God, Not AGAIN!!!
Starbucks raising U.S. drinks prices next week

Starbucks Corp. will raise U.S. prices on coffee, lattes and other drinks by about 9 cents a cup next week to help offset soaring costs on commodities such as milk and energy, a spokesman said on Monday.

The move marks Starbucks' second price increase in less than a year and comes a month after the coffee shop chain's chief financial officer warned that it would be "very challenging" for Starbucks to meet the high end of its 2007 earnings forecast, due in part to rising dairy prices.

Excuse me, dairy price increases? Moo?? Maybe it's the lame music you've started pushing in the shops, strictly for the geriatric set. I mean, Sting and McCartney??

Tho to be honest, haven't heard a single Starbucks in this area playing any of that stuff.

Get back to basics, please. Coffee with coffee in it, and maybe something with chocolate in it, and forget about the trans fat crap and give us an edible scone or muffin and something interesting to listen to while we're consuming it.

However, in our area there is a good alternative I've discovered if you can easily get to it -- Pick A Cup on Dempster near Dodge. (dropped by while the broken window of my car was getting repaired). Yikes! The coffee is brewed extra strong, you can get muffins, cereal, fruit, eggs., a sandwich, etc., and use the internet from a pair of elderly computers (with fast internet connections) while you sip, or use the Wi-fi.

More importantly, you can sign the "I want peace" poster nearly covering one wall. And you can look at some bad local art at the same time, or sit on a couch and thumb thru magazines. A very comfy place. And apparently they have events in the evenings, like comedy night, or poetry open mike, etc. This Saturday, for example, is Belly Dance Night.

The "pick a cup" part comes from the large wall of mugs you can have your coffee served in. For those of us who demand a cup with a white interior for coffee, this is delightful.

So eat your freeking heart out, Starbucks. I love your coffee, but you're no longer the only one around who has learned how to make a decent brew.
- posted by Cynthia @ 5:08 PM | | | Link |