OK, so am I missing something?

[BiggJawn]

This "Spendyerbucks puts religious messages on their Cups" business.

Almost as many posts in THAT thread as you'd see ina "Should sex offenders be de-nutted?" thread.

I'm missing something there. I read it, went to the link, read that, made a snarky comment about Rick Warren's quote (I don't know if it was taken from his book or not. I've not read it. I'll most likely NEVER read it. I consider him in the same class I do "Dr." Phil) and that was the END of it.

I don't drink that burnt possum-piss anyway, and wonder about the gullibility of anyone who's bought into the marketing bullshit about bitter, charred coffee being the way "REAL Coffee" is supposed to taste.

What's the deal with 200+ responses to that thread? is the problem Rick Warren, Spendyerbux, or that some people are "dissing" other's favourite "Coffee"?

How long before the Admins are being called upon to forge a policy statment concerning the "ridicule" of somebody's coffee choice?

Yeah, Dude, try Decaf, OK? and maybe a MILDER roast?

[salvorhardin]

1. Decaf!? How dare you!

I will not have my drug of choice impugned. Decaf is a travesty and not abided by in the salvorhardin household where only honest high caffeine content coffee is allowed. :-)

Seriously, I've never drank a cup of Starbucks in my life (there are some bonuses to living in the middle of nowhere). I *think* there's one in Albany in Crossgates Mall but I'm not sure since it's been almost 10 years since I decided malls are the spawn of, well, something nasty (but bland).

I think the fascination with that thread stemmed from such an over-promoted brand trying to insert unwanted (albeit well hidden) messages into people's lives. Frankly I don't get the big deal over it either. A local greasy spoon has a very noticeable crucifix over their counter but the food is good and dinner doesn't come with a prayer. I don't get upset about the crucifix and I find it even harder to get upset about one bible quote. There are a lot more obnoxious ways to proselytize.

On edit: I had no idea who Rick Warren was until I read that. Must be Opera fodder that guy.

[salvorhardin]

3. Oops.

Meant Oprah fodder not Opera fodder in that last line.

[Tafiti]

2. Whew.

I thought it was just me. I've tried Starbucks a couple of times, and thought it was disgusting. I thought I just wasn't enough of a coffee connoisseur to "get it".

Oh yeah, Rick Warren. I have an uncle who is a fundamentalist minister, and he bought me that book as a college graduation gift. I appreciated the thought, I suppose, but oops, I think it's been misplaced by now. Wasn't really trying very hard to keep track of it, as you might imagine. :)

[Goblinmonger]

4. Oh, no, it's not just you

I know good coffee, and let me tell you: Starbucks, you are not good coffee.

I love coffee. If there were gods, it would be their nectar. If I could have sex with it, I might leave my wife for it--well maybe I'm getting a little far off track here.

But my point is that coffee doesn't need to taste like shit to be good. There is a big difference between strong coffee and fucking awful coffee. I have always contended that Starbucks main problem (after their clearly defective roasting process) is that they try to drain too large of a shot off of too little coffee, the cheap bastards. My local barista makes coffee about 100x better than Starbucks could hope to, and I live in the armpit of Wisconsin.

:rant:

[toddaa]

5. Milder roasts and caffeine

Just thought I'd point out that the lighter roasts have MORE caffeine than the darker roasts.

[geniph]

6. As a Seattle native, I feel qualified to butt in here

and point out that Starbucks is NOT my fault! They may have started here, but it isn't my fault - I don't drink their nasty, burnt brew. I used to love Seattle's Best Coffee, but damned Starbucks wal-marted them out of business and bought them up. Bastards. Thankfully, there is still Trader Joe's.

I should point out, however, that while Starbucks' coffee bites the bag, Starbucks is actually a pretty good employer - they give their employees decent pay, decent treatment, and benefits, which is more than you can say for a lot of retail service businesses.

[toddaa]

7. Starbucks and Fair Trade

Starbucks has recently agreed to offer Fair Trade coffee. Having not been to a Starbucks in years, I'm curious about whether you can get a cup of organic fair trade coffee. Considering that Starbucks has resisted fair trade until recently and will only offer it when their is a demand for it, I'm not holding my breath. I refuse to buy anything not marked with the TransFair logo. Make no mistake, Starbucks deserved everything it got during the Seattle riots. The may treat their employees better than most, but the are still capitalist pigs who are every bit as greedy and opportunistic as the Folgers and Maxwell House big boys.