Coffee Lovers

Started by Strings4Him, November 25, 2011, 05:58:50 AM

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Quote from: 247hoopsfan on October 22, 2024, 12:24:55 AMBowie, so osorry to hear about your accident, hope you are OK.
Did you end up selling your Brazilian Flying Eagle? 
Yes, it got traded for an almost new SCGC. The Eagle was truly amazing but I just don't play 14 fret guitars anymore. 12 fretters don't agitate my neck as much. Really hated letting that one go but the trade was for a guitar worth more than twice what I paid so... I can't complain.

Thanks for the kind words. The accident was "minor" but I did get whiplash so it aggravated my neck and set back the progress I was making. I'm working hard to get it back though. I could do almost nothing for the first two months and I started to lose my mind (I can't just sit around) so I'm powering through now.

Quote from: StringPicker6 on October 22, 2024, 09:45:35 AMStarbucks does make tasty coffee.  I just don't go there because I don't really like the company.
I just drink black coffee so *bucks tastes awful to me. It has a scorched flavor. No one goes there for that though (I know because the girls at the register struggle to find the "black" option on the keypad). I never understood the appeal of $6 coffee but I think it's like everything else now; if you put enough sugar and fat in something people love it.


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Quote from: Queequeg on October 22, 2024, 02:49:35 AMBlack coffee; no cream, no sugar.
In a nice mug. I don't like those porcelain China cups. :yak:
 
The mug is so important! I actually grab a mug to match my mood (same as my clothes for the day). This is my go-to. A square, hand-made ceramic I got from a historic restaurant in Sedona AZ that the movie stars like John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart went to when they filmed old westerns there. I don't really care about all that, I just like the turtles.

Quote from: B0WIE on October 22, 2024, 03:34:47 PMThe mug is so important! I actually grab a mug to match my mood (same as my clothes for the day). This is my go-to. A square, hand-made ceramic I got from a historic restaurant in Sedona AZ that the movie stars like John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart went to when they filmed old westerns there. I don't really care about all that, I just like the turtles.

Hand-made by fellow Larrivee forumite Bernie Naboz.

Quote from: StringPicker6 on October 22, 2024, 09:45:35 AMStarbucks does make tasty coffee.  I just don't go there because I don't really like the company.
in the news this morning...

A preliminary earnings report Tuesday revealed yet another quarter of falling sales at Starbucks — its third in a row. The drop was especially steep in the US, where sales fell 10%; and in China, where they were down 14%. Basically, demand hasn't been this low since the first year of the pandemic.

The numbers were so ugly that Starbucks took the uncommon step of suspending its financial guidance for the rest of the year — a move that should, in theory, give the new boss time to figure out a plan.

Brian Niccol took the reins last month, leaving the top job at Chipotle to become Starbucks' third CEO in three years. But even for Niccol, the guy known throughout the industry as something of a savior to spiraling companies, this is going to be a Herculean task.

So far, Niccol has said he wants to simplify the menus, improve staffing levels and he may even — please, for the love of God — put the milk and sugar out from behind the counter.

"We need to fundamentally change our strategy so we can get back to growth," he said. "People love Starbucks, but I've heard from some customers that we've drifted from our core."

In short: Bring back the chill community coffee shop vibe from the '90s. And maybe stop trying to make us drink olive oil.


(I don't know/understand about the "olive oil" statement)

I just stopped by my local dollar store to get some stuff and grabbed a SBUX cold drink while in there.  That's two SBUX purchases for me in under a week, with many years between my last purchases.  I'm not the regular customer they are looking for. 

 I don't understand the olive oil reference either.  My opinion is that they got too in-your-face politically post-covid/G. Floyd era.  My wife and I went to a SBUX drive-thru around that time and I noticed the employees wearing SBUX-branded BLM t-shirts.  That was a big turnoff to me and one of the reasons I stopped going there.  I'm sure many other Americans felt the same and took their dollars to Dutch Bros, Dunkin, et al. 

Later on the SBUX employees took the next logical step in the power-to-the-people evolution and wanted to organize.  It seems SBUX upper management wanted to virtue signal but pull the plug when the time came to put up or shut up.  Can't have it both ways.  I feel bad for the employees but SBUX corporate is getting what they deserve IMO.

Quote from: Silence Dogood on October 25, 2024, 11:53:27 AMI just stopped by my local dollar store to get some stuff and grabbed a SBUX cold drink while in there.  That's two SBUX purchases for me in under a week, with many years between my last purchases.  I'm not the regular customer they are looking for. 

 I don't understand the olive oil reference either.  My opinion is that they got too in-your-face politically post-covid/G. Floyd era.  My wife and I went to a SBUX drive-thru around that time and I noticed the employees wearing SBUX-branded BLM t-shirts.  That was a big turnoff to me and one of the reasons I stopped going there.  I'm sure many other Americans felt the same and took their dollars to Dutch Bros, Dunkin, et al. 

