I wish Starbucks gave up on trying to be McDonald's and tried to be a place I'm not embarrassed to walk into.

Yay.
Although curious why Starbucks ever went with HFCS and other artificial stuff to begin with. It seems to run counter to their brand identity.

Starbucks also said they are currently working on a new Frappuchino formula that, presumably, will contain something that more closely resembles coffee.

What will all the hip tweens drink now? Red Bull?

It seems like everytime they try to change something it gets worse. I miss the fruit and cheese plate with the bread. I can buy my own damn water crackers, thanks

@edwardso: Generally agree, but removing HFCS from their food can only be a good, or at least less crappy, thing.

I've had a lot of starbucks coffee over the years, never once bought any "food" while I was there. Although that may be more due to me being frugal than the quality of their food.

@Alvarez: i bought a sandwich from Starbucks once, and I'm not exaggerating at all when i say it was actually about a half step down from the prepackaged sandwich that you'd get at your average gas station. i've never been a big starbucks fan, but it was shocking how lousy it was

@craptastico: or those sandwiches in the vending machine with the little plastic door

"Starbucks also said they are currently working on a new Frappuchino formula that, presumably, will contain something that more closely resembles coffee."

I happen to like Frappuccinos because they do *not* really taste like coffee. As long as there's no sacrifice in taste, I'm game.

@PunditGuy: oh dear. If tweens are drinking those now, I guess I'll have to stop ... lol ...

Maybe they'll also go back to offering decaf versions. The last time I tried (a few months ago; I go a few times a month) they had stopped, I think due to low demand.

I think they don't sell food because they charge $4 for a cup of coffee that is usually pretty heavy on its own. Couple that with the fact that everything appears to be prepackaged and you have a tough time convincing me to pay for $3 for a scone.

If they honestly want to sell food, it needs to be less of an afterthought. Think of Panera, when you walk in you smell baked goods and see dough proofing, this makes you want to buy food and drink coffee with it.

I'm not suggesting that Starbucks should adopt this style, but if they can't make their food feel freshly made, they should just stick to biscottis and cookies.

@Trai_Dep: I think Starbucks does a lot of things that run counter to their brand identity.

Ever stop at one on the PA or NJ Turnpikes? A Mennonite lady wearing a bonnet asking you if you'd like any "baked goods" or "flavored syrups" in your coffee is about as far from hipster Seattle as one can get.

For a premium price, I expect premium ingredients, and HFCS / fat / calorie laden products are not what I expect or am willing to pay for.

Also, if you go to their site and look for nutrition info, [www.starbucks.com] it will list "serving size" (121 g for a blueberry muffin) and the info "per serving", but not reveal the total weight of a muffin. I suspect it is way more than 121 grams [equals approx. 4.2 ounces], so is a muffin 2 servings, 5 servings? Kinda important to know if you want to evaluate it's nutritional value.

@zlionsfan: I think what they'll do is mix them as they would a latte- shots of espresso, milk/flavor of choice, and then thicking powder and ice. Thus, you can get a decaf soy carmel frap.

@UniComp: I don't get this. Why would you be embarrassed to walk into one? It's about as "mainstream" as you could get.

@Secret Agent Man: What do you order?
I get my Venti drip dark roast for $2. The regular's half that.
>Can't blame a store for "expensive" stuff when you order like a rock star.

I like their parfaits; expensive but tasty.

@edwardso: I'm partial to their plain baguette with a pat of butter. Simple things are sometimes the best.
Annoyed when they run out, but hey, the perils of fresh-baked goods.

@Trai_Dep: When I have to work Saturdays and must bribe myself, the multigrain bagel with almond butter or turkey bacon mcmuffin do it for me

@UniComp: You're embarrassed to walk into a chain coffee shop? Wow. You are sensitive.

@edwardso: But little vanilla bean scones YOU ARE GROSS

@rpm773: What in the hell part of the NJ Turnpike were *you* on? Usually all I see at rest stop Starbucks are baristas who I'm not even sure could spell the word, by how they come off in dealing with people.

@UniComp: I don't like walking into McDonalds for the same reason you apparently don't like walking into Starbucks.

The cookies, lemon cakes, and apple fritters are the greatest. But just like everything else at starbucks they are WAY over priced.

All I want starbucks to do is have a 2 seperate lines....one for regular coffee, and the other for everything else. I hate waiting 15 minutes so some dude could order 3 drinks.

@Secret Agent Man: Holy crap people. Starbucks doesn't charge $4 for everything. A "cup of coffee" is really just about $1.50 at its smallest and $2.10 at its most expensive, depending on tax.

@UniComp:

Well, on the useful side, this comment does describe how effectively Starbucks has murdered its brand identity by becoming a fast food restaurant. That may be a necessary transition, but keep in mind a big reason for their profitability was the cachet of Starbucks. Cachet tends to fade once the employees start wearing paper hats and pumping out microwaved egg sandwiches instead of making $4 lattes.

