Whats this guy up too??? Really seems to have it in for them. He probably just is too cheap to dish out $5 for a cup of coffe. http://www.ihatestarbucks.com/
While I dislike the fact that Starbucks feels the need to open a franchise on every block, I can't bring myself to transfer this dislike to their coffee, which I've always enjoyed. However, their selection of food truly does suck.
I believe that this is a "Wiccan" owned company, (Thus having a picture of the "Goddess" as the logo, as well as a few other hints, and I find it funny that some of those really large churches, the kind that televised, actually started putting "Starbucks" in thier food courts.
If someone believes my comment is incorrect about the "Wiccan owned" statement, please let me know if you have the correct answer about the origins.
JoeSixpack Member
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 02:22 PM
Stephen, since all of the wiccans that I've met weren't together enough to hold a steady job, I would be very surprised if they were able to create a multinational corp. with the size and success of Starbucks. This sounds like the "Proctor & Gamble are satanists" urban ledgend started by some Amway losers back in the 80's. You're not, by any chance, a shill for some MLM, are you?
LoL; I hope not....I almost got sucked into that stuff back in the middle 90's. But also, there are different Denominations of Wicca, but you are right, alot of them do have trouble holding it together. My best friends mom is a 3rd generation witch, and she is a bit on the tipsy side.
Captain Al
in Alberta, Canada Member
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 03:18 PM
If this guy doesn't like their product, he should take his business somewhere else. Obviously, the majority of people disagree with him or Starbucks wouldn't be so successful. And if coffee bean pickers were paid $20 an hour, he wouldn't be able to afford a cup of coffee.
That's not to say these people should not be paid more. It's just that competition forces producers to cut costs anyplace they can and unfortunately those workers are the easiest targets for those cuts.
And what is "Fair Trade" coffee? Does that mean they pay $1.50 a day instead of $1? Next time he takes a sip of the competition's brew, he should remember he is still contributing to what he calls slavery.
Sharruma
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 07:25 PM
Personally I have nothing against Starbucks Per se.
However I hate the stink of coffee and the area around a Starbuck is always thick with the stench
This isn't too bad except when they insist on opening them inside supermarkets, especially ones which would otherwise be very convienient for me to use.
This is a personal dislike and I certainly wouldn't start a web page of a petition about it? How would you hold a petition to stop coffee stinking? Hell, even the coffee aisle in those same supermarkets, as well as supermarkets that don't have a Starbucks outlet, stink to high heaven and are places I viguorously avoid.
Captain Al
in Alberta, Canada Member
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 09:16 PM
I hear you Sharruma. The smell of coffee in a restaurant at breakfast time just about knocks me out. And I walk through the coffee section in the supermarket very quickly. Two things I'm thankful for when I was young: I didn't get addicted to nicotine or caffeine.
Lydie
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2005 | 10:46 PM
I think the people who started Starbucks are Jewish...and the logo isn't the Goddess, it's a siren (to lure you into the store with coffee stink?). I have to mention, though, that I luuurve the coffee stink...sorry, I'm from Seattle and I can't function without my daily six-shot venti hazelnut latte (non-fat, extra foam).
Mark-N-Jen
in Midwest USA
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 09:34 AM
Seems to me like he's probably a disgruntled former employee or something of that nature. I did post on his site though what I heard about Starbucks and them charging EMT's and paramedics for bottled water to treat patients in the aftermath of 9/11. ($130) Like most things we skeptics hear I was slow to believe but just a little research at http://www.snopes.com and elsewhere seemed to prove it true. Based on that fact we did indeed quit patronizing Starbucks but that wasn't hard to do since a local coffee shop recently opened.
super_sharp_shooter Member
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 12:51 PM
OK, I don't really give a flying fook about whether or not you choose to drink in starbucks, personally i think their coffee is disgusting, but that's just, like, my opinion man.
HOWEVER,
I take exception to your comment, Captain Al, "And what is "Fair Trade" coffee? Does that mean they pay $1.50 a day instead of $1? Next time he takes a sip of the competition's brew, he should remember he is still contributing to what he calls slavery."
FairTrade prevents manufacturers in developing countries getting screwed over completely by corporations such as nestle. These corporations - in their never ending quest to pump up their profits and keep prices competitively low for the western market - force coffee manufacturers to accept ludicrously low prices for the goods they deal in; often little more than the coffee has cost the manufacturer to produce. The result? The manufacturer gets screwed, effectively receiving insufficient money for his work to keep his family from starvation. Fairtrade guarantees that the manufacturer will have received a FAIR (geddit?) price for their product, allowing them to live their lives by decent standards.
Can't say fairer than that, surely?
