The PROBLEM With Starbucks Coffee
Vložit
- čas přidán 19. 07. 2022
- Starbucks coffee is a giant in the modern coffee sphere and the brand has become a symbol for the coffee shop experience we know today. But... is the coffee even worth the trip out of your house to get it?
Subscribe to Future Proof!
/ @futureprooftv
Follow our SHORTS Channel!
/ @futureproofhealth
Stay updated on our socials
Instagram: / futureprooftv
Facebook: / futureprooftv
TikTok: / futureprooftv
Reddit: / futureproof
For further reading, check out the sources for this video here:
docs.google.com/document/d/e/...
Script: Holly Maley
Editor: Kim Su
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
Want to work with Future Proof? Get in touch:
contact@befutureproof.ca
Starbucks is the fast food of coffee. What really grinds my gears is the fact they are priced the same as a local coffee shop and act like they make high quality products
They're totally the fast food! Good point, Shayan ✨
Honestly where I live they're *even more* expensive than local stores and the only people I ever really see going to Starbucks are tourists who don't know about the local cafés
You missed the opportunity to say "grinds my beans" bro...
@@lilij3947 Tourists enjoy a sense of familiarity, they know that what they get in there will be the same as their local Starbucks at home
@@lja1993 that does disprove the argument tho. So it means those people go to Starbucks in their home too.
Starbucks has actually gotten so expensive it's cheaper to just go to the high-end local café two blocks from my house! Thanks Starbucks, if it wasn't for your outrageous prices I wouldn't have tried anything better!
It's also higher quality
My only issue is at the local cafes aren't open as late as the local Starbucks is
@@Matanumi yeah very true, that definitely is a pain
-brain
@@MatanumiThey dont need to be open late. You want late night coffee? Learn to make it yourself.
@@Matanumi Theres another small downside. Local cafes are more likely to use slave labor coffee because they don't have enough money to control where their coffee comes from
Used to work at Starbucks back in the Philippines. On our first week, they taught us to reuse the used coffee grounds served that day (they're always thrown in their own separate trash bags) by leaving them out to dry overnight. Come the next day, morning shift would bring those grounds back in and use them as the base for frappes. They told us that we were saving the environment so that we wouldn't have to waste any new beans. I was pretty young then so I ate all that up and it wasn't until I worked at a specialty coffee shop did I realize how horrifying that actually is.
Wow! That’s a scam
ohmygod. and all this time i thought the worst starbucks fact is that frappes, besides espresso frappe wc is now off the menu, don't even have espresso in it. what the eff is a 'coffee base'?
@@tobaccoffee506 it’s that little coffee taste that you get when you order a frappe. It also gives it it’s brown color
Yuck!
My god that's a total scam, sadly in Asia Starbucks is making a killing, and local coffee stores that actually offer better quality coffee find it hard to compete.
The brand recognition alone guarantees sale, and correct me on this but it seems in Asia there is some social aspect to this that having coffee from or in Starbucks elevates ones social standing or something.
Starbucks failed terribly here in Slovenia. Part because we already got coffee shops literally everywhere, partially because our coffee culture is so different from american ones. Also the price of a Starbucks coffee was so high no one bothered when you could go to any coffee shop and get a coffee for 1-1.6€.
1.6 is still quite high tho 😂
It kinda flopped here in Vietnam too. Whe have such a unique and strong coffee culture that Starbucks just feels like "flexing on your money". Also a glass (yes, we drink in highball glasses if not in a hurry) or a cup to go cost less than dollar here (15k VND) and it keeps you awake for the rest of the day.
Vietnamese coffee is sublime. 💕 I wish there was more of it in the US.
Same in Italy
They're being outcompeted by the bean-to-coffee vending machines at Albert Heijn's here in the Netherlands.
Yeah nah, luckily Starbucks failed miserably here in Australia, especially in Melbourne. They can’t compete with our amazing local coffee shops and cafes, not just price but also quality and experience. A massive win for the local business owners.
Massive win indeed! That's actually so nice to hear that they haven't completely taken over everywhere haha
Someone will come in and do it eventually. I watched McDonald’s fail to a local chain Chefette, in Barbados 30 years ago and now all the big chains are there now except for McDonald’s. LOL
I've been to Melbourne and can confirm that they have some great cafes there! Best espresso i've ever had.
New Zealand is the same. Starbucks does exist here but I don't know people that drink there
Yeah, I used to live in Melbourne and I remember all the amazing local coffee shops there. I unfortunately had to move to the US for work, and its just Starbucks, Starbucks, and more Starbucks. I miss Melbourne :(
I would pretty much like an in-depth view of the "environmentally friendly" certifications since so many brands nowadays take advantage of eco-friendly products.
Talk to James Hoffman: czcams.com/video/PmwoSqg0dqI/video.html
I second this. I want to know it too!
@@MssIAMNOBODYSPECIAL I second Bryan's recommendation above. James Hoffman is your one-stop CZcams shop for anything coffee.
Same!
Plus one!
Hey I’ve been working at a Starbucks for 3yrs now. All I can say in honesty is in my store and my partners, we are people too! We are tired, overworked, understaffed and underpaid 🥲 at least at my store. I genuinely love my coworkers and making coffee and love my interactions with Customers. I DO BELIEVE OUR COFFEES AND FOOD ARE WAY OVERPRICED 💔😓
You’re soft af if you think you’re overworked at Starbucks. That’s a big problem with your generation.
I worked for years at a different coffee shop, and daily had to explain to customers that Starbucks' "caramel macchiato" is actually a latte, and that the closest drink would be a caramel latte. They'd still call it a caramel macchiato the next day. And if they insisted they wanted a macchiato, we'd make a real one, which is something completely different. Whyyy Starbucks...
You would not want a real macchiato from Starbucks. The Starbucks espresso quality is so horrible you need at least that much milk and sugar to mask it.
@@dudea3378it’s not bad but make sure you get the splash of milk I prefer half and half if you don’t get the splash of milk you will spit it out
Starfucks
One of the fist skills we had to develop when I worked at an independent was how to "speak Starbucks" and "save teen boys." The first was to know what that macciato really was and modify the dr8nk to an approximation for the tourists and the second was to affirm that boy was getting a "quad latte" then make them the weaker version of our standard. We saw a lot more second coffee dates after that change. (Don't worry, we only charged for what they got. Boys were used to gas station lattes. Also, our coffee was wicked strong.)
Starbucks is the only job I’ve ever worked at where I talk to a millionaire and a crackhead at the same time, all three of us being exploited by this corporation.
Same
Hmm. To this day, it was my favorite job I ever worked. Best health insurance I’ve had in my life, even as a military dependent.
That's funny as shit ngl
Lol
Was the crackhead the mypillow guy?
As an ex-Starbucks employee, the entirety of the company is all talk, no walk. They may switch over to more environmentally-friendly cups for a week, just to say that they did it, but they don't even pretend to care about that stuff behind the scenes. They like to brag that they made "the third place" and are gods amongst modern-day coffee shops but they don't care about their customers or workers even a tiny bit. It's all about numbers. I worked there for a little over a year and I have never felt more disrespected, humiliated, and disposable than when I was a Starbucks employee.
I 100% agree as an ex-employee as well.
God this is awful. Thanks for sharing your experiences with this!
@@FutureProofTV Thanks for the awesome video and shedding some light on the company! 💕
I'm sorry you had that experience and were made to feel that way. That's horrible.
I loved my time with the company and was (at least that time, particularly compared to competitors) pleased with its efforts. Small example: Starbucks shops in our city worked with a local vermicomposter to reduce paper cup waste. At the employee level, I received excellent health benefits, higher than minimum wage pay and solid learning opportunities.
Of course this was many moons ago, when the third wave was in its infancy. Starbucks certainly has a responsibility to do better for its partners and the planet.
Welcome to a company who is publicly traded on the market, They care about one thing and it’s not you!
