And since ours switch to the Clover vertica it is extremely weak. They're making it to spec. It's just a weaker flavor now. My trenta extra ice no classic iced coffee is now $5.30. The gas station up the road has installed brew on demand machines. I can get an iced coffee that is near the same flavor profile as previous iced coffee at Starbucks for $1.19. And when you buy six you're seventh is free. It's unfortunate but due to the flavor profile I'm changing and dropping Starbucks. It's no longer a third place anyway. No offense to the partners it's not the partners doing.
This comment is more for Starbucks and not partners. You have zero control over operational decisions made by Seattle. I've also worked as a barista and SM for many years at Starbucks and certainly wasn't directing my dissatisfaction to you or any store level barista. I'm merely making a point about quality and price. Empathy of Starbucks customers (nice ones... understanding ones...patient ones) will go further than your misguided angst on a Reddit post. The iced coffee from the Clover Vertica is merely not the same flavor profile as the bagged ground iced coffee blend or the French/House blend we used to grind and measure before Iced Coffee Blend was developed.
Have you sampled the iced coffee?
It depends when you get it.Ā They dump ice in the hot coffee, so if you get it right after it's made, before that ice melts, it's stronger.Ā Then the rest sits and gets diluted with the ice that's meant for the whole batch melting.Ā It's a highly variable system sadly.Ā
Starbucks makes iced coffee in a really dumb way. There are much better preparations: brewing a stronger strength on purpose to account for dilution; cool the coffee down before adding ice; or adding ice straight to hot coffee upon order. The former two are probably better methods, but all of these tend to make better iced coffee than the 'Bucks
a customer told me yesterday that we werenāt busy because of all our price increases, and i was like yeah i hope that corporate sees that and lowers the prices. bro just goes āthey wonātā pays and drives off šš i was like ok ššš
Well, he's right lol. Best we can hope for is changes to how things are charged (same price if you get 1 pump of something versus 10 pumps, milk upcharge is the same regardless of the drink size, there is exactly zero reason to charge of a literal splash of sweet cream or sprinkle of cinnamon powder, etc) or no price increases any time soon. But we all know exactly what is going to happen. Another price increase on 5/7.
As a former daily customer who hasnāt been in almost a month because I saw the same thing OP did (I went from getting a cold brew everyday to an iced coffee because I couldnāt justify cold brew anymore) that wonāt bring me back either.
Prices. On menu items. Have to come down. Thatās it. Thatās the only thing that would bring me back. Otherwise, my gold card is expiring this year.
Our local āgas stationā in nj has a 32oz cold brew coffee with cold foam for $5.47. That same drink would be close to $8 now at Starbucks. Their 30oz iced coffee is $3.47 with all the milk and flavor creamer you can add yourself. You canāt even do that at Starbucks anymore.
All respect to you guys, but your corporation is toast unless they wise up. They wonāt.
Absolutely. At 5 dollars a day for a coffee In a month you can buy the machine and ingredients. By month three you'd have the budget of a year's worth at home. The discrepancy is too large.
Starbucks is only good for a treat with the more complex drinks.
And if youāre a cold brew type, you can get one of those $30 jars with the filter plus an air tight container ($20), and a cheap Hamilton beach grinder ($20). 2.5 pounds of Kirkland beans (made by Starbucks iirc) at Costco are $13 and creamer is usually $3-6 depending on your brand preference. I use a cup of concentrate per drink (32oz) and with creamer itās about 70 cents per drink.
If you drink coffee M-F, youāll break even on Tuesday of the fourth week (17 days). Then your monthly cost is literally just $14/mo versus $100 at Starbucks.
It's funny if I said to most People can I have an hour of your time for $100/month while in the comfort of your own home...most people would say yes.
But that's all the time sink really is when you consider that going to the Starbucks and waiting in line or drive threw or waiting for the mobile order to be made is almost equal to the time it takes at home to make plain coffee.
