"It's far too predictable and easy to rag on Starbucks these days, but don't let that kid you into thinking their coffee is anything but sub standard. When Tamp Culture and Workhouse Coffee are within a few minutes' walk, getting a coffee from Starbucks is just silly. Sure, I've had worse coffee, much worse, but rarely from a dedicated coffee shop. I almost think maybe they make their coffee deliberately fairly poor to trick you into thinking that's what coffee always tastes like, that you don't really like it, and that therefore you'll have to buy coffee with six gallons of milk, sugar, syrups, and cream lobbed into it in order to enjoy it and, hey presto, that's what Starbucks are good at. If you genuinely don't really like regular coffee but love a triple whip extra soy hazelnut mocha with double sprinkles and a superfood cleansing boost injection then fine, obviously go to Starbucks. Those coffee based drinks can be quite nice on occasion and, though I think Costa do most of them better, Starbucks is a fine choice. But I, for ages, really thought that this was the only type of coffee for me, because I'd tried Starbucks' more regular coffees and found them utterly revolting, so just believed I didn't really like coffee. This strikes me as a rather cruel and unfair trick to play. It's like a beer specialist producing a really horrible cider to convince people they hate cider and thus only bother with beer. So, I implore you, if you've tried Starbucks' regular coffee and think it's sort of okay, then please, please make the trip to Workhouse and try something ten times better and, if you've tried Starbucks' regular coffee and hated it, before you turn straight back to your word salad order, also walk over to Workhouse and let someone who can really make regular coffee make you something. Maybe you still hate it, and that's cool, pop back to Starbucks and enjoy, but maybe, like me, you'll find you'd been being decieved by Starbucks for years and that actually, regular, unadulterated coffee is one of the greatest things on this planet, just not if you buy it in Starbucks. So Starbucks gets a three stars. It's coffee options are pretty good (though I do think Costa has the edge), but offering people regular coffee of this low quality is either just poor quality roasting, grinding, and brewing through a lack of bothering, or a cynical deliberate ploy to shock people back to the coffee and keep them away from coffee houses that do regular coffee really well. Also their cold brew is terrible. Just absolutely terrible. Cold brew coffee is one the greatest summer beverages going, but Starbucks' offering is just dire. Costa do a really great cold brew yet another reason to go there instead."
Almond Croissant