(No disrespect)*
I worked for Starbucks at the time they started popping up on every corner, they had terrible practices like making employees work through their breaks and lunches while also trying to force people to stay past their shift.
They don’t recycle they don’t do anything good for the world. It’s literally a shit ton of sugar and some coffee put in it.
As an ex barista, I gave up Starbucks recently due to their actions towards union busting, and cutting hours so badly that baristas are losing health insurance. Everything in this video makes me even more glad I made that decision.
Starbucks doesn't sell coffee...they sell desserts masquerading as coffee.
Very true!
my pure nemesis frappuchinos the most time consuming drink to make
For women I suppose. I don't go often, but the straight black is okay and will do in a pinch.
@@j.w.matney8390 yes because women are the only people who ever get anything other than a black coffee 🙄
they always have regular coffee brewed, here in Fresno CA , Dutch Bros is very popular, especially with the younger crowd, they don't brew drip coffee or anything other than espresso from the bar(americano)
I’ve always thought Starbucks coffee tasted burnt and thus avoided it. Later I watched an interview where the owners admitted to accidentally over roasting their coffee and liking the flavor. So my suspicions were confirmed saving me enormous amounts of time and money.
They don't "accidentally" over roast. Over roasting bad coffee and over roasting good coffee results in coffees that taste remarkably similar. The burnt taste covers up the actual flavor profiles. The problem is that, so long as it's better than Folgers (which often contains literal dirt), most people won't notice.
@@treymedley years ago I watched an interview in which they admitted to having fallen asleep during the roasting process and over roasted the coffee. After tasting it, they decided that they liked it and thus Starbucks flavor was born. That is what I was referring to in my original comment.
Fun fact: You "saved enormous amounts of money" by simply not buying from a company that has different values/ideals/tastes than you. Not giving a money to a company is a lesson many people could learn from nowadays, so good for you for doing avoiding it, and bragging about it on a video about said topic. Only by giving out attention/money to areas that we enjoy, will those areas flourish.
@@pizzagroom6221 thank you, my friend. Have a blessed day!
I can’t drink their Coffee it’s not normal Coffee, there’s something different about it and I can’t stand the smell or taste and maybe what you said is true, because it’s burnt.
Almost dropped my cup of coffee from my Finnish hands when he just casually roasts us for our coffee intake 😹☕☕☕
Hah ha, I caught your sense of humor there! Funny! 😁
At least you were able to Finnish your coffee.
I'm such a Fin at heart. 😅
coming to this a little late but, I worked at one of probably the busiest starbucks in Canada for 2 months and it was hell. The shop brought in an average of 70k per day. we as the workers saw no extra benefits despite the insane stress of the job. the store was also out of date and very small, we only had 2 espresso machines and 1 cold bar station, it was also in a mall so most of our customers were not regulars. this meant that there was frequently a long wait on drinks and very little opportunity to connect with its customers in any way. the thing that made me quit was the fact that we got these like customer satisfaction reports every week that were based on reviews and every week we would score low because it was impossible to make drinks any faster than we were or make “more connections”. But management kept telling us and pressuring us to keep trying to get our score up and not only make 4 drinks at a time but chat with people while we did it. it became so exhausting trying to do the emotional and physical labour of that job. that along with the fact that we saw none of the reward of having our store be that busy and got little to no tips it was simply not worth it.
There's no way that your shop brought in 70k per day. Thats insane. Thats more than we make in a week at my store, and we're extremely busy. If you make 70k a day, you'd have to be open for 24 hours a day and make $48 per minute.
I worked for starbucks and thought the CAFE model I was forced to learn about seemed fishy to begin with. Making their own certification of ethicality and giving themselves basically the perfect score year after year
Like that obama meme of another obama giving himself a medal
It would be wild, if they didn't give *themselves* a perfect score, wilder than anything they're doing now
Yes, it's better to have the farmers pay a third party? huh?
Australian coffee culture is completely different. Starbucks hasn't caught on here, and because of waves of Italian immigrants in the 50s and 60s, we have a unique coffee culture that revolves around espresso coffee and relies a lot on individual suppliers! One of my favourite coffee places has a direct connection with a coffee farm in Colombia, and they roast it in house! I've always thought it was interesting how Starbucks and Dunkin' are such popular coffee sellers in North America, Australia couldn't be more different.
There's a very high floor on the quality of coffee you find in Australia, the last time I went back to the UK it was such a shock how bad the coffee you found at most places!
As a casual drinker, who never drinks espresso and only drinks coffee whem absolutely necessary, and often dilutes coffee with milk and creamer, I'm not exactly sure how I'd fit in Australian coffee culture and how would the coffee there taste and if it would be worth the trip since I'm not big on strong coffee.
@@triadwarfare there’s plenty of reasons to come to Australia apart from Coffee.
But there plenty of shops do non-espresso coffee if you don’t like that style (not hard to find batch, aeropress, pour-over, cold brew/drip if your in a big city, though much less common in rural areas) and non coffee drinks (i.e teas, powered ‘lattes’, sticky chai’s etc).
It Also depends what you mean by strong as beans that haven’t been roasted to the inch of existence are much more common here (i.e. we prefer lighter roasts) and coffee here tends to be a lot les astringent and taste of other things than tar the coffee I commonly found in the US. While m it still coffee, if you have it with milk you’ll often get a sweetness even without adding sugar/sweetener and even if you have milk / sugar no one will care (unless you end up in ‘that’ shop but they are few and far between) as plenty of Aussies like their coffee like that
@@triadwarfare order a flat white or cappuccino if you like the foam. That's your latte/ espresso with milk. If you are dairy free most places can froth all your plant milks well, too.
Don't feel like you'll be too judged for not drinking black as long as you don't go to a specialty cafe. And if you do, try your single origin (black). It's a different taste, it's fun to try even if you don't like! (Oh yeah and there's way more to do in aus than coffee lol but you can come over to nz we have good coffee and less wank hehe)
@@triadwarfare get a big latte with a sugar 👌
I got my own espresso machine and started buying beans freshly roasted from a local place. One of my best investments ever. Not only is the coffee crazy good but i dont need any sugar in it and its WAY cheaper in the long run
What machine? Is it hard to use?
I worked for a small mom and pop coffee/bakery that served Caravan coffee. And yes, the single origin coffee beans were very "tea-like," in that they came in very diverse flavor profiles. One came through our shop that, when we brewed it right, tasted like blueberries. But those were specialty options, while we kept regular coffee and lattes and frappes on hand.
hi there just curious, are they still open? that sounds so nice
I'm a barista at a small "third wave" specialty coffee company that works directly with the farms they get their beans from, and our menu is very limited, it's just coffee. Even then nearly every day people will come in and order a "venti white chocolate mocha", a "grande caramel macchiato", "a latte with 3 pumps vanilla", or frappuccino's, with so much confidence and only a glance to our menu. I have to constantly explain to customers that we are not Starbucks and don't have those drinks or sizes, and a Starbuck's macchiato is a latte, all of their drinks are a latte... There are multiple Starbucks within about a mile from my shop, but yes our coffee is better because we are constantly dialing in to taste and still use manual espresso machines; but once you put in all the sugar Starbucks' people expect, you can't tell the difference.
This type of customer orders our Geisha heirloom-bean pour over just to flood it with milk and syrup, smh.
Starbucks is ruining coffee because it's become the norm/ baseline people expect and it's making it harder for specialty coffee shops to be successful because they assume every coffee shop must have what Starbucks has. Plus, they usually make a face when they have their first sip because they can actually taste coffee in their drink, then ask for more syrup.. It's like going to every burger chain and ordering a Big Mac because McDonald's has it then getting upset when they suggest something of higher quality.
I am glad to hear you having such a high standard, starbucks fanboys always surprised and oftenly regret to drink a pure cup of coffee. I live in a country which is one of the bean belt but, unfortunately young age people loves the starbucks only because they can show the brand on social media. There is lot of local coffee farmers in my region which have good quality coffee bean that the farmersproccesing their beans in such unique traditional way it gives an exotic flavour rather than a mutant cup of coffee like starbucks does.
