Faux-cha
I'm having my morning coffee with a squirt of chocolate syrup in it. Its sorta mocha-ish.
I remember a while back reading an article in which Starbucks was whining that people were coming in and make "poor man's" lattes. They'd buy a regular coffee and do it up with cream, sugar, and the toppings they make available at their condiment bar. They said it was costing them money because people were spending $1.50 instead of $4.
What do you think of this? They implied it was unethical to use the cinnamon they put out for free.
I certainly love a nice latte, mocha, and various other coffee shop tasties but I completely admit they are overpriced. $4 for a cup of coffee? I can buy an entire chicken for that price or a whole meal at a fast food joint. And honestly I do still buy 1 or 2 mochas a week. I've been trying to be better though and just order a house coffee with cream and save $2 when I feel the need for a crack... er, um... caffeine boost while out of the house.
This sense of it being unpatriotic to not buy has extended to other areas. I heard on the radio last week about how we should all buy American made cars because we owe it to the American worker. I'm all for buying locally and sustainably when possible but I'm not going to spend money I don't have to help someone else out. It reminds me of post 9-11 when Bush's answer to terrorism was that we should all go shopping.
I, personally, am for Joe-the-normal-guy who finds a way to balance luxury and budgeting.
I remember a while back reading an article in which Starbucks was whining that people were coming in and make "poor man's" lattes. They'd buy a regular coffee and do it up with cream, sugar, and the toppings they make available at their condiment bar. They said it was costing them money because people were spending $1.50 instead of $4.
What do you think of this? They implied it was unethical to use the cinnamon they put out for free.
I certainly love a nice latte, mocha, and various other coffee shop tasties but I completely admit they are overpriced. $4 for a cup of coffee? I can buy an entire chicken for that price or a whole meal at a fast food joint. And honestly I do still buy 1 or 2 mochas a week. I've been trying to be better though and just order a house coffee with cream and save $2 when I feel the need for a crack... er, um... caffeine boost while out of the house.
This sense of it being unpatriotic to not buy has extended to other areas. I heard on the radio last week about how we should all buy American made cars because we owe it to the American worker. I'm all for buying locally and sustainably when possible but I'm not going to spend money I don't have to help someone else out. It reminds me of post 9-11 when Bush's answer to terrorism was that we should all go shopping.
I, personally, am for Joe-the-normal-guy who finds a way to balance luxury and budgeting.
posted by Megan at
10:41 AM
7 Comments:
I remember getting banned from Taco Time as a teen because I used to get some croutons and ranch at their condiment bar and after I would finish my burrito and soda, I would dip croutons in ranch as a snack, while continuing to sit and chat with my friends. I was poor, but I spent my $2.00 there every day. Still, I was banned for over-condimenting.
SB gets none of my sympathy! It costs them all of .25 per cup of coffee, so they are still making a profit on the "poor man's latte."
One reason that Starbucks costs so much is because they pay top dollar for their beans. They could pay less but they don't. They pay the farmers fairly for their hard work and product, enabling them to have things like clean water and a better quality of life earning more than other coffee producers/farmers.
rebekah- Its very admirable but I still disagree with them insinuating that patrons are doing something wrong by purchasing a regular coffee and then adding cream and sugar with a little cinnamon. If they put it out then they should assume people will use it.
Megan you're totally right about the condiments. If you brought in your own coffee from home or the gas station that would be a different story. :)
I guess I was referring to the complaint that Starbucks is expensive. Sorry for the comment conversation/dialogue!
Um.. using common additions to regular coffee, in regular coffee? Sounds... normal? And like what those things are there for?
As for faux-cha, back in the dark ages when I was attending junior college, I would regularly get a hot drink at the cafeteria (they all cost the same) that was half (BAD) coffee, half (machine-made) hot chocolate. So, in my universe, hot chocolate is a perfectly normal addition to coffee. I even do it at home, on the rare occasions I drink coffee.
IMO, doing the poor man latte things at a coffee shop *is* sort of stealing, but on the same note, you can make the SAME thing at home, for a very low price.
With the recent economy problems, and my lack of art sales I've dropped my starbucks 'bitch coffee' (frappuccino) habit from every day-every other day, to MAYBE once a week (When I'm on the road for dog classes, or shows and such).
Instead, I DIY at home now. We even picked up a used vitamix! (We also make lots of smoothies, and had killed our 2nd oster blender this year ;) I've saved SO much! The espresso machine is a hand-me-down from MIL so we got lucky ;)
Coffee thermals can keep home-made coffee most the day, and a good only only costs 2-3 Starbucks coffees worth. While I know Starbucks is overpriced (All food places are!), I just don't think it's fair to use 'condiments as a meal' in a restaurant *G*
BTW, thanks for the blog comment! *G*
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