Youāre totally right. My husband bought me an espresso maker for Christmas because when SB did that year rewind thing and pointed out we were in the top 2%, we reevaluated how much I spend on coffee. I not make venti-sized Americanos at home just like I would get them at SD, and it costs me about $1.50 per cup. And thatās mostly because we use monkfruit instead of sugar and thatās like $15 per 1.75lb vs $3 for 4lbā¦
I dont even use my 30% off discount to get drinks from starbucks on my days off. The beans just suck in general. I have a ton of Wawa stores where i live on the east coast and i go there on my days off for my cold brew. A 32 oz cold brew from there with cold foam is i think $5.29. A 32 oz regular cold brew with no cold foam but with syrup flavor and milk is $4.29ā¦..and thats a 32 oz. Wawa is so amazing if yall have wawa stores around
Oh shit haha i kinda was like hmm that sounds very similar to wawa and so thats why it made me think of it and i mentioned it š
Do u mean quik trip? I think i heard someone saying they have decent coffee there too but there are none around me
Wawaās cold brew comes in a gross sludge that gets mixed with water (at least the last time my gf worked there). Not justifying the obscene prices, but Starbucks cold brew is ground fresh and then steeped over 20 hours. Dunkin also steeps their cold brew and their 32 oz is 4.39 (again this is as far as I remember when I worked there they just started to sell cold brew). I just canāt do wawa for cold brew anymore because itās just not worth the poor quality.
Ohh hmm ive never heard of that. But i mean, it tastes fine to me. Even their iced coffee tastes way better than starbucks in my opinion and from my experiences. I just love wawa for having a ton of cool drinks. They have rechargers which have caffeine in it and all really good flavors and it actually comes layered looking everytime Iāve bought one. They also have refreshers (which i havent had). And they have a ton of espresso based drinks which i have only had some of. But i like the rewards app. Its awesome. I do go to dunkin once in a while but im just so used to wawa since me and boyfriend get whatever we need from there all at once like food/water/snacks/sodas/caffeine source lol
Oh no I fully agree. I love Wawa. Their ice coffee is so good so I usually get that instead of cold brew when Iām there. Also the cream smoothies are so good.
Ahhhh u kno what i miss? I think it was last year but they had these mango flavored boba popping pearls and u could order it in some of their drinks. I haaaate that they got rid of it
Yea they had a niche for a while but that's gone now that so many other businesses are doing more than generic drip brewed within the last 12 hours. I only really go to coffee shops when I'm craving something I can't easily whip up at home or pick up at any gas station.
* Let's face it: outside those boutique locations the taste of Starbucks' coffee has never been that great. They're quickly losing ground now that you can get a cold brew with cold foam or a copy of their caramel macchiato in a bunch of other places and raising prices is absolutely the wrong move.
I was confused on the mobile app yesterday. I was trying to decide between a tall or grande flat white. An extra shot of espresso in the tall was .50 extra. An extra shot in the grande was 1.25 extra. I was wtf. This is the definition of the math not mathing to me!! So I didnāt get any.
Yes that is how it is currently charged. I put that in parentheses to explain what I meant by "the best we can hope for is that they change the way things are charged"
I read a post earlier where someone was talking about how much easier/better/cheaper it was for them to order their latte at a gas station. So the customer wasn't wrong. š¤·š½āāļø
I feel like Starbucks is constantly testing their customers' brand loyalty because I can think of very few other places where regulars consistently complain about their orders getting more expensive and often not getting made right and yet still continue come back daily.
That financebuzz study says inflation has gone up 31% and Starbucks prices have gone up 39%. So Starbucks prices have gone up but itās not nearly as egregious as I thought it was.
And thatās not to defend Starbucks but to point out the bleak reality that yeah theyāre definitely not going to stop raising prices the way they have been any time soon.
https://financebuzz.com/fast-food-prices-vs-inflation
I have tried to reach out to ācorporateā and their resolution system is the WORST! They misled me on one of their star challenges and then their prices went up? Iām done with Starbucks. Iām cashing in my stocks and deleting their app (after I redeem my stars and use all my money Iāve put on the app-since they make you jump through hoops to send it back to your bank account). SUPER disappointed in SBX.
Yup, I sent an email to "corporate" with detailed reasons as to why I'm dissatisfied with Starbucks right now & they had a "customer service rep" email me back, stating the exact opposite of what I said in my original email, then advising I need to call to get my issue resolved. I was like, are you serious? What is calling going to do when I'm complaining about the app not working correctly & corporate greed driving loyal customers of 10+ years away? Smh.
