> Consumer Reports taste test in 2007 placed Starbucks's coffee behind McDonald's
Starbucks had consistently above average coffee at all of their stores at a time when it was hard to get above average coffee consistently. Since then, a number of places have offered good coffee - McDonalds isn't prestigious at all, but they now serve Newman's Own which is quite good. Subway serves Seattle's Best, so during busy times when the coffee isn't old and burnt, that's good. Heck, 7-11 has pretty good coffee these days. I prefer all three of those to Starbucks for plain coffee. Starbucks does make a good Americano though, and I don't drink the fancy mixed coffee drinks so much, but my fancy coffee drinking friends say Starbucks does it pretty well.
These days, it's not hard to get a cup of pretty good black coffee in a lot of different stores in the USA. Still, Starbucks is usually playing the Beatles or classical music, has a comfortable enough ambiance, and employees who are pretty happy and friendly. So I'll grab a cup of joe to run from Subway or McDonalds or 7-11, but if I'm going to sit down and read a book, I'll lean towards Starbucks. That's what they've got these days - their regular ol' coffee isn't anything special.
Starbucks had consistently above average coffee at all of their stores at a time when it was hard to get above average coffee consistently. Since then, a number of places have offered good coffee - McDonalds isn't prestigious at all, but they now serve Newman's Own which is quite good. Subway serves Seattle's Best, so during busy times when the coffee isn't old and burnt, that's good. Heck, 7-11 has pretty good coffee these days. I prefer all three of those to Starbucks for plain coffee. Starbucks does make a good Americano though, and I don't drink the fancy mixed coffee drinks so much, but my fancy coffee drinking friends say Starbucks does it pretty well.
These days, it's not hard to get a cup of pretty good black coffee in a lot of different stores in the USA. Still, Starbucks is usually playing the Beatles or classical music, has a comfortable enough ambiance, and employees who are pretty happy and friendly. So I'll grab a cup of joe to run from Subway or McDonalds or 7-11, but if I'm going to sit down and read a book, I'll lean towards Starbucks. That's what they've got these days - their regular ol' coffee isn't anything special.