Is Starbucks a fast-food like coffee company? [closed]

Question

Well actually it is obvious that they are pretty fast. But to the proffessionals i ask : does Starbucks's coffee is not organic ? not healthy ? or includes so much chemicals ? I do realize it depends on the type and flavour of coffee but , anyway ..

I , buy at least 1 cup coffee from Starbucks a day , usually Filter coffee without milk or Americano. Should I stop shopping with them ?

Basicly , I'm asking if it is unhealthy to frequently drink filter coffee(without milk) or Americano from Starbucks , like if it is real coffee or something artificial ?

Answer 1

As far as actual speed, that based mainly on the barista working shift, the load, and amount of available equipment. Starbucks does not have any patented magic equipment that lets them pull shots faster than any other coffee house (that I am aware of).

If you enjoy their beverages, then there probably isn't any reason you shouldn't continue to drink it. I would guess you are in the minority of people buy what amounts to black coffee from Starbucks. Starbucks is a fairly divisive brand among most consumers. Most of the people I have talked to that like their beverages are buying mixed drinks from them and not straight espresso, drip coffee or americanos.

Starbucks does sell organic, fair trade and the like specialty coffees as whole bean or ground. However, the vast majority of their beverages sold daily is likely made with whatever their "espresso" blend is. My personal opinion is that it's horrible and over roasted. However, it's also consistently the same tasting and consumed on a fairly mass scale daily, so if there were any inherent dangers to it, we'd likely all be aware by now.

As a brand, Starbucks is mainly aimed at consistency. In general, that's what fast food chains strive for as well, so in that respect, they are very similar. Proper branding ensures that you can buy a product at any of hundreds of locations (or thousands) and it will taste the same. However, many consumers prize quality and uniqueness over consistency. In most industries (distilling, wine, food, beer) the most expensive and "highest end products" are items that were perhaps only produced at a limited run, or were very good in a particular year. That mindset tends to be the antithesis of the mass produced "good enough for everyone" standards that huge market brands set for themselves.

TL;DR Summary: Yes, Starbucks shares many characteristics with fast food companies. The most notable aspect being their branding strategies and tactics.

Answer 2

I have been a barista at Starbucks going on 13 years now. So I do know some things, but I'm not speaking officially on their behalf. Any errors of fact or inference are my own.

The core ingredients Starbucks uses are real ingredients. Coffee, milk, filtered water. Not all of the coffees are organic, but there are efforts underway throughout the world to reinvest in the farms and communities, etc etc. I'm sure there are specific priorities in each area, and going (California-certified) organic is not necessarily the highest. Education, clean water, economic concerns could each be more significant to a specific area (just speculating, and rationalizing; but it's all reasonable, right?).

Some stuff is more artificial. The pumpkin sauce. (They fixed the Pumpkin Sauce.) The whipping cream is a little thinned with skim milk and thickened back up with carrageenan. But the mocha sauce is just cocoa, sugar, vanillin, hot water + elbow grease.

For some other detail-ish concerns, there are things like food coloring. Now AFAIK, Red no.40 is what everybody uses to add red and pink to stuff. So the choice is natural or artificial? Easy right? What if I tell you they're indistinguishable in a lab? Still easy, right? What if I tell you the natural version is extracted from bugs? Yeah, insect extract. Now let's consider: natural or artificial? Still easy?

I'm not even sure which is in the pink cake pops at the moment. But, if you're getting something bright pink, how worried are you really? Is that wrong, to turn the whole question back? I don't know. But if you take any of these "health fiascos du jour" too seriously, ... um, where was I going with that? Just keep your brain turned on, as per usual.

One litmus test I use to rate other stores is whether they keep their shot glasses rinsed. If they do that, then they most likely have the other standards for cleanliness and quality under control. If they don't, please suggest that they read my instructions on (Re-)Calibrating the Mastrena machine.