Hold the sugar but i do love my milk
Its not ruining coffee, this people just dont like coffee, they like coffee idea, and like to drink sweel warm milkshake
So they got it with green logo
Its like some people like idea of fitness but they mostly do photos at jyms and not working out
as a coffee nerd I'm getting really upset seeing people order any good coffee in my favourite speciality coffee shop and then ruining cup of wonderful drink with tons of sugar and milk, so I feel your pain on so many levels
No matter what you say, their coffee taste and smell good.
I worked at Starbucks for three years and they wouldn't tell people when they got exposed to COVID at work so they wouldn't have to self-isolate and close the store/find coverage. They threw food away instead of donating it, while still claiming they were. I packed up leftover food and brought it to hospitals to feed health care workers during the pandemic and was told I could get disciplined or even fired for it.
I used to work at 2 different grocery stores. The first one didn't donate leftover food because they said it was illegal and a liability. Apperantly where I live food donations can be pretty strict and companies don't want a mess if someone gets sick from the couple day old bakery stuff. The next place would through away large amounts of food some days during the week. Much of the bakery stuff was still good just not by the date. During covid we couldn't donate so it was tossed but sometimes I wanted to eat some of it. You could be written up for eating it even though it was going in the trash compactor. I never understood that. But maybe for both the companies they don't want you eating what they consider bad food and then getting sick and suing the store
Woah the Starbucks I work at we donate our food to The homeless shelter or to the other Starbucks employees would take them home and take coffee grounds to retirement homes or donate our coffee to churches, we take coffee to the Police station donate ms of course I just think it depends on the location you live at our Starbucks even pays for high schoolers to go to college or anybody who works at Starbucks I am currently on my 2nd year of school and Starbucks has paid for all of it none of it out of my checks or tips it’s all paid for just working for Starbucks
Because if someone gets sick from that food the company can be sued. Boo hoo pandemic lol
@@jakearmstrong2127 it's difficult for stores like that. for one many of the rules a set by corporate instead of by the actual branches. secondly while some branches will try their own thing, I worked in store that would reduce things at the end of the day and they tried giving stuff out for a few weeks but it became problematic as customers would exploit the system by coming in at the end of the day and waiting until we were closed so we would be forced to give it away instead of it being bought at a severely reduced price. if a company isn't going to profit they at least want to cover their costs instead of making a loss. Also I'm not defending that they don't give it to homeless shelters but i do understand that it would be a logistical nightmare.
I will personally discipline whoever said they’d discipline you. With my fists. You did the right thing 😤👍
For political reason, i refuse to ever buy a cup of starbucks cofffee.
My first sip of fancy "coffee" ...the frappe was from Starbucks. I will never forget the taste and knowing it was expensive (RM10++ 20 years ago in Malaysia). It was mind blowing at that time haha. Now I haven't had one in good 8 years at least. I prefer local barista coffee...or even better make it myself at home using locally roasted beans. Starbucks isn't selling good coffee I agree.
I went on a coffee tour in Colombia and the owner of the farm and coffee shop was saying that they'd get paid something like 500 USD for so much coffee and it'd be exported and resold for something like 2000 USD. The growers are paid horribly for the raw product but the roster are paid really well for roasting that raw product. That now roaster coffee would still about double in profits once sold as a drink
It's actually ridiculous how some people in this industry are treated/paid, thanks for bringing this to light and sharing with us Asher 🙏
Ok as someone that works in a roasting facility literally today that is a bit of a mark up if you don’t think about it but you then have to think about the roasters who also need to get paid as well as paying for the facilities to roast in. Roastrias need to be large warehouses in order to hold not just the green beans but also the roasted beans and shipping things. I work for a medium sized company we have 3 cafes and one warehouse in a city. The warehouse is the size of a city block so think how much just renting that costs. I’m not saying the farmers shouldn’t make more, I’m just saying that the price difference makes sense to me.
Mostly what I’m trying to say is your morning cup should be a lot more expensive in general if you want everyone to be paid fairly.
@@hayeslundry I think people should ask cafes where do they get their coffee from, because it might not be a local roaster. Hold them accountable. As a small roaster, it's hard to convince cafes to use higher quality direct trade coffee. So this would help everyone out.
The same thing applies to pretty much any agricultural operation everywhere.
Edited for missing words and letters since I haven't had any coffee yet.
I currently work at Starbucks, it’s by far not the worst job I’ve ever had, I’m lucky that I have a decent store manager, but there’s a lot with the company that needs to be fixed.
I absolutely agree. I work there as well.
Such as?
@@originaltydie3642 cutting hours, low pay, scheduling so you can’t get a thirty, the customers are the biggest for me and how absolutely rude and mean they can be. I’m talking cursing and screaming, I even had one lady get out of her car to jump around having a temper tantrum. The VPs say they are going to help but only make things worse. Promises of moving up while not fallowing through. Just a myriad of problems.
@@originaltydie3642 oh and firing people who ask for a raise. While having staff shortages that end up having three people running the store when you need bare minimum five. I’ve had to take orders make orders and restock all as one person while they hound it into you that you need to keep times down. Overall just bad.
Welcome to the world of work … all companies need to continue to evolve. Howard Schultz is back, so start pushing up your feedback. He is listening and I think embarrassed by what happened to his company under his predecessor.
I've legitimately considered building a greenhouse in my basement and growing my own coffee because it got so complicated researching affordable ethical sources for my beans.
Grow pot instead, then you won’t worry about anything anymore! Double win 😂
Folgers will be just fine ma'am
You might want to check out School for Chiapas. It's coffee grown by Zapatistas, the proceeds from which goes towards educating indigenous children. The last time I was there it was green coffee beans only but roasting my own was easy enough for me.
do it
Coffee is notoriously hard to keep alive for beginners
I think the Starbucks experience varies widely by geography. In China for example, Starbucks used to be seen as a huge premium brand and a status symbol, people wanted to be seen carrying a Starbucks coffee cup around. Given their strong brand, it's unsurprising to see them dominate the Chinese market over the last 20 years. Recently however, brutal competition from new and up and coming coffee chains like Luckin Coffee and Manner coffee is severely disrupting Starbucks' prospects in China. Chinese consumers are gravitating towards Luckin for a variety of reasons.
Luckin Coffee is downright horrible. They’re not even using proper coffee machines that you would see at a normal coffee shop, let alone the taste of it 😂
@@sept.ober_5067 That's very true! They've never been known for the quality of their coffee, in fact their classic coffees probably do taste worse than many others. But I would that Chinese consumers are gravitating to Luckin for a few reasons:
1) Many people like their "beveraged coffee", as opposed to traditional coffee like americano or latte. These beveraged coffee have much more sugar in it, making it sweeter, which is preferred for many amateur coffee drinkers who like drinking milk tea, but don't necessarily like the bitter taste of natural coffee. The quality of "pure coffee" here isn't important to these consumers.
2) Their successful marketing strategy shifting from performance ads to brand ads, and especially with getting Eileen Gu to becoming their brand ambassador, elevated them to becoming the most preferred brand amongst young conumsers in 2021 and 2022 (According to YiCai magazine)
3) More recently, Chinese consumers have been more cautious of their spending due to the weak growth and outlook for the Chinese economy, record youth unemployment etc. Spending on discretionary goods like coffee is likely to fall, which could mean people who used to buy more expensive coffee like Starbucks would switch to cheaper alternatives like Luckin, even if it taste worse.
I made a video explaning this in depth, in case you're interested in finding out more.
One issue with the video at 1:40
"Starbucks pretty much invented that third-place coffee experience. Somewhere between home and work". The original coffee houses in Austria (thinking specifically about the western world here) were known as Penny Universities because you could learn so much from conversing from artists/scientists etc who would gather there for a couple of hours over coffee. Starbucks may have been influential in bringing back this concept, but they definitely didn't invent it.