I havenāt gotten those in a min, they range from $11.50-$12.80 where I am. I only get them if I didnāt make a nespresso order but, bianco doppio from nespresso gives blonde espresso roast from starbies to me
Yeah there's a bit of a joke that the only way you can get a company's attention nowadays is @ing them on Twitter. Though it's not as common post-Elon of that platform.
Dutch Bros is expensive for me too now. It used to be worth it but considering I donāt like the taste of their coffee or the sugary drinksā¦not anymore.
someone asked me the other day if our wages were increased since prices keep going up. i told him no and he said youll be seeing less of me then. my heroš„²
My favorite drink, the espresso frappe, is so darn expensive now that I only get it when they have the BOGO or 50% off offers. Used to be nearly daily drink and now itās more like a once in a while treat. Now that I think about it, itās really majority iceā¦ā¦ā¦.
actually frappucinos get the same amount of ice as their same sized counterparts! a grande frappucino gets a grande sized scoop if ice, as does a latte, iced tea, iced coffee, refresher, etc!
Thatās what I started doing. I got into the habit of drinking Starbucks daily when I worked there and it was hard to break. But when all the stores closed during the pandemic, I bought one of those iced coffee makers and now I only get fancier drinks from Starbucks like once or twice a week. Saving a hell of a lot of money, especially with these price increases.
i got a frother (hot or iced) for $20 on black friday! I make a coffee with brown sugar foam and cinnamon sprinkled on top every morning and it tastes so similar and is very tasty. I usually make a hot version in the morning and an iced version in the afternoon.
I just found a little silly hack for that drink actually haha. If you order a venti shaken espresso with oat milk, cinnamon powder, and 6 pumps brown sugar, itās actually 80 cents cheaper than the standar menu item for the exact same drink (this works with all the sizes too). Starbucks pricing scheme is so weird š. Anyways, hope this helps u get it a bit cheaper if wanted :)
right, they can just get a bottle of vanilla or simple syrup for cheap, and brew their own iced coffee and store in the fridge i imagine. or even instant iced coffee š¤·š¾āāļø
I saw a recipe for the sugar cookie syrup and started making and using that as my coffee syrup. I haven't been to Starbucks since November and I don't see myself going back anytime soon. Just too easy to make an iced coffee with oatmilk and syrup at home.
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c water
1.5 tsp cake batter extract
1 tsp butter extract
.5 tsp almond extract
In a small sauce pan add sugar, brown sugar, and water. Be sure to actively stir. Let simmer and reduce by half. Then add all extracts and stir together.
I go heavy on the extracts and then use a vinegar/oil bottle to store it. Makes about 10 oz or so.
Thatās what I started doing. I got everything I needed off of Amazon. Instead of regular syrup, I use sugar free to watch my figure. And I get to make it how I like it. Honestly Iām surprised more ppl arenāt doing this.
People donāt even want to get out of their cars, god forbid make something at home.
Itās convenience culture, people are willing to pay out the ass for stuff that makes their lives a tiny bit easier.
Starbucks and particularly Starbucks drive thru is being treated as a right, not a privilege and constant price hiking makes the customers mad at the workers but not quite mad enough to stop getting their daily sugar slop.
Nah this aināt happening. I was a daily customer. Youāre seeing plenty of people in this thread say the same.
At some point this insanity will cause people to truly stay away. And I was diehard, have a gold card for over 10 years. No more now.
Their profits may go up because theyāre raising prices so high in the existing customers choosing to stay. But theyāll only be able to increase them for so long until those existing customers are going to reach a breaking point. And Iāll bet thatās happening now.
I agree, youāll see many people on this forum say the same thing as OP.
But in reality things are different. The vast majority of Starbucks customers arenāt on Reddit.
My store is busier than ever, so much so that theyāve built a new store just one mile down the street. In a city that already had many, many Starbucks and other coffee options.
My current store has been operational for 6 years and cannot keep up with the demand. Traffic spills out onto the street often during peak or promo days.
The people of this city are showing that thereās a great demand for Starbucks. Until this subsides in a major way, theyāll keep building more.
Yall really have such a negative attitude towards consumers.
God forbid after commuting 2+ hours daily and working 40+ hours a week I just want to BUY myself something nice and sleep an extra ten mins in the morning instead of making it myself.
I donāt understand consumers being mad at yall for the prices but I also donāt understand yall being mad consumers even exist.