@winstonthorne: Those fruit and granola ones? I love those too. I just can't help but want one whenever I go into a Starbucks...which is less recently because apparently I have to walk 6 blocks in downtown D.C. to get to one!

They got rid of the only thing I liked there, which was the crumbleberry cake-type thing. They down-sized it while keeping it at the same price, and then got rid of it altogether. I sometimes enjoy the triple chocolate chunk cookie, but if you don't get it while it's fresh, it ends up being a tasteless, rock-hard circular object that happens to contain chocolate.

I find the baked goods at SB to be very pretty, very tempting to look at, but bland and dry to taste.

@LegoMan322:

Many places have a separate line for "drip coffee" - which is what I usually drink too.

Yeah you can feel all the oil in Starbuck's muffins on your hands. and like most Consumerist readers I can make my own banana and zuchini bread at home thanks.

@Trai_Dep:
I'll grant you that regular coffee is substantially cheaper, but the cost is only part of the problem for SBUX. I try to avoid the place unless the fiance drags me in so my purchases are pretty infrequent.

The fact remains that their food looks like the staff raided a convenience store, removed the plastic packaging, placed in a fancy display case and doubled the price.

I've never minded Starbucks's baked goods, but I only buy them when I don't really have any other food options, or haven't had in a while. (Although I do admit to liking the not-quite-as-unhealthy turkey bacon breakfast sandwich from time to time.) Usually if I'm at Starbucks, I'm getting a latte of some kind and considering the calories and the milk in that drink to be my snack, not to go with my snack.

@Sean Beattie: Mennonite is more PA. But the NJ stops certainly don't do anything to promote the brand image that Starbucks has cultivated over the years.

Three things:

1) They should have a quick, coffee only line for a signature, lower-priced but great cup of coffee, here's yer cup, here's the container, you pour.

2) The food should be a low-cost add-on-- i.e. .99 cents for a scone.

3) Somehow they need to make the drive-through faster.

@pecan 3.14159265: don't forget the bring your own mug discount of $.10. It's the same as a cup of coffee at a fast food place

It's true that Starbucks food hasn't been the best. However, they do have a couple of winners that I hope they won't change. Foremost being the molasses chew cookies. Those are good.

Unfortunately I can't have them now because I'm dieting. Someday I might have one again, though, and it would be nice if they kept them.

But really, I never went to Starbucks for their food, nor do most SB customers I know ... so I have to wonder how necessary this new marketing angle is. I'd much prefer they rethink their coffee rather than their food.

Their coffee beverages have slipped considerably over the last year or so. I don't know what they've done to it but it just isn't the same. Last time I got an Americano it tasted as though they'd brewed it with sawdust instead of coffee grounds. Heck, it even smelled like wood-ash. I threw it away, and haven't been to SBs as much as I used to ...and when I do I have iced tea instead of coffee. That, at least, is still decent.

Given how poor their coffee is, and that they waited years -- apparently -- to realize their food isn't that good, I seriously wonder if this campaign is meant to divert customers' attention from how poor their coffee drinks have become.

@Trai_Dep: Starbucks does a great job at marketing a certain identity, but that identity is more of a marketing campaign than it is a company philosophy. At the end of the day, it is just an image they project. Starbucks is like a mall goth.

@edwardso: I found out this morning that the closest coffee shop to my office (not a local mom and pop place, unfortunately) takes off .20 if you bring your own mug. Awesome. I'm still trying to find a truly exceptional coffee shop around here though.

@JGKojak: Food is almost never a low-cost add on at any coffee shop that also sells pastries. I don't expect mom and pop places to add it on for a buck, I don't expect Starbucks to do it either.

Everything at Starbucks seems stale or just gross looking. The only food I like there is their mint brownies they have in the winter. I don't even really like their coffee that much. But I work part time in a different coffee shop so maybe that's just my personal opinion. But I think they must make their toddy differently than other places because it always tastes really gross.

@pecan 3.14159265: I know a good place in old town alexandria and petworth DC. Are you near either?

@edwardso: I work in downtown D.C., so unfortunately I'm close to neither :( You would think downtown would be a major hub for coffee businesses.

@ajlei: What's a toddy?

*random bitching about starbucks*

@pecan 3.14159265: Starbucks does that too. (Not necessarily defending them over better local places, but they do discount you for that).

All these comments and not one "the coffee tastes buuuuuurrnt" complaint? Y'all are slipping.

I had a very expensive, very unsatisfying turkey sandwich from SBux once. Once...

At least Dunkin Donouts did not lose its primary base: Donouts and Coffee if you want it.

@PunditGuy: Red Bull? Depends how much their parents hate it.

Starbucks is forced to militate its trendiness against its logistical requirements as a far-flung and ubiquitous retailer of standardized foodstuffs. HFCS has big advantages in commercial baking: Namely, it is hygroscopic, holding moisture in baked goods and retarding staling. HFCS also permits baked goods to be frozen and thawed with less loss of texture. As we who eat mass-produced foods know, predictable and convenient are enemies of delicious.