Thank you for pointing out the classic ahistorical US-centrism that cropped up in this video that was rather misguided in places. The ethics-washing criticism was at least right but otherwise...
If I remember correctly Starbucks was founded because they wanted to replicate Italian espresso bar culture in the US. Emphasis on replicate. There is nothing new about what Starbucks does.
@@SahnigReingeloetet except some of those syrupy, espresso-shake health hazards. Very happy to 'credit' them for calling that "coffee". It's like eating a box of loaded fries with bacon, cheese and ranch sauce and saying you're having potatoes for lunch.
Thanks! I am from Spain and having breakfast in a coffee bar is a family and friend gathering, also you go to a coffee bar after work for coffee or alcohol or tapas! You can also work there and study there since always! Looool Starbucks just copied European standards lol
I work there please stop coming lmao
Can do 😉😅
^ same stay away unless you're friendly pls
I used to work there too... Can state, it's down to your managers how good a time you'll have.
״me me me me me”….
Alericans drink dish water come to france or italy to drink the real stuff
There was a point missing, (loved the entire video), and that is: No matter what city you are in around the world, you can always know Starbucks will taste the same. My latte here in Bahrain, tastes the same as the one I had in Tokyo, which didn’t differ from the one I drank in Seattle. Yes there are better choices, once you find them, but initially when needing a fix, Starbucks will remain even keeled.
This is not even a slight selling point for me as their coffee tastes so bad. Consistently bad is something to always avoid. When your baseline is failure, consistency isn't a good thing? It's so easy today to research the good places and you can usually tell just looking at a place if there's a chance it will do good coffee. I know if I was in Tokyo I would never step foot in a Starbucks.
That's because their poor quality beans are roasted to oblivion, being left uniformly flavour-less and burn-bitter…
So yeah, consistency through intentional lowest-quality…
japan starbucks tho
What cracks me up is that Starbucks adopted sippy cup lids to reduce plastic straw use but when you order egg bites they put plastic utensils in the package unless you specifically tell them not to.
As a Finn I feel slightly attacked, but let me tell you. Not one of my 8 cups come from Starbucks!
Dude, really?
You’re single-handedly carrying the small coffee roaster businesses there with your coffee consumption. Hats off to you
@Chris Dude, that’s monumentally ignorant. A Finn is someone from Finland. If you had watched with an adult, they could have pointed that out and drawn your attention to the 8 cup reference.
Don’t be…your country has better schools than the US and you know how to treat homeless people.
As a 5 year+ xtarbucks "Coffee Master" (basically, they train you to be super 'knowlegable' of their coffee), I've gotten the impression over the last ~3 years (before COVID, and then accelerating during), the company has just stopped caring about us, and are banking on the good will and experiences they built up during the previous 20 years. They recently made us watch an hour long video the can basically be summerized as "we're sorry we didn't do better, you're awesome and deserve better, here's a portable foam blender to show how much we appreciate-- I mean understand you."
see i only stopped drinking starbucks because I happen to be really poor now; and everything i drank from there i can get for like a dollar at mcdonalds
Starbucks’s is too overrated
That is very disappointing, unfortunately it seems like that is the way most companies do business. Everywhere I go, almost every employee of every business looks like they’re not only done with that day but done with life, really. I’ve worked for a restaurant since well before the pandemic and to this day not one upper management person has expressed a single word of appreciation for showing loyalty in those uncertain times. Last year I was told that our cost for a case of chicken had doubled, so we had to raise our prices several times over the year. One day I asked my GM if our cost was to go back down would we lower the prices back down on our menu and he just started laughing
Starbucks also has the some of the worst tasting coffee I've ever had--literally on par with gas station or Folgers. If I desperately wanted a cup of coffee and my only options were Starbucks and McDonald's, I'd for sure go for McDonald's.
Dont knock gas station coffee. I mostly get my coffee from Cumberland farms. Until recently it was .99. Often they have Nicaraguan or Guatemalan coffee. Which is some of the best tasting coffee on earth imo. Gone are the days of burnt coffee that's been sitting on a burner for 3 hours. Although some stations are still pretty bad.
I just love their Green Tea and it is absolutely devastating they bought off Teavana thus limiting the variety of teas.
I do miss getting a little splurge of the fruity herbals Teavana used to sell.
my buddy grew up in guatemala, he was picking coffee beans when he was 7 years old, instead of going to school. But he still likes to drink coffee with me. and i asked him and he told me he was glad he had a place to work because that way he and his family got to eat
Now imagine labour wasn't exploited in that country so a 7 year old didn't have to work in order to feed his family.
@@epmcgeeexactly is a really sad situation.
"Tea-like" means a lot of the natural flavours of the coffee, which the producers worked so hard to farm, are brought out rather than bombed out by the roast. It's the highest compliment I've heard for a coffee I think
Well said
I was wondering what that section of the video meant. Thanks for enlightening me. I became enlightened to quality coffee a few years ago, and it pains me to have to resort to bad coffee now. It’s a gift and a curse
Thank you! Whole video was great until that last bit. I also use that word when explaining customers about our pour overs bc sometimes people expect to get the typical drip coffee when it actually goes wayyyy beyond that. Pretty ignorant of him to say that.
I feel like theres a lot lost in translation and context here. Especially because tea-like can be used to describe an underextracted weak brew.
I interpret "tea-like" more as meaning very clean, as opposed to "full-bodied." They're part of a spectrum IMO.
I grew up in America during the 80s and first half of the 90s, and through most of my growing up, coffee shops were not a thing in most of America. I remember reading about how popular coffee shops were in Europe in middle school in the late 80s, but they didn't start popping up in America until towards the end of my high school life around 1993. And I don't think I personally went to a coffee shop like Starbucks until 1995 or probably 1996. Going out for coffee wasn't part of the culture in America, people thought, why go out for coffee when you can just make some Folgers or Maxwell house at home? If you can't remember the American world before say 1997-1999 or so when it became firmly entrenched in American life like now, you won't get it.
Im 53 and that's probably one reason why I'm not an everyday morning customer. I'm a once a year, fall afternoon pumpkin latte, or when on vacation Starbucks customer. I can organize my own cup of coffee every morning, thank you very much.
Honestly, we're more likely to go to a diner for our coffee on vacation. I guess they would go out of business if everyone consumed the way I do.
People would save a lot of time and money if they just brewed a pot a home. I always have to laugh driving to work with my travel mug and seeing a line of cars spiralling around the local coffee drive through.
I hope that more people come to appreciate the pure, syrupy flavor that specialty coffee offers. The classic "coffee" taste that everyone has come to know is the result of impurity and degradation of quality (Usually burning and staling). Ordering coffee from a local coffee shop might open your eyes a little bit. But nothing will change your mind on the quality of coffee more than brewing it yourself. You can brew exquisite coffee at home for a lower price than ANYTHING Starbucks offers.
I went to Starbucks when it first came to Australia. I was excited to see how good it was because I’d seen Americans raving about it.
When I asked what beans & roasts they offered, I was surprised when told me they only had one blend, all their coffee was made from the same beans. The only choice I had that was different from convenience store coffee was the addition of flavoured syrup.
I don’t take sugar, so didn’t want syrup. The latte was no better than lattes at service stations. I’ve never been back.
In Australia, coffee shops offer different beans, roasts etc, no wonder Starbucks didn’t do well here.
Local coffee shops in the US do it right (for the most part). They carry different blends and many roast their own beans. Being local, community and quality is prized over making a lot of money. I'm glad that Australians are walking away from Starbucks. I"m sad that a Starbucks is moving into my neighborhood near a local cafe that roasts its own plus a regional decent chain. I not-so-secretly hope that Starbucks can't compete with the local shops, but the fact that suburbanites can drive through on their way to work in the city keep my hopes low.
99.999% of “Muricans don’t have taste buds.
That’s why they love everything fried, salty, and cheesy.
And they also think that Budweiser/Coors/Miller is beer.
I'm American and I dont get it either... It has to be just the brand.. I hate their coffee
I don't use them, over priced, very phony. I go to local Italian or Hispanic places, or Dunkin'!
