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I will say this--Starbucks is one of my go-to coffee places when I travel outside of my perfect little coffee culture bubble in the PacNW, or even travel to smaller towns in the PacNW with little coffee culture and only a Starbucks. Why? Consistency of product. There's something brilliant about the fact that I can drink the same cup of coffee in a mind-boggling number of places--and it's a better cup of coffee than I might get elsewhere. However, in town I only ever go to Starbucks if I'm in the mood for a Tazo chai, because they're the only ones who use Tazo chai (I dislike Oregon chai, it's too sweet and not peppery enough). We have a lot of locally-owned and operated coffee shops I would rather give my business to--with much better coffee. Plus, Starbucks house coffee isn't organic or fair trade--though they do sell beans that are organic/fair trade, and they are the largest purchaser of fair trade coffee--I prefer to buy conscientious coffee if possible, even by the cup.
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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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