Coffee

I second this lament.

I first “met” Starbuck’s when I was visiting in Chicago and everyone was raving about this great coffee shop where you could dash in, get a coffee, and dash out. It was fast. It was convenient. And the coffee was pretty good. And that is exactly the way it was – in Chicago. There were a few tall tables where people could stand to mix up their cream and sugar in the coffee or wait for a bus or friends, even a few barstools for those who wanted to sit a bit. The counter was clear enough that people on both sides could see one another. All they served was coffee, and they did it well.

Not here locally. Here, assuming you can get the attention of the counter help, it takes a remarkably long time to get a plain black cup of the house blend coffee – if the counter help even knows what that is. And when you get it, it’s either cold and burnt tasting or searingly hot and burnt tasting.

As a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, I know that inferior beans are often over-roasted and served extra hot to disguise their quality. When I taste a burnt coffee, I automatically assume I’m drinking an inferior bean. There is a fine line between the perfect Italian roast and burnt coffee. A discerning palate can tell the difference. There is no disguising it when the coffee beans are roasted too dark, making the coffee bitter and burnt tasting, no matter how freshly brewed it is. No amount of flavoring syrups, spices, whipped creams, milk, froth, ice, or sugar will get rid of that burnt taste.

The local Starbuck’s (all of them) are crowded, not with people but with stuff, so much stuff I can’t get up to the counter to order. And when I did, there was so much stuff there the counter clerk couldn’t see me. There was so much noise from the assorted refrigerators, freezers, and music that the counter clerk couldn’t hear me, either. There were free standing shelves blocking access to the serving counter filled with coffee mugs, bags of whole bean and ground coffees, Tazo Tea boxes, tea pots, coffee pots, filters, tea balls, racks of CDs and DVDs, and knick knackery of all sorts. The small table with the cream and sugar on it is hidden amongst all of this, in allocation that is hard to get to, and blocks access to parts of the rest of the shop. In front of the counters are these deep coolers with bottled drinks in them, boxed salads, and other chilled items over which customers must lean to place their order, and try to reach across to pick up their order. I feel really silly having to ask people if they can reach across to get my coffee for me because I’m too short to get it myself. And I’m not that short!

Add to it a minor complaint I had every time I tried Starbuck’s. Why does the counter clerk insist on getting your name, writing it on the cup (sometimes punching a hole through the cup so it leaks when you finally get it), then not call your name when your order is ready? They always call out what your order is – and if there are five people with the sane order, no one knows to whom it belongs. We mill around going, “Did you order that, too?” and “I can’t reach it to see if my name’s on it, could you please do that for me?” That doesn’t even include the times they get it wrong. And honestly, how can anyone screw up a cup of black house blend coffee?

There’s a small local coffeehouse whose coffee is also burnt tasting, but the service is quick and friendly, the counter uncluttered enough for people to see one another when ordering, good prices, and the ambience of the shop is cozy.

There’s another little local coffee shop that is open erratic hours, but the coffee is great, the counter is uncluttered, the service is outstanding and friendly, good prices, and the ambience is fun and cozy.

There’s a third little coffee shop, locally owned, that’s got it all – quick and friendly service, good coffee, comfortable ambience, uncluttered counter, and good prices.
Needless to say, I haven’t been in a Starbuck’s in a very long time. Unless they change the way they interact with the paying customer, it may be a very long time before I return, especially when there are these marvelous little coffee shops scattered all around town that have practically everything I want in a coffee shop.