It's mainly the brand and the customization still crap coffee ☕
i literally just quit starbucks last night. gave them 0 notice after being gossiped about by not my fellow baristas, but by my manager and supervisors. only ever called in sick once, too. they're a dogshit company with dogshit coffee, support your local coffee shops
The asst. Manager was the biggest gossip…
I work at Starbucks part-time (I work two jobs). My current manager has been avoiding us, and my locations is in a terrible and dangerous location. I'm only there to help pay off student debts and saving some money on top of my full-time, day job.
Agreed, i overheard my manager talking crap about how I shouldn’t tell her to do her job, even though I only suggested something about the schedule
@Chris Agreed. I understand there’s a system in the company, but man is that system so not inclusive and positive. It’s all about appearances and the employees don’t know better apparently
@@pulidobl @evy Excuse yourself but it is VERY unprofessional to just leave a job like that, wtf is that? How dare you, be professional and grow a damn spine. Boo hoo the managers were picking on me, who gives a damn!? Do your job and shut up. AMEN
During the pandemic we decided to venture out and try small specialty coffee shops and roasters within up to an hour away instead of going to Starbucks. We found that 1. Prices are similar 2. The quality of coffee was usually MUCH better than Starbucks 3. There are a lot of options out there 4. We “felt good” about supporting small businesses 5. Starbucks is a last resort and we could survive without it. I ended up buying my own espresso machine during the pandemic which also was fun to try their in house espresso and if I liked it, buy a bag of coffee from that roaster which usually practices fair trade and have good relationships with their coffee bean suppliers. Given that Starbucks has basically been anti-Union as more and more stores have started to become unionized and anecdotally hearing lots of bad stories from employees, I’m glad it’s being acknowledged that maybe we shouldn’t go there? It certainly has a place but if I could choose between the specialty roaster or Starbucks, I’ll always go with the specialty small roaster / mom and pop shop. Beyond their business ethics, the coffee is just so bad that you need to drown it with cream and sugar which is why most their drinks are so high in calories unless you enjoy ashtray coffee.
I implore many to buy coffee directly from the roaster and spend a little to buy a French press and a grinder or whatever brew methodology as you’ll get a much better tasting cup and support a small business and farmer in another country who will benefit much more than a multibillion dollar corporation.
what a scam. I dread when the family wants to hang out at Starbucks. Not only is the coffee ridiculously expensive, it is also bland, and weak while the rest of the family gorges on unhealthy frappes
The moment Starbucks charged me almost $7 for a small (short) cup of coffee was the moment I was done with them. It's just no longer affordable. I'm shifting focus to smaller businesses who offer the same product-at a much lower price. They need support too..
Funny enough, Starbucks is the cheapest option in Seattle comparing to all other coffee shops. Also, I am curious what you got for $7 unless you went to a Starbucks Reserve (something this video completely ignores).
A "grande" (medium-size) Pike Place is $2.10....
Starbucks does not sell coffee for that high a price unless it's at an airport...
Local places are far more expensive and often don't have 20 oz options.
@@MikeB3542 Where? In California it’s $2.95
@@deavilanancy that is (or at least was) in Wisconsin.
Are we surprised about the CAFE certification given the way that Starbucks has dealt with unionization?
Exactly 🙄🙄
There's a James Hoffman video that also talks about certifications but goes into detail which company is involved with which certification so you can take it with a grain of salt.
This was excellent reporting and information. You should MOST definitely make a follow up video on these labels because consumers lack awreness and time. A video informing those of what the labels actually mean can help get the word out to inform consumers on what they should actually purchase that aligns with their values. Of course, some may find it boring and it could not be worth the views/ad revenue but that's just my 2 cents. Great work! Each video has become better and better
Worked for Starbucks for 8 years and can confirm, everything you’ve mentioned in this video is accurate.
i worked at starbucks for almost 4 years from 2013-2017, and honestly... it was a really stressful job lol. if you get a particularly bad manager (like the one that made me quit), they're basically slaves to corporate and bend over backwards to make them super happy. its all about the numbers and pleasing the higher ups (who would come in and make totally not store-sustainable changes, like ignoring the large amount of theft of our merchandise and putting huge amounts of it right near the entrance instead of just 1-2 each, etc)
they were constantly on us trying to make sure we were talking and 'connecting' with our customers. the point of starbucks is a lot around the experience, as you said. that wasn't the worst but if someone clearly didn't want to talk (they were on their phone clearly trying to not chat, or in a group and chatting with their friends and ignoring the baristas) we would often get in trouble for not trying to engage them in conversation. i feel a lot like the people who worked in higher up positions cared only about the vibe we gave and not the actual people working there. towards the end of my time with them, i (think) i needed 20 hours a week to get their benefits and i would always get 19. every week. even when i asked for more. corporate didnt want too many people to have the benefits, so they kept it under the minimum hours required. (their benefits are really awesome!!! too bad more than half the people at our store never got them!!!) at one of my friends locations, she was one of 3 people who frequently got 8 (+!!!!!) hour shifts and basically struggled from short staffing all the time. new people were hired on and barely given hours so they were slower (since when are you supposed to practice if you're never there??)
i will say i was surprised they weren't with fair trade anymore... or for like... the entire time i worked for them. since i started working for them in 2013, which is apparently when it ended??!? but when we were trained, they definitely said that it was fairtrade, and definitely talked a lot about how they pay their farmers etc etc (it's been a while since i was trained though, so maybe that's changed?). tbh i dont really drink or like coffee and i could never stand the smell of the pike (medium roast) since it reminds me of cigarettes but they definitely tried to make sure we knew where any new coffees were from and the flavour notes and we would do tastings of the coffee and stuff. i cant say whether it was good since i have only ever tasted one coffee ever there i even liked, and i only ever saw it in rotation one time (i totally forget the name i'm sorry). i feel a bit lied to by the company since i just assumed the stores i ended up in had a manager at the end i couldnt' deal with, but its weird to see that its actually potentially a problem with the whole company. obviously i was suspicious since they've been going through the whole unionization thing and what-not, but i try not to be quick about just putting it in the 'bad company' side just because of my one experience. it wasn't the worst job i ever had, and i did like meeting the people there... but people are who you leave and in the end, the management and the coworkers (who were overly competitive imo?!?) were just too much for me.
also as a tea drinker, i was really angry when they swapped from tazo to teavana tea. like. i'm sorry. i know its a coffee company. both the tea brands are big brands, but.. yikes. the lack of actually GOOD ingredients in teavana is YIKES, it's super watered down/less strong and it was very disturbing to me at the time especially since some people were saying there were a lot of pesticides in it etc etc etc . nobody seems to rly talk about the other aspects of starbucks past the coffee and the sourcing (which are obviously important too!) but like, they have a ton of food which just gets shipped in from (???) somewhere, and they partnered with (or own, maybe?) a tea brand that i find kind of..... eh. i haven't looked into it, but i think its kind of worth mentioning on the off chance someone is reading this comment and goes 'wait a minute...' and thinks about that too. earl grey tea lattes/london fogs and FOOD especially were a large part of sales.
Yes, the switch from Tazo did not make me happy, either!
Drinking pesticides is still better than getting actual insects (or insect blood) in your tea.
@@TomMarvan Teavanna is a starbucks subsidiary since 2012....
god no wonder why theres unionization efforts going on at starbucks stores, feel sorry for yall
i currently work at a starbucks too and me and my coworkers agree that the “connections” feel forced and really awkward. like i will talk to people when they wanna talk but often people don’t wanna talk and my supervisors almost force me to make conversation
In a British TV Interview about Starbuck's plans to invade Europe with it's chain, I had to laugh at Howard Schultz when he boasted that he was going to teach the Europeans how to make coffee, considering that Vienna coffee culture has been around a long time. I resolved then to never have one of their coffee. You find mostly tourist and some younger locals there, but an overwhelming majority enjoy the real coffee culture. My daughter and I were in London when I had one of their hot chocolates which paled in comparison to Pizza Hut's. Having lived in Europe for 30 years, I'll take a Vienesse coffee anytime! By the way coffee houses began in the 1600s in Europe!
