During Highschool I worked as a Barista for a few Bohemian Cafe's managed a few and then took a Job with Jitters where The owner saw my love for coffee and cultivated it.
I was sent to School in Seattle and again for a month in Peru where I learned about all things coffee and eventually became a coffee snob. The experience ruined coffee for me because I was no longer able to focus on how good a coffee was I could only focus on what was wrong with it.
Education will tell you that the worst thing to happen to the coffee drinkers Palate is STARBUCKS, they RUINED coffee and the miseducated people, case in point the have a drink they call a Caramel Machiado which is actually just a Caramel Latte so when I would have someone order a Machiado I would wake them one which is actually a lightly Cremed Cappuccino with a shot of caramel. They were expecting a big drink cause that is what they get at starbucks however that isn't what they ordered they ordered a Machiado.
Second and by far the absolute worst, is because Starbucks has SO MANY stores they have Central Roasting plants that require them to OVER Prouduce Coffee and since they need the bean to store well the have to dark roast EVERYTHING meaning the Burn all the coffee, Meaning no matter what they tell you you have never actually has Peabody in a Starbucks because it is a light roast coffee and only good for a week after roasting before it ROTS, so they DARK roast it to a point where the Flavor that causes it to be a Peabody Roast is all gone. They try to over sell items like Jamican Blue Mountain which in my personal opinion have a flavor that is comparable to just about every HOUSE BLEND on the Planet and not worth the 29.50 a pound it usually goes for you can buy relativly the same thing for 1.25 in a supermarket.
Finally the worst thing that Starbucks did to coffee was create things that do not exist and lead people to believe that they do. Anyone who walks into an ACTUAL cafe and orders a Frappaccuino Should be Drawn and Quartered and then have thier children beat. There is NO such thing it is a Name Brand of a Creation of STARBUCKS, When I managed Cafe Copioh we had a big sign on the counter that said
"Friends don't let friends drink Starbucks!"
That being said anyone who ordered a Frappacinno or tried to describe one was sent to starbucks and we refused service to them, Sure we lost a 5 dollar sale here and there but a cafe has to have standards.
Starbucks made coffee Trendy that is ALL it did, If you want a fancy Blended drink just put a few cubes of Ice a stale cup of coffee and a YooHoo in a Blender and there you go so much cheaper and probably better than what they are shoving down your gullet at Starbucks.
Steel
*Who hates that Goddamned place*
