Suprisingly good Coffee at Starbucks?

[Samurai-5]

Ok first let me say I go to Starbucks ALOT! I usually get a Latte of some kind. At work we drink Coffee (I drink mine Black as night and strong as an Ox). Anyways getting plain coffee at Starbucks has been terrible. Sorry It just tastes bad. (Komodo was the only one I could remotely stand)

One day at Starbucks I saw a couple sharing a French press pot of coffee at a table. Inquiring at the counter I learned that they will make you a French press pot of coffee for like $3-4. Last week I ordered a pot complete with real cups (I always hated the "to go" cups they have when your drinking there.) and it was Marvelous! Boy I was surprised. I normally make my own French press coffee at home and this was even better.

Anyways just wanted to share in case there were others like myself out there!

 

[mattface]

good to know, their regular coffee is HORRIBLE black. It tastes like it's been burning on a burner for like 8 hours even at 6 in the morning. My solution has been never to buy coffee from them again, but knowing that if I'm ever hard up and no other option exists I'll give the french press route a try.

 

[SiBurning]

Now all they need to do is let people bring in their own beans and roast it themselves.

 

[Greyfox]

I like the Starbucks brand. I buy the beans, grind my own.

 

[Rossmeister]

I had an Americano at Starbucks once, was awful, I'm sorry to say.

I don't want loads of junk sugars and other taste additives in my coffee either, so I don't like Starbucks too much.

 

[JPDyson]

I used to get whole beans at *$s and I thought it was good for a while. Somebody introduced me to Counter Culture Coffee and it was light a lightbulb went off. Freshness matters, and so does not charring away all that makes a coffee unique.

 

[slap1914]

Now you need to find a Starbucks location with a Clover machine. IMO, that is as good as Starbucks can get.

 

[french nico]

starbucks is wayyyy overroasted, and too smoky to be good. I have never seent he French press, but even then,they would need good fresh beans to make it work. I have gotten Peets with great success, and lavazza, that stays remarkably fresh for a long time...Crema e gusto is my favorite...

 

[franz]

Starbucks is fine, and being a Seattle boy I have a little bit of hometown pride in them. But a good espresso or cappuccino at Starbucks pales in comparison to what you would get served at the most humble of cafes in Italy (my experience). I do not roast or even grind my own beans but the espresso I make at home in my moka is consistently better, too.

The good thing they have done is to popularize espresso (not counting the "frappuccino" and other dessert-like calorie busters) and make it readily available most anywhere in the U.S.

 

[GarageBoy]

I can't imagine the over roastedness PLUS the thick body of a pressed coffee

I'm surprised people in Seattle go there as third wave shops are all over (Vivace, etc)

 

[franz]

I'm surprised people in Seattle go there as third wave shops are all over (Vivace, etc)

The coffee cognoscenti go to independent coffee shops. The crunchy lefties (of which there are many) do too, on principle.

 

[letsdisinfect]

When I used to work at Starbucks I would regularly brew french presses for customers who wanted a specific coffee (italian roast, for example) when we weren't brewing it. That was actually company policy at the time -- brew a french press but only charge for the cup of coffee. I would regularly open up fresh bags of coffee for people- it was great!

Nowadays I doubt they'd offer that courtesy. You could probably get them to do a pour-over of anything in the store if you asked nicely.

 

[takeshi]

Ok first let me say I go to Starbucks ALOT! I usually get a Latte of some kind.

Consider yourself lucky. I'm a latte drinker and can't stand their lattes. I prefer more flavor. Not char flavor but the various flavors that properly roasted, ground and extracted espresso should convey, even through milk. I don't understand how Starbucks produces such bland lattes but I guess it really helps their syrup sales. I also prefer properly textured milk -- not the milk topped with dish soap bubbles or thick foam that some places try to pass off.

Occasionally when Starbucks was still using La Marzocco Lineas I'd get a drinkable latte but the superautos they're using these days are producing poor to mediocre (though much more consistent) results.

Freshness matters, and so does not charring away all that makes a coffee unique.

Freshness definitely matters. I guess char can be chalked up to preference. There's nothing wrong with darker roasts if one prefers them.

I'm surprised people in Seattle go there as third wave shops are all over (Vivace, etc)

Quality's not at the top of every person's list of priorities. I mean, for example, my favorite local coffee shop is constantly dinged for not having power outlets.

That, and some are just unaware that there are better options.

 

[Mr-Scruffy]

Starbucks is just plain overpriced, burnt, stale, horrible coffee. No amount of sweetener, cream or anything else will make it taste better.

I feel like screaming at everyone with a Starbucks cup "Don't you know what real coffee tastes like?

 

[mouscacha]

It's hard for me to drink starbucks after roasting my own coffee. I used to love the stuff. I guess ignorance is bliss =P

 

[Go West Young Man]

I like supporting small local coffee shops on principle, but Starbucks gets a lot of love because there's always one nearby, they have good wifi and lots of outlets.

Being on the road in sales, I live and die by my ability to pull over and get a half hour of laptop time in a couple times a day. Nothing is more annoying than going out of my way to find a coffee shop and finding that they only take cash, have no outlets and/or the wifi is down.

 

[closer]

The espresso at Starbucks is horrible, and I stopped getting espresso drinks there a long time ago. Even the regular coffee is over-roasted. The only one I liked was the Breakfast blend, which they don't serve anymore. The only thing I order now is the regular Pike roast, but cannot stand anything that they sell as Bold.

 

[jwharding5]

Have you all had the same experience making it at home? The Tribute blend that just came out a few weeks ago is pretty good if you make it at home. They still sell the breakfast blend in bean form too. Of course, ymmv

 

[Jasonian]

The trick is knowing what's fresh on the shelf, and then getting a French press of said coffee.

I used to like the Serena Organic blend, but it changed, and I'm not even sure if it's available anymore. On occasion, the Brazil Ipanema Bourbon is enjoyable in a press if found fresh.

It should be noted that there is a world of difference between "Good" and "Great".

 

[SliceOfLife]

Anything is better than Seattles Best... I'd rather drink spent engine oil than Seattles Best.

No joke, the preground Folgers garbage in mylar bags at my work are MILES better than the best cup of SB I've ever had. The only reason SB is still in business is because kids on college campuses have no choice unless they wanna leave the campus (stupid B&N monopoly).