As a white guy i have noticed so many narcys are white maybe white people on avg release more dopameme lol.
Anywhere in Europe has much much better coffee in bars, restaurants, cages than Starbucks and cheaper also.
A CEO is a big ticket salesman.
I think about the reception the Italians would give, and I'm honestly kind of scared for Starbucks
DEFINITELY would love to learn more about the certifications for each thing! Your content is great and we learn so much every time you release a vid. Please make that certification vid
Here in Spain we have cafes all over the place. You can sit and enjoy a good coffee for 1.20€ and are not chased away as soon as you finish.
"In fact, Starbucks very intentionally avoids marketing the coffee flavour itself" - because, I mean, obviously it's not like their coffee tastes any good.
It never ceases to amaze me that Starbucks is so big and so successful, without caring even a little bit about the taste of their coffee. Which is bad.
Yep! Once I got into coffee and had Starbucks about a month later, I realized how crap their coffee really is. I never thought it was amazing, but I thought it was decent. The only thing I find drinkable there now that isn't a dessert is the cold brew.
exactly, really disappointed with their coffee flavours. most of the times it's very sour :S
"Bad" is subjective though. I do not know what coffee should taste like. I can't stand pure, brewed coffee... however, that's just probably the version of brewed coffee here in the Philippines have very low standards to begin with.
It tastes bad because it's roasted pretty dark (making it bitter). They roast it that dark so it's possible to make consistent drinks across all their stores. It's also easier to hide imperfections in the beans if they roast darker. This allows them to buy cheaper beans and not worry too much about flavor.
i love the christmas blonde roast, cold brew, and i remember i did like some blends during coffee tasting on shifts but the espresso roast they use for drinks is HORRIBLE. it sometimes even tastes burnt.
I have been over joyed to see that it's actually getting hard to find a Starbucks in my city. So many closed down. In the mean time at least in my local area independent coffee shops are thriving and new ones are opening. Might just be my hood but I can think of 10 coffee shops within 20 min walk of me that are not a chain or franchise.
Here's the thing though: The sustainably sourced local 'tea like' coffee shops are either slightly cheaper or similarly priced to Starbucks. At the town I went to for college, the local fair trade folks could whip up a really good cappuccino for $2.99. Starbucks? $3.25. Also, minor point, but the quality of the cappuccino is also usually a lot better at the local shop. The pour-overs are a bit cheaper at the bucks, but the quality is so much better at the smaller coffee shop because that sort of thing what most of their customers want (not a venti, triple caramel frappuccino)
Unless you want your 750 calorie coffee flavored smoothie on the regular, I would recommend going to one of these local shops purely for cost.
Used to work at a 3rd wave coffee company and we had blends designed for those who want an old fashioned coffee flavor. I notice that most of the small and medium sized roasters all have at least one product like that. Same high quality beans and careful roasting but a blend of Central American coffees that perform best in a drip, percolator, or pour over method. (Brew method changes the flavor profile just enough to notice.)
I hated working for Starbucks, I actually really enjoy making coffee but our options were pretty terrible compared to stuff I could make at home. The espresso beans just feel way too sour and burnt tasting.
Over-roasted and then poorly extracted to give multiple taste flaws - It's like they fully de-optimised the whole process and somehow still sold it to the world and a silly number of people bought it.
Thank you for saying this..because this is exactly what I thought, it truly sucked
@@cichlisuite2This is intentional, as if you buy low quality coffee beans in bulk, there be ton of various flavours and tones…
Well, guess what: If you roast the hell of them, you'll end up with flavour-less bitter beans, with consistency across the planet…
Same is valid for chocolate, btw.
@@FalkonNightsdale True, you avoid variation but possibly just varieties of bad, as you say, so you just burn it to get consistent bad. Which I guess at that very low level is possibly a step up. So maybe I was wrong and it's not perfectly de-optimised?
And yeah, I don't eat low quality chocolate either. The difference between most chocolate and the good quality stuff is enormous.
Same even a simple latte tastes like toxic waste when it's from Starbucks. It's crazy how they can get their taste profile to be so consistently shit all over the world. 🤣
Specialty coffee roaster here! James Hoffman made a fantastic video on the differences between the different labels, I'd check it out. An important thing to note: lots of specialty coffee is organic, generally ethical trade but since the label itself is so expensive, most specialty roasters cannot afford the label, nor can the farmers, and so they opt out of getting the label but still buy organic coffee at an ethical price. Basically: ethics over labels! There are a LOT of politics around labels: "fair trade" , "direct trade", "ethical trade" etc that play into the image and ethics of the coffee we consume. Like clothing, it can be hard to trace one's coffee origin and I often avoid these labels as they are more for show. The best is to buy single origin coffee by roasters who directly buy from the farmers themselves or through B Certified Corporation Green buyers (yes, they exist).
A final detailed note: the whole "thirdwave coffee shops are snobs" is a very damaging caricature of the industry. Most of us specialty coffee shops (I roast and run a shop) cannot stand the snobby, pretentious attitude and we are quite welcoming and warm. The "hipsters" make up a small % of the community and industry folk call out that snobbery (it's a big movement). It's still a very "bro" and male dominated field, however, which needs to change drastically. I think if you'd like to encourage people to go to local coffee shops, please don't caricature the industry: we are warm, passionate, and want to make the best experience for clients: we are not all men clad in tattoos and black beanies (woman here!).
"It's still a very "bro" and male dominated field, however, which needs to change drastically.'
Lol, right. When men have spaces, that's a cultural problem that needs to be forced to change. When women have spaces, they must be protected at all costs.
One of the best comments on here. @EccentricWolven23 clearly hasn't grasped any sense of what power dynamics mean and doesn't know much about history.
I've had experience 3 different coffee shops, one of which is a Starbucks. I hate Starbucks ethically, morally, and personally, but its the job I'll be staying at through uni. My experience with third wave was horrible - I loved the coffee, but I was looked down upon so much by the employer for not making my whole life about learning everything there is to know about coffee and not being able to afford speciality coffee at home AS A FULL TIME STUDENT. He would make me cry, and despite my desire to work for a better company, ultimately I remained at starbucks as I couldn't emotionally handle the pressure of third wave pretentiousness.
As a "coffee hipster" I really appreciate this video. And yes, traceability is very important for Specialty Coffee.
My brother used to have a bumper sticker that said "Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks" always loved that lol
That's gold 🙌🙌
Go with Black Rifle or Dunkin.
I love that.
I had been a “partner” as they call it for 4 years and I just left this June because I had enough of being dragged around in circles being led on about my development to promote. It was a lot of talk about “missions and values” but it never mattered that I was the only “Coffee Master” at my store or any store in my area for that matter. I work at a family owned specialty coffee shop now and wow its been a trip unlearning the corporate-ness thats been drilled into me. The amount of abuse we are supposed to put up with at Starbucks for the sake of a “third place” is stomach churning. I’m so glad i left. People are always happier when they leave.
@Chris its a class and title at starbucks.
I for one would totally appreciate a detailed video for referencing all of the various standards, certifications, what they mean and how they are kept honest and ethical yes!
Personally I love Starbucks. My husband and I go to starbucks every weekend to have coffee, work on on our laptops etc... I always order a tall Pike and get free refills the whole time I'm there. Baristas and service is always great, stores are clean. I mean if you are going there to get a mocha or something then it's not good for you. Drinking coffee with half and half isn't bad for you.
I worked there for over three years as a Barista and as an employee they treated me well. I was going to college and always were flexible scheduling me around my class schedule. I got a lb of coffee a week, free drinks on shirt and a free food item on shift. I had a good experience working there and felt respected.