Captain Al
in Alberta, Canada Member
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 | 10:56 PM
The price of coffee, like all comodities, is controlled by the simple laws of supply and demand. If demand exceeds supply, the price goes up and vise versa. The only way someone could force you to sell at a certain price is if they were the only buyer. It would be quite a conspiracy if every coffee buying corporation on earth got together and agreed on a maximum price they would pay.
My comments assumed that most coffee producers are wealthy land owners who hire workers (a.k.a. slaves) to harvest their crop (someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this). If the price of coffee suddenly increased, I don't think they would feel obligated to pass some of the increased earnings on to the workers. Now there may also be small operations run by a single family. However they would probably be forced to sell to middlemen since they do not produce enough to make deals with major buyers. I doubt if they would treat the little guy any better. So to me, it seems the little guy is still the one who needs help, not the middlemen.
Assuming that somehow this Fair Trade thing does help the poor worker trying to feed his family, then why does this guy acts like Starbucks are the only ones not actively promoting Fair Trade product. (And our hero doesn't say how much of that product he buys.) Instead of harrassing Starbucks, he should be going after consumers to demand all coffee is Fair Trade. Starbucks is just an easy target.
We western consumers like to shake our fists in the air and demand things like Fair Trade coffee and Dolphin Friendly tuna because it makes us feel we are doing something positive. Then we sneak out and buy the other stuff because it's cheaper.
I am like Lydie, I must...have...coffee. I do not function until I have had a minimum of 2 pots of coffee in the morning.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 | 04:50 AM
...I also hate Starsucks. Their coffee tastes like their beans have been burned. I mean, when they're roasting those hundreds of beans at a time...more than one is likely to get burned. I know they say it's supposed to be this way...but my mom used to say we were having "cajun" dinner. (It was blackened!) Their food is lacking in flavor & originality. Ooohh...an 800 calore bran muffin? Yum. I have, on occasion, enjoyed a cold drink from them...but I'd rather stick to Dunkin' Donuts for my hot chocolate. I'll go to the local gas station for coffee (it's really not that bad), and I prefer a good sundried tomato bagel (again, Dunkin' Donuts) to their rich, sugary 8lb brownies.
Eerily enough, I recently posted my own "I Hate Starsucks" thread on another message board. Most people sympathized with my plight.
Thats why I love Starbucks, it some strong stuff, I like the so called "burnt" flavor, as you described it. Allthough the coffe is a little pricey, there is just something about it. I just got addicted to it from being in car sales couple of years ago. Sales manager would allways get a few therm's from there, it was a god send on a Saturday.
Maegan
in Tampa, FL - USA Member
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 08:15 AM
I dunno...I have tasted strong coffee...and it tasted good. It didn't have the 'burn' aftertaste that Starsucks has. I had a friend from Kona get her family to ship her some beans, the way she made it...it had a very strong flavor...no yucky aftertaste.
Italian roast, baby.....good stuff. Anyway. I am bored talking about coffee. By the way, visit http://www.oddtodd.com for coffee stuff. Thats another site I enjoy. Second to this.
helen
in UK
Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 | 12:32 PM
Hey, Captain Al, congratulations on thinking carefully and skeptically. Nevertheless, I think in fact you're wrong - there's a lot to be said for fair trade coffee, and it would be a shame if people used your reasoning from limited info to carry on buying coffee that promotes poverty. You'll find more on why fair trade is wortht the extra money at:
Helen, thanks for the link on Fair Trade coffee. I learned a lot about what they are trying to do. These people mean well, but the parts I read sound like socialist idealism. You can't just say, "Ok, lets have everyone in the world be nice to each other and the world will be a happy place". It only takes a few people to take advantage of the situation and screw up the whole process. No company or organization will put themselves at a disadvantage when their competition is getting the goods at a better price.
As I thought, the low market price for coffee came about because supply has exceeded demand. To artificially prop up the price is just putting the farmers on welfare. I don't thing the buying public is willing to do this for very long. They have a short attention span.
The only solution is for those country's governments to help switch the farmers over to a new crop that has better market potential. They obviously can't afford to do this on their own. We have tried farm subsidies in North America and it doesn't work. Those same subsidies plus import tarrifs put Third World farmers at an even greater disadvantage. In the long run a free market system is the only realistic way to go. Then no one has to subsidise uncompetitive operations.
I think it is bullshit that they charge $5 for water strained through burnt beans. I love coffee, but coffee is coffee. Get some from your local grocer and drink it. I believe that most of the people in this world are lazy and shortsighted, hence, they'll go to starbucks (or any place) and pay through the nose for an idea. It reminds me of CDs and the music industry. I say buy cheap! Coffee, cars, life in general... I don't need the pomp. If you guys want free music here it is... http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/roae.htm
Thanks for listening,
roÆ
I don't drink coffee. Doesn't bother me.
I just bring milk and teabags into work.
I don't see the point of paying £1.50 for a cup of water with a teabag in it.