Later on the SBUX employees took the next logical step in the power-to-the-people evolution and wanted to organize.  It seems SBUX upper management wanted to virtue signal but pull the plug when the time came to put up or shut up.  Can't have it both ways.  I feel bad for the employees but SBUX corporate is getting what they deserve IMO.
I don't go there often enough to know what their politics are.
What little I know about them comes from the business and financial pages.
A very high profile corner location in the heart of downtown in my city recently closed down the Starbucks store.
Might have been union-related, but it is a very high rent district. Anytime I went in or walked by, they appeared to be busy.

 :cop: Religion, :cop:  politics :cop: , what the heck huh?

We don't need no stinkin' rules, carry on. :whistling:
Herman.

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Quote from: Queequeg on October 25, 2024, 10:27:38 AMHand-made by fellow Larrivee forumite Bernie Naboz.
Very nice!

Regarding the *bucks situation, they're learning the hard lesson many companies learned in recent years, if you "take a side", you lose the other side. I can't help but smirk at the, "We just have to become cool again" idea. Good luck with that. They have been been synonymous with corporate America for so long that they can't erase that image. I don't think that's even their issue. I believe it's the fact that people do away with luxuries in an down economy.

I just think their logo looks dumb.  :coffee  :gotdonuts:
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Quote from: Rockysdad on October 25, 2024, 03:35:03 PM:cop: Religion, :cop:  politics :cop: , what the heck huh?

We don't need no stinkin' rules, carry on. :whistling:
I did not post a political opinion one way or the other.  I pointed out that SBUX did and them doing so was a turnoff to me.  I didn't say I agreed or disagreed with their position, but that it was off-putting.  I find all political opinions, whether by companies or musicians from a stage, off-putting, even if I agree with them.  I just don't think it's the place for such things.  SBUX apparently does.   

Around the time I'm referencing there was a story (or maybe more than one, I don't follow news closely) of a SBUX manager asking police to leave their store because it was making some customers nervous.  These same people would have called the same cops to protect them or their property if it was in danger, and been absolutely outraged and played the victim if the cops had not helped them. It seems like SBUX corporate had to walk this one back and do some damage-control because it rubbed so many people the wrong way. 

My point is, SBUX got too heavy-handed and too morally superior at some point and went well beyond their mission, which was selling coffee, not re-educating the populace with their particular elitist worldview.  This is a shame because their coffee is great!  SBUX is what got me into espresso and the world of higher-end beans, etc.  It was a fun time when all they did was sell coffee.   

Quote from: Queequeg on October 25, 2024, 10:31:28 AMSo far, Niccol has said he wants to simplify the menus, improve staffing levels and he may even — please, for the love of God — put the milk and sugar out from behind the counter.

"We need to fundamentally change our strategy so we can get back to growth," he said. "People love Starbucks, but I've heard from some customers that we've drifted from our core."

In short: Bring back the chill community coffee shop vibe from the '90s. And maybe stop trying to make us drink olive oil.

Hi folks. I've seen this tread from time to time but never chipped in, maybe now's the time.

My SBucks POV is that I recall it used to be cool maybe 15 years ago where I have vivid memories of biking to my favorite one, and hanging out on their WiFi with my laptop for an hour or two nursing a plain grande coffee. This one wasn't large so there would be competition for the 40 or so seats. Starbucks had stumbled on the "3rd place" concept where folks longed for somewhere to hang out that wasn't home or office.

Oh so gradually I started to notice the line of cars wrapping around the building filled with drivers who would rather sit in their car than walk in and order. Eventually the barristas would prioritize their orders over mine but by then I learned the tactic of ordering a simple black coffee which the barrista would pour without having me wait.

Fast forward 15 years and they've redecorated the interior to resemble a dated Baskin and Robbins ice cream parlor - cheery white and pastels with hard surfaces easier to clean, far from the dark wood "club/library" vibe they used to have. The line of cars is still there but the place is half empty and depressing. Swear to god, I'm not exaggerating but the barrista's all act like their entire family is being held hostage. Every transaction is grudging and apparently everyone there is toasted on pot gummies just to get thru their shift.

That I continue to forget they no longer offer milk and sweetener so I can flavor to my taste is my biggest aggravation. Covid was 2 years ago, but Starbucks still hasn't gotten the memo.

Starbucks is now a coffee sodashop a long distance away from their former focus on actual quality single origin and custom blend coffee. They've given up on offering a variety of bagged bean coffees as there's only a sad meager offering of some vague blend with marketing names and cutesy graphics. I'm skeptical the new CEO can put the genie back in the bottle here, because we're all moved on. The "3rd place" is now the phone screen everyone one stares at during every idle moment.  :coffee   :yak:
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I was in a different shop the other day than I regularly shop in and needed some coffee.  So instead of my regular Tim Horton's, I ended up with some Community Coffee Colombian Blend.  I used to drink this years ago and still like it a lot. In fact, it was Community Coffee in the old freeze-dried bricks back in the day that made me a regular coffee drinker.  That was back when coffee was still sold in 1-pound bags, rather than the ubiquitous 12 oz. bags now.  I still think the Tim Horton's medium roast is a little better, but if all there was available was Community Coffee I'd be fine. 

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