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Do you buy the food sold at Starbucks?

S

shnurgleton

Member
tonysidaway said:
I'm in the UK. Starbucks coffee tastes, er, weird and rough to my European palate, a bit like cheap instant coffee. McDonald's coffee is actually quite good by comparison. It's certainly possible that the quality of the coffee is different in other countries, and it's also possible that the Starbucks coffee in the UK really does meet American expectations.
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I've been to Starbucks in London and it was sort of different, I guess. You can pretty easily get a plain old black drip coffee in the US, but at U.K. Starbucks I don't think they even had that. If I was back in London and had to pick a chain coffee place I'd probably choose Cafe Nero over Starbucks, since at least they do the more complex coffee drinks well.
 
T

tonysidaway

Member
shnurgleton said:
If I was back in London and had to pick a chain coffee place I'd probably choose Cafe Nero over Starbucks, since at least they do the more complex coffee drinks well.
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I'm not interested in complexity, but I know that's an important thing for some people. Nero is all over in London. Costa used to have outlets in station platforms when I was doing mad commutes through Clapham Junction and whatnot, and their coffee was okay.

I do think this is mostly a matter of cultural expectations and price sensitivity. US outlets and European outlets may use different sources (an American colleague used to import Brazilian coffee which he said he missed in London, for instance, but I didn't like the coffee he served).

The prices somebody quoted for coffee in the United States, at current exchange rates, were eye-watering to my British eyes, but appear to be in line with Starbucks prices in the UK. Yet Starbucks UK is very successful despite the uncompetitive prices and odd taste.
 
Costa Kid

Costa Kid

Member
To have a coffee, I have to have food in my stomach. Sometimes it’s just more convenient to eat food in Costa or Starbucks. Starbucks’ food is pretty terrible for the price you pay.

It’s really only in emergency situations that I’d ever consult a coffee shop for the main purpose of food such as a panini or sandwich.
 
Stilton Disco

Stilton Disco

Member
In the UK they do cheddar and marmite paninis, which is honestly the number one reason I go there.

They also were the first place I knew of that did coconut milk coffees, but I mostly get them from Pret now.
 
C

cube444

Member
Never tried anything beyond a croissant, banana nut or lemon loaf. I used to love their cheese pretzels until they stopped selling them for some reason.

P.S. I'm sitting on 30 free rewards. Might try one of their breakfast sandwiches with them.
 
S

Septimus Prime

Member
Yeah, I like most of their food, actually. The Double Smoked Bacon and Cheddar is quite good, as are their various croissants.

I would never get sushi from them, though.
 
Y

yunbuns

Member
I've only bought their desserts like a muffin or cake occasionally. I rarely go to starbucks so I usually get the lemon cake with a drink as sort of a treat to myself. It's so good.
 
A

Apt101

Member
I don’t know what it’s like now, but years back I dated a girl who worked there. She told me it was crap and often old at many stores, so I never bothered with it.
 
B

bonesmccoy

Banned
I have no qualms with their coffee. Starbucks' Grande Americano with a bit of cream is a reliable drink. Great if I'm traveling.

The food though? It's always been substandard coffee shop fare. If you work/live in an urban area, you're guaranteed to have better options - like cafes with actual ovens and a grill - close by. Usually cheaper too.
 
N

Not

Banned
Those southwestern sandwiches are pretty good. Gotten me through a desperate lunch or too. It's not enough food for the price though.
 
T

The Illiterati

Member
Their sous vide egg bites (Bacon Gruyere) are amazing. Seriously, go buy them for breakfast if you haven't. They're of course a bit pricey but they're heaven. I need to learn how to easily make my own.
 
B

Bornstellar

Member
hydruxo said:
What even is this? Is it just egg or does it have bacon/sausage/bread on it too?

Tbh I don't even look at the food on the menu when I go there so I never pay attention to it
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I get the bacon gruyere variety. Think mini quiche sans crust with bacon and cheese. The texture is perfect.
 
M

MegaManTrigger

Banned
Poppy said:
i dont think it technically would, maybe just elitist

for example i find flavored coffee an abomination
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It's one thing to judge drink preferences, it's another to judge the brand that people like. It's like Nike vs. Adidas fanboys, or Nintendo vs. Sony fanboys.
 
N

NorthAndSouth

Member
In my experience with the locations we have here, the food is overpriced and quite terrible. Prepackaged food that needs to be reheated tastes pretty nasty, especially when Tim's is a much cheaper and more delicious option.

I still shudder sometimes at the memory of a raisin bagel I ate there. I could taste some sort of weird metallic edge to it, like it had been taken out of a can

That said, I'm lame and don't even go to Starbucks for beverages because I think they're overpriced and I'd rather support local/ free trade. So they're not exactly losing me as a customer with their gross food when I was never really one to begin with
 
R

RageWaffles

Member
No, none of it looks appealing, and when my boyfriend has gotten egg sandwiches from there they have always smelled like sulfur. I'd maybe get the avocado toast mentioned in the article if the Starbuckses around here sold it.



wait, no... During the winter they have turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sandwiches that are are amazing. I do get those quite a lot when I can.
 
P

Pyramid head

Banned
While in Japan I became partial to these pork, cheese and mushroom paninis that they sold over there. I don't even like mushroom but those were good.

As far as the quality of the coffee goes in these places, I find it all to be a bit of a crapshoot. I've had great coffee and shit coffee at Starbucks, Nero, Costa and everywhere else. It just depends on how a particular barista makes a particular cup.
 
D

DeathPeak

Member
Just the cookies. The Salted-Caramel cookie they had with chunks of Heath bar is my favorite cookie of all time and they never sell it anymore.
 
W

WhiteRabbitEXE

Member
I occasionally get their double chocolate loaf, because it’s awesome, but that’s it.

Used to get more though. Loved getting their bacon gouda sandwiches, but for whatever reason literally all fast food eggs just kill me. Not sure why. I thought it might be because they add milk or something, but lactase pills don’t help. And a lot of the other stuff I used to get has cheese and I generally just don’t like risking it even with pills.

Also, they got rid of their banana chocolate chip cake which I will NEVER forgive them for. That shit was AMAZING.
 
S

Skelter

Banned
I worked there briefly. All I ever ate were the egg whites. 130 calories while everything else was much higher. Totally not worth paying for though.
 
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