In Defense of the Giant Green Beast (the store formerly known as Starbucks)

A lot of people come into the shop with complaints about The Green Beast. I often agree with them. But today I thought Iwould defend the Souless Corporate Giant.

The Starbucks case reminds me of a similar one in a completely different field: bicycles. In the buisness of cycling, the company Huffy rules, at least in terms of the shear number of bikes being sold. Everyone knows that they are made from inferior materials and break quickly if you actually ride them. They are heavy--twice as heavy as quality bicycles. They are assembled quickly and poorly. But they are very, very cheap and readily available.

A mountain bike magazine editor once defended Huffy, sayingthat even though he wouldn't willingling ride their bikes, he was glad that they existed because they brought people into the sport. He recounted that he knew countless professionals and enthusiasts who had cut their teeth on Huffy before they graduated to finer bicycles. Without Huffy, perhaps, these people would never have become cyclists.

Starbucks is like Huffy. Yes, they usually over-roast their coffee. Yes, their massive size works against them when it comes to quality and freshness. Yes, they have compromised quality for speed of service with their super-automatic "espresso" machines. But Starbucks introduces millions of people to the world of specialty coffee. If our roastery had tried to open an espresso shop in the mid 1980s, I don't think that we would have been able to survive. Most people had never heard the terms "espresso" or "capuccino" back then. Starbucks has changed that. Now that guy who used to pay 25 cents for gas station coffee can't start his day without a $2 espresso macchiato. No one would have paid $12 for a bag of coffee (or the 1980s equivalent of $12). Now people do not blink an eye when they buy a 3/4# bag for $12 in the grocery store. Without Starbucks, all those amazing, independent roasteries and shops that we love simply couldn't exist--few people would frequent them; Almost no one would appreciate the quality, but most would freak out at the high price.

So, yes, complain all you want; Rage against the Beast! But remember, we owe a lot to them.