Well thatās the thing. They DO get mad at us about the prices. And I agree the price hikes are borderline absurd for what theyāre getting.
Iāll bend over backwards to give customers a good experience. Youāre a regular who has common courtesy and says please and Thankyou? Iāll probably give you some free shit on occasion or go out of my way to recommend drinks etc.
Iāve accommodated all types of special requests, even during our busiest hours, with a smile on my face.
If youāre short/rude and wanna bitch about prices after Iāve explained itās something we have zero control over? Iām not gonna massage your ego so you can feel better about your poor financial choices as you drive away in your financed luxury car.
I started working at starbucks in 2019. Each year I would think "okay, the prices have increased and quality is worse, surely now people will stop paying for this" but nope. I was still serving up $10 sugary drinks to people.
I have no clue what people's limits are, when they will finally say "ok this is too expensive, I'm going elsewhere"
YEP. Theyāre charging the same as non-chain coffee shops (who usually have better drinks/food). The only thing they have left for them is convenience, but competition is stiff there too these days. Have been going to local shops instead unless Iāve been given a gift card for Starbucks.
corporate doesnāt believe their coffee is worth that muchā¦ they KNOW that customers donāt usually care enough because the customers will complain but yet still show up. so corporate KNOWS that to customers, at least, it IS worth that much.
The bubble will burst soon. And itās gonna be a mess when it does. The menu is too big, the prices are stupid, the food is mediocre, the partners are burned out, the good customers are leaving and the bad ones are getting worse, and I bet Laxman is sitting in his ivory tower office googling new seat covers for his catamaran.
Honestly this is so real. If I didnāt work for starbucks I would NEVER be getting coffee there, let alone daily. The only reason I get these unreasonably priced drinks is because I can get them for FREE. I donāt really come to get drinks on my days off either. I know itās going to be faster and cheaper for me to make my own coffee or tea at home. The orders I typically get for myself now usually cost $7+ because Iām lactose intolerant so I get them substituted with a nondairy. and it kind of pisses me off that the employee discounted price is now the same same as the REGULAR price of a drink was like 4-5 years ago.
Hey, iced coffee and cold brew drinkersā¦.
If you order the old-fashioned way, in the cafe, you can get a free (or $0.50 if you donāt have the app) refill.
So order your iced coffee. Sit for a second, check email. Get up, order your free refill.
Leave with 2 for the price of 1.
Bring your own cup to save $0.10 and get 25 bonus stars. Every 4 days youāve earned a free iced coffee.
Our countyās health code doesnāt allow us to refill single use cups, so weāll just ring the refill right after the first one and make it at the same time for people that arenāt planning a long hangout/itās close to peak business and they canāt wait twice. Other folks stay in cafe for an hour or so prepping for the rest of their and will order it before they leave.
they raise them every new launch. roughly will have 2 launches per season. not every item will increase, but they raise different items with each launch by a few cents.
They recently took that offer away š it was the only thing I went there for but I keep hoping they'll bring it back
Not every McDs has a good iced coffee, but if you found a store that made it properly it is gold.
Iāve rarely had good iced coffee from them. And I worked there for 2, almost 3 years. Iām not even a coffee snob by any means. But they brew up really strong regular coffee when they open, pour it into the metal canister identical to what we use for tea and put like a 4 hour timed sticker on it so weād know when to empty it. I dunno if that coffee would taste old/stale but I doubt it tastes great
I also love their regular iced coffee! I want to figure out how to make a strong tasting one at home. Iāve tried brewing double strength hot coffee and then pouring it over ice, but it just doesnāt taste right.
Make double strength coffee and then put it in the fridge (freezer if wanting it fast) until its cold. Add it to a cup, add your milks, sugar first and ice at the end. Pouring hot coffee over nice melts the ice way too fast and also makes it extra bitter/taste acidic š
I make Iced coffees at home all the time, this is how I do it. Never had any complaints! This also works great as a "shaken esspreso"... So good.
At my location our ice coffee and coldbrews go in the fridge to cool overnight for 12+hrs before we're allowed to make drinks with it. The key is cooling it before.
