I think for a while...maybe up until 10 years ago...Starbucks held the control on five-star coffee. If you go and test McDonalds, Krispy Kreme, or any of the dozen big-name stops for coffee today....they all serve the same basic level as Starbucks. There’s no quality difference.
I live in Germnay, and can say that Starbucks is having a heck of a time getting established because traditionally....for over a hundred years....German cafes and bakeries made five-star coffee. If you walk into a German cafe...order a coffee and a cheese cake...you are paying 30-percent less than what you’d pay at Starbucks. The Starbucks gimmick here is not working. Maybe in high-end business areas, they survive....but 95-percent of the German public aren’t buying into Starbucks coffee.
I was happy to find Starbucks after living in Europe for a few years, because American coffee is opaque water when compared to European coffee.
I can see why Starbucks would have trouble making it in Europe.
On the other hand, when I went to Korea, I saw Starbucks all over. It has really taken off there.
Best coffee I ever had was a Hawaiian coffee when my wife and I got married in the islands lo these many years past.
I’ve had some Jamaican Blue Mountain that came close, but all the Kona I’ve had since then has been terrible.
The Starbucks for me is overcooked and doesn’t provide the flavor I expect of a great coffee. McDs is basically the same as a good Folgers blend so I prefer that if I need to get a cup on the go.
Maybe it was more the environment and occasion and less the coffee...
You’re right. There’s alot more good coffee available now. Also, most of it is less expensive than Starbucks.