Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

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Starbucks still has the lead in the coffee wars, but, with its McCafe assault, McDonald’s is steadily gaining, according to recent analysis by BIGresearch.

That should surprise nobody who’s been following the companies and their increasingly heated battle. What might be a bit more surprising is that McDonald’s might not lag that far behind in taste either.

The Coffee Review said after a recent taste test that Starbucks coffee has only “a slight edge” over that of McDonald’s. “The difference in caffe lattes was subtle, perhaps not worth fussing over for most palates,” said one expert (h/t Badgett’s Coffee eJournal).

I’ve written before about how Starbucks raised the bar for coffee standards across the country, causing more and more competitors to offer products that actually taste like coffee instead of like dishwater.

But those standards were pretty low to begin with. When Starbucks started off, Americans were known for our cheap, low quality coffee, and Starbucks was definitely a step above that. But that doesn’t mean it was ever top of the line. Which could be a major part of its problem lately — it’s not just that fewer people are willing to spend more on coffee; it’s that even those who are willing to spend more might not think Starbucks is the best they can do.

Update: Over at BNET Retail, my colleage Ian Ritter takes on McDonald’s incredibly annoying ad blitz for its “McCafé” drinks.

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Tags: Starbucks Corp., McDonald's Corp., Quality, Food & Beverage, Business Operations, Manufacturing, Katherine Glover

Katherine Glover is a Minneapolis-based print, radio and online journalist. She's written for Salon.com, Sierra Magazine and many others, and she does a weekly blog on immigration issues for MinnPost.

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1

Thoughtful02

06/02/09 | Report as spam

RE: Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

Starbucks has never been the best coffee available in major markets. From the early '70s, when I was a graduate student in Cambridge, MA, we had Coffee Connection (eventually an 8-store chain bought by Starbucks when they entered the Boston market in the early '90s). In Berkeley, CA, we had Peet's and other local purveyors. I'm sure that Seattle, LA, and Chicago had good local purveyors. Even in Florida, they have Barnie's and Z-Cafe (among the very best selections). All of these coffee companies sell better coffee than Starbucks. Starbucks' big contribution to the industry was to bring better coffee to the main stream and to prove that people were willing to pay too much money for a decent cup of coffee. Neither feat was mean, Starbucks was simply never about fine coffee.
2

TonySims

06/02/09 | Report as spam

RE: Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

Starbucks ahs never been the best coffee, period. They roast to much, it tastes burned. If you doll it up with cream and sugar and flavor syrup like most of the sheep do, you don't know this.

A properly brewed cup of Folgers or Yuban is far better tasting coffee than what you'll get at any Starbucks.
3

nwberean

06/02/09 | Report as spam

RE: Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

Being from the home of Starbucks, Seattle's Best* and other brands I avoid Starbucks. I don't like their burned beans nor their prices. Their gimmick is market saturation not quality or value in my opinion. On the home front we buy primarily Yuban, Kirkland or Folger's (all "Columbian"). These produce a drinkable smooth dark rich coffee. Neither of us use latte type additives i.e. milk, syrup etc. (though I use Stevia or Splenda sweetners).
If I have to buy a "branded" coffee out then Seattle's Best or other worthy competitor to Starbucks would be it.
*Seattle's Best is now a Starbucks' brand.
4

jimmie0729

06/03/09 | Report as spam

RE: Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

I personally think Starbucks is better. Recently I visited McDonald's and had a cup, it was very strong. Also who wants to smell a hamberger cooking when you go in for a relaxing cup of coffee. The atmosphere and help at Starbucks is alot more upscale, very professional. Starbucks are always very clean, every Starbuck's I have been in has a perfectly clean rest room, something that the competition can't say. Just my opinion. Jim from Indiana
5

archetypo

06/03/09 | Report as spam

RE: Is Starbucks Coffee Actually That Good?

Starbucks, along with probably 99% of commercially available coffee, is already stale by the time it gets to your cup. Most consumers are blissfully unaware of this fact, but coffee has a shelf life of only 5 to 7 days after roasting. Most commercially available coffee sits in warehouses longer than that. Fancy packaging doesn't make a bit of difference, nor does keeping it in the freezer. Bottom line, if you're drinking coffee that was roasted more than a week ago, it's already stale. It's worth doing a taste test to prove it to yourself.

Personally, I've never enjoyed any Starbucks coffee I've tried. I've tried asking in different locations for their freshest roast, and have been told a variety of stories about how 'the packaging keeps it fresh', but nothing in the store was roasted more recently than two weeks ago.

I used to think I couldn't drink coffee because I would get so sketched out, but it turns out I can drink coffee just fine, as long as it's fresh. Once it's more than a week old, it starts to have very negative effects on my physiology. Seriously people, educate yourselves, there are plenty of resources online, and lots of retailers that will sell you green coffee beans (which keep forever) and home roasting systems. Most of these smaller retailers have adopted far more ethical fair trade practices as well, which I doubt is true for either Starbucks or McD's.