walk in, they have some strange music playing, that is interesting.  I see many neat people there.  No one hassles me for associating with the access point for internet access, no.  Just hop on.  Hehe -- it is unencrypted, but that is okay, because I build my own tunnel!  Hahaa!

And such "beautiful people" around, very fancy.  I get my plastic cup (the one they sell -- you get coffee cheaper if you use this re-usable cup).  I get my *Half and half* and my sweetener in there, and the kids say, "Oh, you want a coffee of the day?"  They all know me.  I go there enough.

Once, I took a pizza in there and told them, "Here, here is a lunch", ahahahaha!  You would have thought I hung the moon.

Oh, that is part of a good life, to tell a friend, "Hey, let's get together and catch up on things, you meet me at the coffee house".  Good times!

That sorry Starbucks can GET OUT OF MY CITY!  I do not like their ways, no matter what coffee they sell.  If I am a snob, then, yes, I admit it. I have no love for that company.  None.


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## newGuy12 (Feb 22, 2008)

Also, it is the perfect way to kick off (or end) and evening.  That's right.  Let's get a group of people up and <go_to_a_movie | go_bowling | whatever>.  We will meet each other at the coffee house, and the proceed.

If you have to wait, no problem, lay way back, get jacked up on some coffee!  w00!

Then, you go and do whatever.

People say it is expensive, but compare this cost to drinking alcohol in a bar, and you will then see it is cheap!


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