One word: STARBUCKS

[sctx]

Originally Posted by StewartG

I wish I could figure out how to make really great and strong coffee at home.

HEB or Central Market...start with the Moka Java and then start blending from there........if by strong, you mean serious caffeine jolt, go with the Kenyan AA or Jamaican Blue Mountain, the Kenyan is about $7/lb, the Blue Mountain is like lobster, market price generally around $30/lb...needless to say, only deal with reputable coffee importers on this one, there is only one in Austin that I trust.
Newest find of mine is an El Salvadoran bean called El Borbollon, quite impressive actually, much tastier than any Costa Rican bean I've had

[diogeron]

Here's my take, FWIW. Everybody can rail all they want against Starbucks, but let's face it: coffee is a matter of taste. StewartG likes it a lot, and I don't really care and would just as soon have a cup from my local filling station because I don't care that much about coffee all that much and prefer tea. On the other hand, I'll argue about a good glass of Rhone red for an hour. Such is taste among the human race.

Somebody once said that the trouble with conservatives is that they think everybody is lazy and evil. So, conservatives argue we need lots of laws to keep people from doing themselves harm, or else people might smoke pot or decide that they would prefer for their kids not to have to listen to a biology teacher ignore evolution and insist that the universe is only 6000 years old like it says in the Bible. On the other hand, the trouble with liberals is that they think people are too stupid to make up their own minds and need "guidance" from those more enlightened, usually the government. I think there is a point on both sides. If people want to spend their well-earned money (conservatives will say their "government paycheck") at Starbucks, why should we care? People vote with their feet in a liberal economic system anyway. If enough people decide that Starbucks is too expensive, they'll stop going.

Frankly, with 50,000 people dead in Iraq (10 times smaller than the population of the USA, so do the math comparatively) and almost as many Americans dead as died in 9-11, I have a lot more important things to rant about, so I'm throwing my two cents in (at Starbucks, 20 cents) and tossing in the towel on this issue.

Originally Posted by StewartG

The best coffee I ever had was at the Starbucks at Jones and 1960 in Houston, Texas.

Does this make me an idiot? I know I'm paying a lot for my coffee, but I happen to think its damn good. I'm also paying for the ambiance when I sit and drink it there.

Can you explain to me how I am supposedly paying for a paper cup and "the wanting to belong to a certain socio-economic strata" when I usually get my coffee to go in my own thermal mug with pictures of my kids on it? Would that be the "daddy strata" to which I'm trying to belong?

By the way, you don't ever drink any bottled water outside of Mexico, do you? (Did you know that Evian spelled backward is "naive?")

I generally try not to slam people when they talk about eating at all the big touristy places on 5th. Rather, I try to just suggest to them that they may enjoy trying a few places off the beaten path and offer a few suggestions? Why do you slam me and make so many (wrong) assumptions in the process just because I happen to like Starbucks?

Why does it offend you so much that people like Starbucks? What do you care? Does it affect your life in any material way? And why do you make so many assumptions about people who do enjoy Starbucks?

Overall, kind of an offensive post, really...

[Babaloo]

holy crap!
coffee + 7 pages = libs + cons+ dead in Iraq

[diogeron]

Double post. Ignore

[Ginger]

And a standing ovation to StewartG.

I also don't know why I have to indure funny looks and stupid comments because I enjoy a coffee from a certain place. I don't care if you spend $40 on a bottle of wine that I wouldn't pay over $10 for...I don't look down on your for that.

It's all a matter of choice and what people want. I want a starbucks coffee...I've tried it elsewhere and didn't like it. Would I prefer to pay $1 for my coffee? OF COURSE! I don't overspend to be cool....

And most times, I go through the starbucks drive through, and take my coffee to the beach where I walk alone with the dog...exactly who am I impressing? The dog doesn't seem too impressed......

[sctx]

Originally Posted by diogeron

I'm throwing my two cents in (at Starbucks, 20 cents) and tossing in the towel on this issue.

cool

[Lizacat]

I have a lot more important things to rant about, so I'm throwing my two cents in (at Starbucks, 20 cents) and tossing in the towel on this issue.

Right there...but coffee is a part of life too...I'd rather drink it than rant about it.... although it probably accomplishes about as much as ranting about the war would...which is not much!
WalMart, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble...I love em and I hate em. The big chains bring in convenience, low prices, many choices but they also run over the "little guys" and destroy the uniqueness and character of individual regions and cities. What to do, what to do....I try to patronize the "little guys" as long as they have a high quality product but hey, there are times when I'd kill for a good cup o' joe and Starbucks saves the day. So I sell out for convenience. My ideal Playa breakfast could be a latte from Starbucks in one hand and a fish taco from the carts on Juarez Ave in the other. I love the romance of the small fishing village that Playa once was, but I also like that I can buy contact lens solution at the Wal Mart when I forget mine (like last time!).

[Jimmy-James]

You're all arguing about two separate things- taste in coffee or if Starbucks in Playa is a good thing. I won't get into an agument on the taste of Starbucks coffee- it's a matter of taste, thus totally subjective and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The taste of one cup of coffee may be loved by one, hated by another. As I stated in my original post, I don't personally care for the brewed coffee at Starbucks, that being said, if I want a cap or a latte, they are always good.

On the separate subject of what you think of Starbucks as a chain and it being in Playa, I feel the same way I do about the Burger King, Wal-Mart and any other chain that's moved into Playa during the last four to five years - I'm kinda bummed- they represent places I see far too often back in the states and thus kinda take away from that escape vibe I look for when I go to Playa. But again, that's my subjective opinion- PDS or Heather of any of the other locals may be psyched because they like Starbucks and have not had acess to one regularly since they were back in the states. It's all about perspective, everyone has a different one.

