Starbucks Coffee: Overpriced Or Worth It

The Starbucks price hike (11 cents on regular coffee, 50 cents on specialty drinks like Frapuccinos) is reverbating amongst consumers. The Post speaks to one unwitting victim of the Seattle juggernaut, who says, "It's a real shame. I already spend about $300 a month on coffee. And frankly, I don't even like Starbucks, but it's convenient." Damn, lady, Gothamist thinks coffee might be the least of your problems - that's about $10 a day on coffee! Howard Schultz is spinning gold out of hay, as far as Gothamist is concerned. Slate has an article about the price hike, with some examination of the NY coffee market:

When I left Moneybox's New York headquarters to conduct research at the closest Starbucks (a block away), I passed a half-dozen other coffee vendors. There's the guy with the cart who sells the little Greek diner cups for 50 cents; the deli with the scalding 75-cent generic joe and the thin paper cup; the convenience store with $1.00 faux gourmet stuff; and Cosi, where a latte costs $3.59. Only after running this gantlet could I enter Starbucks, where a java chip Frappuccino runs $4.75.

The other thing is that Starbucks coffee contains loads more caffeine than other coffees out there, which actually makes the price hike logical if you go by price per parts caffeine. Gothamist tends to partake in the coffee cart coffee, so this price hike really isn't affecting us (our number one jones is sugar, sugar, and more sugar, much like Buddy the Elf). Are you getting blasted by the price hike? Or do you favor the smaller establishments, like Gorilla Coffee, Porto Rico, or Mud?

And a Starbucks barista was beat up earlier this year but not because of the prices.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on October 7, 2004 9:05 AM

Comments [rss]

guest

And they just announced another price hike, I guess Howard Schultz needs more money in his bank account. He has overexpanded and the results is diluted sales per unit and a stock price down over 15%.

jonathan

i think starbucks is way over priced but really good

u should lower the prices and more people will go there

forum

i love Star Bucks coffee even thou the prices are higher because they have the BEST teast and the best smell of all. And i will keep on buying it even if it will increase their prices EVEN MORE. For me Quality matters and NOT Quantity. i don't prefer any other coffee like Dunkin' Donuts because they SUCK!!!

STAR BUCKS ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO!!!

I LOVE U Star Bucks.

rosanne

where is this guy who sells paper cups for 50 cents?? i am coming to new york in april and am on a quest to find the famous blue and white cups, both paper and ceramic. i know who sells the over-priced ceramic ones, but i am longing to hold the paper cup, nypd blue style.

thanks for the info, hopefully.

Justin

Peet's coffee is the best. Just as strong as Starbucks, without the ick taste.

sheila

In NYC, Starbucks is like Duane Reade.

One on nearly every corner.

You know they have cold medicine, tampons, bottled water and paper towels and other sundry household needs.

SO...you put up with the slow, slow cashiers, the aisles crowded with unpacked boxes, etc. I hate Duane Reade more than Starbucks by a mile.

Will

The best investment I ever made was buying a small French press for work. Instead of buying Starbucks everyday, I now have a glass jar that I fill once every two weeks with the organic French Roast Costa Rican (or the Guatemalan if they're out) from Porto Rico on Bleeker. At 6.99 a pound it gives me two cups a day for ten days, two work weeks, and there's simply no comparison in the quality of the coffee. How much Starbucks could I get for that price?

mcgeek

God Starbucks is such crap. It's that burnt roasted nasty shit the French like. If I want strong coffee I'll step into one of the thousands of Italian joints in the city which will gladly serve you up a nice little, and very strong, cappachino for much cheaper, and much tastier.

Don't try and take away my caffeine fix by over pricing.

pieman

Am I right in thinking Starbucks buys predominantly Robusta beans from Vietnam for its snazzy brews? According to this coffee article they do. Not only that, but the Vietnamese bean is one of the cheapest and shittiest on the planet. There's gotta be better coffee in NYC - surely? And cheaper... hey....

Suz

I hate Starbucks. I bought coffee there this morning because I happened to be right next door to one and my shoes were really uncomfortable, so I didn't feel like walking anywhere. It was undrinkable. I paid god knows what for it and wound up tossing it after only managing to gulp down a quarter of the cup. (Maybe less. I had to pour a little out in order to keep it from spilling all over my hands when I carried it.) Next time, I just suck up the pain and walk to the nearest non-Starbucks.

Café au lait

I'm rather torn about Starbucks. On the one hand, we coffee drinkers should all be grateful that decent coffee--or at least coffee that approaches quality--is ubiquitous. The hideous mud that fuels this city, as found in coffee carts and delis and corporate pantries, is really inexcusable, and it's great to have an alternative. I do find, however, that the quality of the coffee varies from being downright (often) bad to quite good (rarely).

That said, I LUUUUV Joe on Waverly Place!

jenny

I'm not a coffee drinker -- have to put four sugars in the stuff to sweeten it up enough. But I love to get it watered down with other stuff in the form of a frappaccino or peppermint mocha around Christmas. So it probably won't affect me too much -- I'll just make sure it's a treat and not a necessity.

and speaking of which, correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't a frappaccino have as many calories as a Big Mac?

Jason

So now that they're raking in that much more cash, they can let them unionize now, right?

$10 a day on coffee seems pretty extreme, I would imagine you'd need $10 in stiff drinks to calm down!

W14

I prefer to get my caffeine from soft drinks and chocolate. This saves me money, which I can spend on the city's overpriced alcohol.

matt

I like starbucks because of the consistency in caffeine levels. They are also very convenient. If there were any competition that could compare, I would not have a problem with patronizing them. Also, it is not that expensive if you get a small plain coffee. That has plenty of caffeine. Why on earth would you spend so much on a caffeine milkshake with a million empty calories is beyond me. Like people aren't fat enough.

Cryingboy

I am a classic 21st-century coffee snob, and the only time I'm happy to see a Starbucks is in the Charlotte, NC Airport after one-too-many layovers. I will go out of my way to patronize the small independent shops, if only to encourage competition and variety. (Also, I don't particularly like the SB coffee...) Let's hear it for Gorilla, Mud, Joe's, the Victory et. al. Thank god I live in NYC - the last bastion of the small business!

Cryingboy

I am a classic 21st-century coffee snob, and the only time I'm happy to see a Starbucks is in the Charlotte, NC Airport after one-too-many layovers. I will go out of my way to patronize the small independent shops, if only to encourage competition and variety. (Also, I don't particularly like the SB coffee...) Let's here it for Gorilla, Mud, Joe's, the Victory et. al. Thank god I live in NYC - the last bastion of the small business!

Rose

I do not like Starbucks coffee. I like Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I buy the bags of Dunkin' Donuts coffee for home. I also enjoy Lavazza coffee.

Barstucks

Starbucks sells a legal, highly addictive drug: caffeine. They can charge whatever they want, and people will still wait on line, eyes glazed over, nervously twitching, like a bunch of brainwashed zombies.

Velleity

Peets is great, but I think Au Bon Pain was the last place to distribute it here. Pret's Sumatra is quite good, a dark, strong brew I've never known to taste burnt. I enjoy Starbucks more if I brew it at home, and it really is a lot less expensive.