Starbucks is not selling coffee

Now that’s a bold statement. Probably you think that’s a joke because when you think of Starbucks, the word coffee is what’s usually associated with the brand. Let me explain.

I will start off by giving you a similar example.

McDonalds is not in the burger business but in the real estate business. They only sell burgers to be able to afford the best and most exclusive properties and highway intersections. Why are there so many complaints on McDonalds food quality? Simple. It’s not their main business focus.

Have you ever taken in perspective that these neat looking shops with the green sign don’t give a damn about to serve you the best coffee possible?

It’s just not their main business.

Starbucks is in the LIFESTYLE business.

Now what do I mean by that?

If you ever entered one of their restaurants — chances are high you have — you might have been impressed by the great looking interieur, the hip music, or even the tasty looking side meals in the fridge. When you then want to place your order and look up the menu wall all the drinks look far from an Espresso or a Cappuccino (even though they’re available there). You are overloaded with a massive amount of unpronounceable names of drinks that have absolutely nothing to do with actual coffee taste.

I bet you wouldn’t even taste if there was coffee inside at all.

That’s how little they focus on coffee itself and that’s why they are not in the coffee business after all.

But I don’t wanna stop there.

A few days ago I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was telling me that I gotta go to Starbucks for a real coffee because that’s their business. Well, after telling him what I just told you before I went on adding a few more details to the talk.

In all the years as a professional Barista Trainer I have compared coffees of all kinds from all over the world. While being on that journey I have tasted coffees that reminded me of heaven and others that burned my tong, ruined my day and some that even made me sick.

I’ve been through a lot of pain finding out what makes the difference between a good and a bad tasting cup of coffee.

And when I went on trying some of the Starbucks offered Espressi without sugar, vanilla, milk, cinnamon etc. I was shocked. I could not believe what people where actually drinking. From that point of view Starbucks can be lucky that only a handful of people actually drink Espressi there. Just the coffee, nothing else.

I am definitely not a hater. I am very objective when it comes to trying different coffees but at the same time I’m very honest in my opinion and coffee quality is one of my #1 priorities.

To add some experiences I made watching the people behind the counter preparing the coffees (I don’t call them Baristas for the simple reason that mixing together some ingredients doesn’t make you one) I saw that the equipment there is most of the time not even suitable for perfect coffee such as fully automated machines and milk auto steamers. That’s coffee mass production at it’s finest, but to say it one last time — not in the coffee business.

Also after taking some of their coffees home and brewing them with my equipment, the results were just slightly better as at the shop itself. Still very poor bean quality with lots of defects and the roasting quality was that of industrial level at best.

If you consider to go for a coffee place that offers great quality coffee in combination with all the benefits a Starbucks coffeeshop offers, just look around a little and you will easily find a fine coffeeshop just around the corner that serves the needs of a true coffee lover. Enjoy!

Let’s sum it up:

- Starbucks it in the lifestyle business, not in the coffee business

- If you want to taste a fine cup of Espresso or Cappuccino you better consider searching somewhere else, maybe a coffeeshop that fits your needs for quality coffee is right around the corner

- Starbucks coffee quality can never be compared to a coffeeshop that tailors the whole process to highlight the quality of the ingredients and attention to detail in the process

If after all you’re asking yourself what all that talk about quality coffee is about, follow me on my social media channels like facebook, instagram and youtube to never miss an update on many coffee tips and tricks. Also stay updated where coffee trends are heading and how the future of coffee will look like. I see you there.

All the best,

MikeTheCoffeeGuy