Bert Robbins wrote:

Starbucks sells lousy coffee.

Shhhhh! Really; next thing you know, Bert, you'll be announcing that
the Emperor has no clothes!

The sad truth about Starbucks is that it is now too big to serve
quality coffee. Starbucks needs to buy beans in mega-ton increments to
keep a standardized group of coffees available in its gazillion
locations- and even though they charge enough to serve a premium roast
the world's best coffees are not available in sufficient quantities.
The service at the 2-3 Starbucks where I regularly go for coffee is
very good, with some of the brighter baristas making an effort to learn
the names of their regular customers. When I'm four back from the
counter in line and some smiling young woman asks, "What can I start
for you today, Mr. Gould?" that's an experience not readily duplicated
in the average donut shop. (Seems to loosen the grip on a tip, as
well).

Now, for the world's very best coffee. (Yes, I'm out on a limb here but
in my experience as a coffee drinker this is a pretty sturdy limb).
Take your boat to Thetis Island up in British Columbia, and hunt down
Gene and Nan Beals' cozy home. Out back of their house, in a
specially constructed building, is a 1930-something coffee roasting
machine named "Gertrude". When the Beals relocated to Thetis Island
from San Francisco, years ago, they brought Gertrude along and set up
shop as Pot Of Gold Coffee Company.

The Beals don't need to buy enormous quantities of coffee, so they can
pay top dollar for small quantities of premium beans. They have been at
it long enough that they know the difference between beans grown on one
plantation vs a neighbor's; and even whether the beans grown at the top
of the hill on Pablo Yvera's coffee farm are different than the beans
grown at the bottom. The big producers don't buy the premium beans, and
usually mix in a lot of inferior beans just to create a "blend" in
sufficient quantity.

I drink Starbucks because I'm out in the community for several hours
every day, and I like coffee. If I had the time to brew it and the
luxury of doing all my coffee drinking at home, I'd be a Pot of Gold
purist. It's so good, that it will spoil you for anything else. I've
had after-dinner coffee in some famous restaurants that can't hold a
candle to Pot of Gold. :-)

http://www.potofgoldcoffee.com/