M6 friend Life is Meant to Be enjoyed.I enjoy going to StarBucks for an Iced Caramel Macchiato.Or Pumpkin Spice,Or Caramel Brulee.With the friendly farmhouse style layout.Its what we pay for the experience,these videos tend to be to cynical.Those of us who go ti starbucks go for the Entire Pkg.Not Just The Coffee.
The only time I ever go to Starbucks is to use the bathroom.
I’m working at Starbucks to work my way through college in NYC. It is extremely miserable as you can expect some days. I’ve been looking into working at local coffee shops recently because I’m tired of this company even though I only viewed it as a job. The local coffee shop culture here is very intense and it’s been like that for at least 15 years. Starbucks still has a stronghold in the city but it still competes vastly with simple cafes nearby that the locals have been going to for years.
You’ll make so much more money just in tips at local coffee shops vs Starbucks. I made the switch and it was the best decision. The environment is so much better, customers aren’t as rude like they are at Starbucks I’ve noticed lol
I'm in Austin. We had a thriving independent, local, coffee shop hangout culture long before Starbucks ever invaded. In went hand in hand with the college town vibe that I loved, but died off as the corporate culture invaded and brought their disgusting Starbuck's coffee with them.
Yeah real Seattle people hate Starbucks too and go to local small spots. Though I will admit I will chose Starbucks over any other major chain.
I hear you. Used to live in Austin ~15yrs ago, and I feel like I hardly recognize it anymore
@@gilph3 - *I* don't recognize it anymore, and I'm still here!
I think part of the blame goes to the consumers too. If they wanted something good or nice to last, they would have supported it.
I do think that if the local shops do have something better to offer than Starbucks, they would have survived.
Your work is impeccable, I'm hoping that you cover other companies as well, thank you!
Would definitely appreciate a video about food certifications! Thanks for your research work 👍🏼
I live in Italy and i must say that Starbucks has really bad coffee, their espresso sucks most times and their americano is average. I'm not saying "here in Italy we make coffee better blah blah", we have shitty bars and coffee shops too, it's just that i never had an espresso from Starbucks that actually tasted good.
BUT the thing is Starbucks shops are just convenient. I travel for work and sometimes i find myself at the airport in the middle of the night and i need to wait hours for my flight, and Starbucks shop is always there, i can just get an espresso and sit there for hours, working on my laptop while i charge it and maybe also charge my phone at the electrical socket. in that case, coffee quality is just not important for me.
i work there and i hate their signature espresso, why i always go with blonde if i want my caffeine kick
the good thing about starbucks is that every location should have the same or relatively similar shitty taste. A Starbucks where I live has the same ingredients and recipes as yours. Besides, Starbucks is all about sugary drinks anyway
Airports are pretty much the only time I go to Starbucks, ever. They have a captive audience though, if you’re traveling really early or really late, they’re probably the only thing open, especially at smaller airports. Sometimes though, the line at the airport Starbucks is easily 100 people deep and I think nope, I’ll just refill my water bottle and call it a night 😂
have you tried a blonde americano? if not, try it sometime!
I honestly don't get how Starbucks could take over so much of Europe. When I left Germany in 98 there were no Starbucks and now they are everywhere. You used to get good or decent coffee in small cups or with a coffee pot and sat somewhere to enjoy. Coffee was so big in Italy, Austria and Germany and probably many other countries that I thought they would laugh them out but NOPE that did not happen. I assume walking around with a paper cup was better than sitting with a porcelain cup.
As critical as I am with Starbucks, and being myself an avid third-wave coffee drinker, we have to acknowledge that thanks to Starbucks, we have all this quality obsessed cafes in every city now. They groomed an army of well trained baristas that would end up opening their own cafes, rediscovered the artesan high quality Marzocco machines which, when substituted by the current ones found their way to the second hand market igniting the first flame of the speciality coffee scene and, of course, showed consumers that more could be asked from their everyday coffee in terms of quality and experience.
There wouldnt be any ethically grown high quality speciality coffee without the bucks.
Now Starbucks seem to be somehow transitioning to speciality at least in some of their coffee shops, with filter devices and such. The quality of their coffee remains as their biggest weakness. Also, there is no Arabica farm in the world that could provide Starbucks with enough beans to fuel their machine.
Robusra is more future proofed, better equipped to deal with the ailments of climate change. There have been some talk on high quality robusta beans and new brewing methods more adapted to this variety. I would like to see Starbucks diverti g some millions to R&D new cofee species (there are hundreds, of which we just consume two: Arabica and Robusta.
Not entirely true. Sustainably and fairly sourced coffee existed before Starbucks. They didn't start that bandwagon they jumped on it. Also, Café Culture (including what you call third wave) existed well before Starbucks in many regions of the world, and even parts of the US. It's not something they invented, they just presented a corporatized version of it in areas where it wasn't already prevalent (and put a lot of good coffee places out of business in the process). It's great that small cafés are making a resurgence in the US, though. In other parts of the world they never left.
We have a
historically, and still do, consume more species than just robusta and arabica but most are struggling to find major farmer adoption out side of some very neiche farms.
My grandparents caravan around the usa for half of each year. They say good coffee not always available to find. They say it was much worse in years past and are fans of Starbucks. (They also pack their own cinnamon sugar to put on top of their lattes.)
@@Pushing_Pixels 100% agree with you. The third wave coffee movement was already established in western Europe and still stands strong upto this day. It's very prevalent in France and Italy.
They didn't invent anything. They did bring it to every corner of America just like corporations do. What we don't talk about is what they rob by doing this. The third place existed in dinners and breakfast joins in America. The best example of American food got destroy by Starbucks for the sake of making a buck. What people spend on a cup of Starbucks a dinner could serve you a full breakfast. But Starbucks kill all the small dinners and their diversity of food. Just like a corporation destroying a forest to plant mono-culture trees to sell at Christmas.
This is why I "on the go" get my coffee from 7-Eleven, of all places. The quality of 7-Eleven coffee has dramatically improved in the last 20 years, and at least the 7-Elevens in my area actually serve a decent cup of coffee.
"Coffee is an incredibly *dramatic* plant", I can just about imagine a coffee plant having an existential crisis like Larry David's character in Whatever Works
Hi Levi and team!
CZcams's coffee guru James Hoffman actually made a pretty extensive video about many of the different certifications for coffee. You could check it out and link to it.
Or you could comment on what he presented with your own thoughts.
Hey Felix, this video hadn't come out when we recorded this one but it's such a good resource, thanks for letting us know about it! Here's a link to anybody interested in checking it out - czcams.com/video/PmwoSqg0dqI/video.html
@@FutureProofTV you should pin this for greater visibility 👍
Great comment
James Hoffman is fun
Maybe even a collab???
Besides being a horribly evil mega corporation with basically a monopoly, one of the things I find most upsetting is their consistent efforts at making people believe they actually serve coffee. So many people come into the coffee shops I've worked at expecting it to be like Sbux and are so deluded into thinking that's the height of the coffee experience that they can't even recognize the quality of the product on offer. How many times people have come in and asked about our lovely single origins that we source directly from growers and roast ourselves only asking to drown it in CARAMEL and milk makes me CRY.
i’m currently working at a 3rd wave coffee roaster/shop and we have many regulars that come in and tell us that we’re the reason they stopped drinking starbucks and that they only get beans from us
even if people don’t know exactly how to taste coffee like a professional, there’s a clear difference in quality in care that goes into the coffee that people can taste.
and i think post lock down, everyone has been looking more for that care and ethical production in products. especially with a ton of big businesses like starbucks being exposed to the wider public as greedy and uncaring
I also don't drink coffee. Started drinking celery juice and that pretty much replaces the coffee for energy
I live in Guatemala and work with small coffee producers doing tours and showing visitors the real face behind their cup. Its well known which farms Starbucks get their coffee from, those farms typically work with a "slavery" kind of system and use children's to get the work done faster. Its funny to see how people that work at Starbucks complain about the "bad environment" or how they feel disrespected. When you see the whole coffee process, the barista is just the last person in a huge chain, and they tend to be the loudest ones. People complain about "hipster coffeeshops" because they are too expensive. Well, guess what? They need to be expensive to give farmers what they deserve, not what a corporation decide its best for them. You are not paying for a good cup of coffee when you go to Starbucks, you are paying for the brand and the conviniance that you will find one in each corner. Its the McDonalds of the coffee industry.
