All joking aside, I almost suspect it’s a genetic thing, similar to liking cilantro. I drink a black Starbucks/other dark roast coffee & I taste complex flavors, others taste ashes. Meanwhile light roast coffee tastes like bitter sour lemons. I’ve tried to like light roast & can’t. 🤷♂️
The beans are picked way to early and then roasted until it’s a spec of dried dog poop and then it’s creamed and sugared and “flavored” until you can hopefully not taste the poopiness of it.
I like Dunkin’s myself, but not because I lived in New England for 13 years.
Same as IPAs: preservation over long distances + more room for error during production
Why they popularized all the syrups and foams and shit. Even gas station coffee was always just like, "Here, you know that this is, there's the cream and sugar."
Some of their roasts are less bad imo (former sbux barista here) but the standard is purposely too roasted and acidic to my tastes because it’s “made to stand up to milk and sugar”. To be clear I don’t drink sbux anything anymore bc I hate them but I did when it was part of my job to try it all
"Got an idea, boss."
"What's that?"
"What if we made a drink that tastes like burnt toast?"
"Interesting. Go on about making it."
"Well you know how your toaster has burnt bread shavings in it?"
"Yes."
"We can put that in a filter and run water through it."
"OK. Let's try it."
Because they burn it. In the 70s and 80s, Americans who wanted to appear sophisticated started using “French roast” coffee, without realizing that coffee in France is generally burnt and terrible. That over roasted carbon became synonymous with “fancy” coffee and now we have Starbucks.
I know Starbucks iced coffee is technically bad, but I still like it. I don’t know why. At home I would be embarrassed to serve anything like that, but I drink it in the summer with just cream.
it’s gotten really bad lately…good luck to the new ceo, who will be commuting by PJ back and forth from newport beach to seattle…i’m sure that’s gonna work out great for shareholders
In an effort to appeal to the broadest possible audience, The flavors, process, and approach to both sourcing and production have to be homogenized. So unless you are exactly average as a person, Starbucks coffee is going to taste pretty bad.
Skip the Starbucks and brew yourself some Lavazza coffee. It isn’t just coffee—it’s a gentle wake-up call from an Italian grandma who insists you eat something with it.
You can’t be an independent coffee shop. Coffee at its finest. Starbucks beans are over roasted, extremely oily, and smell rather fishy. Burnt tasting coffee is not a pleasant experience really.
It’s less the roast and more the brewing method. If you go into any store that has a vertica machine you can get a good cup of coffee. (I would choose a blonde roast over pike)
Anything brewed with the traditional brewer is trash.
With huge apologies, as I'm a Brit and so know nothing when it comes to coffee, but American chainstore coffee is disgusting IMO.
Reminds me of the time I bought un café from a shack next to a suburban Paris Metro station while waiting for a train on a freezing cold morning. Now that was coffee!
In order to use beans from a number of different sources at different times regardless of the growing season and still have a consistent product, they roast the shit out of them and then add a ton of cream and sugar in order to make it palatable. That or they hate coffee and they hate you
Part of it is our tastes have changed. I grew up drinking dark roast from Starbucks and Peet's, but long ago switched to medium and light roasts. So I decided to try a little experiment and get a quality dark roast from someplace like Sightglass. It was undrinkable for me. I gave the beans away.
Former employee here. I actually think their beans are pretty good, especially compared to most chains. But they make some terrible choices with how they brew in store: boring roasts, often stale, gunky urns, and sub-optimal brewing for capturing flavour
I don't know if you can still do this but you used to be able to order a French Press version of any of their blends. It took longer and cost more (and the barista will secretly hate you if you ask during a rush) but it was far more flavourful
They also used yo feature different brews on tap. They always offered a mild and a bold. The mild would be breakfast blend sometimes and that one is so delicious. But then they started making it either pike place or blonde and the are just super boring and safe.
Having said all that I will say some of their roasts are simply burned to a crisp and I don't understand how anyone drinks it, like French and Italian toasts. Awful stuff.
Comments
Not a complicated order though
I like Dunkin’s myself, but not because I lived in New England for 13 years.
Why they popularized all the syrups and foams and shit. Even gas station coffee was always just like, "Here, you know that this is, there's the cream and sugar."
From the very beginning they’ve burnt their beans, I guess thinking it would seem robust?
They came up with Pike’s Place to get around that issue…but, no dice.
The more bitter their brew, the more upcharges on different sugars to put on it.
It’s a scam.
Worst coffee anywhere because it’s no longer coffee.
"What's that?"
"What if we made a drink that tastes like burnt toast?"
"Interesting. Go on about making it."
"Well you know how your toaster has burnt bread shavings in it?"
"Yes."
"We can put that in a filter and run water through it."
"OK. Let's try it."
Was the size of my head.
And I have a huge head.
Anything brewed with the traditional brewer is trash.
Reminds me of the time I bought un café from a shack next to a suburban Paris Metro station while waiting for a train on a freezing cold morning. Now that was coffee!
It’s about real estate for them and the lifestyle that snobs want to project