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone's got one, but nobody wants to look at the other guy's"

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by Lizacat

Right there...but coffee is a part of life too...I'd rather drink it than rant about it.... although it probably accomplishes about as much as ranting about the war would...which is not much!
WalMart, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble...I love em and I hate em. The big chains bring in convenience, low prices, many choices but they also run over the "little guys" and destroy the uniqueness and character of individual regions and cities. What to do, what to do....I try to patronize the "little guys" as long as they have a high quality product but hey, there are times when I'd kill for a good cup o' Joe and Star bucks saves the day. So I sell out for convenience. My ideal Playa breakfast could be a latte from Starbucks in one hand and a fish taco from the carts on Juarez Ave in the other. I love the romance of the small fishing village that Playa once was, but I also like that I can buy contact lens solution at the Wal Mart when I forget mine (like last time!).

At this point, I should probably say that if a Starbucks opens in Playa, I will probably mix my business between Starbucks and Java Joes. Java Joes coffee is almost as good (its very, very good by most standards), I also want to support Joel, and I love the crowd that hangs around there for breakfast. I would rather spend time with locals rather than tourists, generally, so Java Joes makes sense from that perspective.

Another thing I should point out, I generally don't like to give business to big chains unless I have to because: a) for a similar quality product (even at a slightly higher price) I prefer to support small local merchants; and b) because most chains generally maximize profit at the expense of quality and MORE IMPORTANTLY - at the expense of their employees!

Yes, Starbucks is a big corporation, but they take much better care of their employees than your average big corporation, and they also attempt to make some consideration for the environment (again, at least more so than your average big corporation).

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by sctx

HEB or Central Market...start with the Moka Java and then start blending from there........if by strong, you mean serious caffeine jolt, go with the Kenyan AA or Jamaican Blue Mountain, the Kenyan is about $7/lb, the Blue Mountain is like lobster, market price generally around $30/lb...needless to say, only deal with reputable coffee importers on this one, there is only one in Austin that I trust.
Newest find of mine is an El Salvadoran bean called El Borbollon, quite impressive actually, much tastier than any Costa Rican bean I've had

I've tried some REALLY good coffees, including the JBM, but just can't get the same strength and flavor that I get at Starbucks.

Come to think of it, I've had coffee at your house. It was pretty damn good!!!

[sctx]

Originally Posted by StewartG

I've tried some REALLY good coffees, including the JBM, but just can't get the same strength and flavor that I get at Starbucks.

are your sure it's not a psychological thing........."for $4, this better be a freakin good cup of coffee"............kinda like the $5 malt at Jack Rabbit Slim's

[1lostmaya]

Jimmy James has it right. The discussion isn't about our tastes in coffee. The tourist dollar and how it is spent will decide if its the chains or independents. Playa's beauty was and can hopefully continue to be in the fact that every time you came back there was new creative development. It was a community full of surprises, always changing and evolving. It was foreign. In fact it was exotic. It used to be that I when I turned from 371 onto Juarez I would have a sense of excitment to see what was new. For me that expection didn't include the latest opening of a chain from the states. Its gotten to be that I'm afraid of what I will see. How we spend our dollars will tell the tale of whether it continues on a race to embrace the Holiday Inn mentality of "no surprises". You know Caribou and Starbucks have great coffee, but so does my local independant (as well as a lot of other creative things). Therein lies the beauty of independents. How we choose to spend makes a difference. Support local cultural diversity, It won't be Playa if its just like home. It will just be hot and like so many other beach front places at home.

[PlayadelSoul]

Originally Posted by 1lostmaya

Jimmy James has it right. The discussion isn't about our tastes in coffee. The tourist dollar and how it is spent will decide if its the chains or independents. Playa's beauty was and can hopefully continue to be in the fact that every time you came back there was new creative development. It was a community full of surprises, always changing and evolving. It was foreign. In fact it was exotic. It used to be that I when I turned from 371 onto Juarez I would have a sense of excitment to see what was new. For me that expection didn't include the latest opening of a chain from the states. Its gotten to be that I'm afraid of what I will see. How we spend our dollars will tell the tale of whether it continues on a race to embrace the Holiday Inn mentality of "no surprises". You know Caribou and Starbucks have great coffee, but so does my local independant (as well as a lot of other creative things). Therein lies the beauty of independents. How we choose to spend makes a difference. Support local cultural diversity, It won't be Playa if its just like home. It will just be hot and like so many other beach front places at home.

Places like Starbucks actually do some good. They force the local vendors to offer more. Most coffee joints in the US and elsewhere would never have thought to put espresso machines in their shops, until Starbucks made it popular. The idea that I have to support a local store just to promote cultural diversity is silly. I will support the store that gives me what I want. I am buying a product, not donating to charity. If the coffee at Starbucks is better than the coffee at Estrellabucks, and the price difference is worth the increase in quality, I am buying Starbucks. If its not, I will buy at Estrellabucks. As a consumer, the choice is mine. You wouldn't put substandard gas in your car because the owner of the station was a local. Why should coffee be any different?

[MWC]

For PDS and Steve -- The same themes were also covered in Bobos in Paradise, about the rise of the "Bourgieous Bohemian" class.

For Stewart -- do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? Hubby and I both like a strong cuppa in the morning, and TJ's has several good "bold roast" blends.

For everyone else. Time to move on to the afternoon cocktail, methinks.

[Icon oclast]

Stewart is a commie with Starbucks stock who is promoting starbucks. Conservatives don't drink foo-foo coffee. Liberals and women love it and hate it at the same time.