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July 22, 2008
A defense of Starbucks
First, remember what coffee was like before Starbucks. Some of you (though I doubt it, with the readership of this blog) may have cut your teeth on micro-roasted craft coffee shipped straight from Kona or that African critter's butt to your grinding burr in Seattle. But most of us drank the usual American swill to be found in law firm coffee rooms and frat house kitchens. Akk. Dreadful stuff and I know because I drank enough of it. "I just made it" meant it had been sitting there getting foul for less than an hour. "It's OK" meant you could drink and not die immediately. I grew up in a house where my Mom drank 20 cups of coffee a day, not one of them not worth forgetting until, you guessed it, Starbucks came along and taught people about coffee the way everybody discovered wine in the 1970s. So yes, Starbucks is not as good asPetePeet's. Well, excuse me while I play the grand piano. No it isn't. But the point is, it's not Maxwell House.
I agree with Prof. Smith - coffee in America is on a rising trajectory, and we have Starbucks to thank for a lot of it. I live in a town that's missed Starbucks a couple of times, but we have two reasonable independents - one of which is entirely a Starbucks knock off, and not a bad one. The other is more of the comfy-furniture-and-occasional-live-music model, so we have caffeine diversity here in beautiful Geneva. Still and all, if it weren't for Starbucks we'd probably only have Dunkin Donuts. And life would be poorer.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at July 22, 2008 7:53 AM
Comments
So where are the two places? I know there used to be the one on Linden.
I'll be coming to town this weekend and caffeine wouldn't hurt.
.....Exchange Street opposite the Bike shop (more Starbucky) and the shopping center opposite Wegman's (more comfy). They're both pretty good! Drop me a line and I'll buy you a cup and a scone.... --MCT
Posted by: Patrick at July 22, 2008 11:54 PM
.. and what ever happened to the one that was (supposedly) under construction on Washington St next to Normal Bread?
.....Still vacant - tho in a weird, three quarters-finished state. Looks like someone could have it up and running in a couple of weeks - they even installed the AC and a security video cam outdoors! Odd. --MCT
Posted by: bucko at July 23, 2008 9:13 AM
"Do ya see'm Mr. Starbuck? Do ya see the great white beast?"
Posted by: Marc at July 23, 2008 1:52 PM