It’s a fast food restaurant not a coffee shop. I’m a barista (not for Starbucks currently) and I just want to say that I hope the change at our level gets to changing things at the farmers level. Some of those people are fighting for their rights now so they can fight for other peoples rights latter. At least I hope so.
@@hayeslundry let’s be honest most of those people don’t give a f about those columbian children. Why not focus on the child labor first and start from the ground up 🤷🏾♂️
Except Starbucks is actually just as expensive as a good local coffee shop that pays their workers and farmers closer to what they deserve
Yep. And that’s exactly why I’m leaving the company
I worked as a manager for Starby’s in the later side of the ‘90s, when they first began to really expand nationally, and they were very, very genuinely (at least it seemed) focused on treating their employees above the standard. their coffee was always unethically sourced and terribly over-roasted to hide low quality green, though.
Yes, I'm wondering what's the difference between Fair trade and rainforest Alliance. Also could/would you do a similar video about tea? I never drink coffee and am curious if there are similar ethical issues with tea growing, harvesting, and marketing. Thank you
Would definitely love to hear more about certifications that have a track record... good or bad
All of the Starbucks near me in Michigan unionized together. The company had a bit of a hissy-fit and then raised the wages on stores nearby that had not unionized yet by a small, insignificant amount for spite.
All those stores are gonna close as soon as the recession picks up.
A wise person once explained coffee and roasting to me as analogous to cooking a steak. The more well done you cook a steak, the less it tastes like the cut of beef you're preparing and more like your preparation method. Ribeye and eye round slowly become indistinguishable. The same is true of coffee. When people think of "traditional" coffee, the smell and flavor they're associating it with is the dark roast and not the coffee. Coffee's a cherry seed, it tastes like fruit!
Yes this is a great analogy and as a barista I might use it.
Amazing!
That’s a great way to describe it.
And no surprises, guess what? when a coffee seller wants to hide behind some substandard/ cheap beans they’ve got their hands on , they well tend to roast ‘dark’. because it will help to hide the defects.
Much in the same way that it’s harder to tell the difference between a $6 and a $20 hunk of steak, if you cook both well-done.
I get coffee straight from plantations. It is so tasty without sugar or milk, no bitterness. Unfortunately the choices of convenience in US are Starsucks and Gas Station/Convenience Store coffee.
Amen! The coffee all tastes the same - burnt.
Its weird but I dont think Ive ever bother to order from starbuck's usual menu because their menu tend to be overwhelming with gimmicky variations. I usually just go to starbucks a couple of times whenever theres a new promotional drink and order from there.
I usually go to local coffee bars and order a simple yet delicious flat white or cappuccino.
I grew up in Seattle, so I grew up going to Starbucks. One of the things I’ve noticed about companies is that they always promote super “progressive” trends but with our capitalist system, they all default to making profits. I feel like the quote, “You either die a hero, or see yourself become a villain,” is quite applicable when talking about Starbucks
I do thank them though cause baristas even out of Seattle make better pay then most service jobs or at least provide health care.
They were always the villain. It's coffee one of the most resource intensive and labor intensive commodities in the world.
Corporatizing coffee was always being the villain. Also the rise of profiting off of social prestige over actually good product.
The progressive trends always have to be hypocritical and bring down multiple groups to raise one group.
James Hoffman has a great video breaking down all the certifications on his channel!
Hi Guys, great vid as always! Actually the "tea like" style of brewing coffee is what got me into coffee. Honestly I love the taste of chemex or aeropress because its not so dense and bitter as espresso and the taste is not killed by a bunch of milk and sugar like lattes or cappuccinos. Also buying a chemex or aeropress is much cheeper than buying a coffee machine and tastes much better than instant coffee.
I've never had coffee at Starbucks, but they seem to have a great business model that works well.
I lovvve local coffee. I'm Canadian and to me there are 4 main coffee drinkers. 1) Timmies peeps. These are people who do not GIVE A SHIT about coffee. They just are addicted and want caffeine. They're the ones buying triple triples (vomit). 2) Starbucks types. Pretentious sometimes, but want better coffee, and better atmosphere that's not the blue collar, often literally dirty and unhappy vibe of Timmies. 3) Good coffee seekers. That's me, we often go to local places and really enjoy paying Starbucks prices but for actually good coffee. And then 4) The coffee snobs. I have a buddy who is a welder (doesn't fit the Timmies stereotype at all) and carries around a grinder, an aeropress, and a bag of beans with him everywhere, plus something to boil water in. He brings all of this even when he's backpacking camping and when he goes to other countries. He loves good coffee. I always love when he makes me coffee.
But yea, fair trade is important, but I also unfortunately don't think people care enough. Like with child labour for clothes and such, people just keep buying the clothes, often because it's the only option. I only have access to local coffee shops because I live in an urban area. My old hometown in the suburbs had Timmies and Starbs, that's it. So Starbs it was...
Hahaha triple triples are so disgusting you're absolutely right there. It's always nice to have a coffee snob around just for the free high quality roasts every once in a while 😅 were hoping with more videos like these out there people will understand the importance of ethical coffee production but it's one step at a time eh? Thanks for sharing with us here!!
My late uncle sort of gave me a scare when I was in my late teens. He told me that the instant coffee blends packed in-house and sold by high-end coffee shops have extra additives like coconut husk ash to bulk up the product and save costs. Ever since then I avoided those and decided to make my own coffee at home. It's mostly the freeze-dried stuff and local brands as I'm not much of a serious coffee drinker.
at least coconut husk is natural. Not sure what happens when you turn it to ash. In SE Asia they use it as fuel to cook satay on the street (it becomes coals). i read sawdust (cellulose) is perfectly legal filler these days. now nescafe instant 3in1 has aspartame in it. that stuff is bad enough, can't imagine how worse it is chemically once you put it in scalding hot water.
yes interested in the certifications. love your videos. thank you.
I was a Barista at local coffee shops through out my college years. And I must say, single origin light roasted 'floral/fruity' coffee is not for everyone. I personally hate it, but that doesn't mean ethically grown DARK roasted coffee is out of reach! I love my flavored coffee and will often use a coffee subscription at home, with darker chocolate tones & sugar/cream to taste. Not all ethical coffee has to be bright and tea like!
Id love a deep dive into the teas offered at Starbucks. I was talking to a barista the other day about how their menu has changed so much in the past 10 years to include so many non-coffee drinks.
Yes I’d second that deep dive into tea, somebody spill the tea on tea🥸
@@timothywalker4563 Kermit approves 🐸☕
Enjoy that bs
I'm sad they bought Teavana
If possible, I always drink local. Starbucks is Starbucks, it's something that is the "safe bet" if I'm on a long drive and I see it on the freeway off ramp.
Otherwise, going to a local shop that serves a nice pastry or bagel and pulls a nice shot of espresso is the best move.
It's not even a safe bet, you just get what you expect which is a crappy cup of coffee
Kinda how I feel but I say "known entity" rather than "safe bet". :)
I found your channel recently and everything you say is completely accurate. Your insight, which you keep to a limited extent, also grants important information about this. Rock on Future Proof!
I still can't figure out how Starbucks managed to position itself here in Colombia by selling us OUR OWN COFFEE.
I buy 12 ounces of single origin beans every 2 weeks. Spend about 10 minutes every morning brewing 2 cups. The cost comes out to about $1.60. Much cheaper and better tasting than a grande pikes place!
I really think the European/Australian approach to coffee is the most fulfilling. Even living in a small town in rural Australia there is always a Cafe with amazing coffee
Is the certification video done yet? I think it would be super interesting and necessary, frankly. Thank you
imagine watching this video on your laptop at Starbucks lol