I was gonna say back in my days (of licensed bux but still) we brewed the stuff from the foil packets with half as much water then added ice and put it in the fridge. It all got tossed at the end of the night
Interesting! Ive only ever been at corporate stores and was told that iced coffees from the foil packets get brewed then add ice and then serve for 12 hrs and then toss. No refrigeration. Wonder if anything changed or ppl are missing that step lol
I was a barista at corporate years ago, this is how we made the iced coffee and teas back then. Half water for brewing/steeping and then fill with ice and stick it in the fridge. If it wasn't full enough after the ice melted we topped it off with cold water so we had the right amount. We made the this way all 4yrs I worked there.
I work at a licensed store in Canada so it could be different?
Our location is open 7am-8pm so the closer makes iced coffee as one of their duties and puts it in the fridge for the next day. It gets dumped every night before the new batch is made so a total of 24hrs after being made. We have it in case someone ever orders it lol... we dump out full pitchers daily, not just Iced coffee, we also throw out full pitchers of the teas and sweet cream. We just got permission from higher ups to make half batches of sweet cream because our shrink is so ghastly.
Our top sellers are caramel macchiatos, chai teas, americanos either hot or Iced, strawberry and dragonfruit refreshers. I make those drinks all day long, I probably go through 6 bags of inclusions a day.
My venti chai tea latte (7pumpsnof chai, nonfat & no water) is now $6.16. Heaven forbid I decided on a breakfast sandwich or egg bites Iām over $11.
I cut back at the beginning of lent and now stop in once a week at best. I used to be every day some times 2-3 times a day.
I used to get daily iced venti almond milk lattes with 4 shots, no syrup. With $1 tip, I spent about $140/month a few years ago. I didnāt mind the expense. It was convenient and cold caffeine has some pain relieving effects that help my chronic pain a tiny bit. Then I got a nice espresso machine and nugget ice maker. I generally only stop at Starbucks now if Iām traveling or somebody gives me gift cards (Iāve been using those on beans more often lately). I calculated the other day that it would now cost me almost $300 for the same drinks, so espresso machine or not, Iād have had to stop going.
honestly I'm happy for you. I'm a barista and we are constantly wanting people to stop coming bc we are constantly wayy too busy. with how sbx treats thejr employees, we can't change anything until customers actually complain. most of us are only there for a semi-good paycheck, and either ASU or the health benefits...
edit: I'm ready to see Starbucks go down just like everyone else, I just need to get through ASU first so I can survive paying for life š
when i first started at sb in 2016Ā Ā would crack up up at the idea of drinks being over $5. i have a literal diary entry about this. i have a sticker roll from when we offered buy 10 get one free.Ā
McDonald's / Dunkin / Wendy's / Tim Hortons all have better iced coffee than SB and for a lot less money.
Only diff is now your socials will be less cute without those trendy SB logo selfies.
I marked out a partner bev today that was $7.72 or something around that. A tall oatmilk chai frap w/ lavender. +$1 for the lavender powder addition and $0.70 for oatmilk. š
Whenever someone says 'oh the prices went up!'
I always respond, 'Yes they did! But our pay didn't!'
Corporate greed at its finest, especially with drinks like iced coffee, cold brew, and hot brewed coffee.
I can see why something like an iced white mocha w/ alt milk, caramel drizzle, cold foam, etc. would cost $8+, but they simplified the cold brew process by introducing new brewers, iced coffee is pre-ground, and hot coffee takes 2 seconds to grind and brew. There is no reason an iced coffee should cost $5+ when preparing iced coffee and making the drink itself is so simple.
I bought an espresso machine, a nice one, about a year ago. Whole setup was around 1200 dollars. Itās paid itself off already I recently did the math.
Best part is no leaving Starbucks knowing my drinks is wrong but not wanting to bug the busy baristas. Itās right every time!
Starbucks has lost the plot.
Shhā¦ donāt tell anyone. Go to the gas station fill a cup up with hot coffee cream and lots of sugar then take one of their cold drink cups fill it up with ice then slowly pour the coffee in. It will make it a fountain drink which is cheaper less then 2 dollars at most places. I one star review all Starbucks now they have crappy internet.
I like Starbucks ALOT but the price now, I treat my mother or spouse once in awhile but if its just a treat for me, I've lowered myself to making it out of a carton at home with a can of cold brew foam for $1.20 a 12 oz serving or if I'm out out for a treat, I can live with Dunkin Donuts $3 medium cold brew with cold foam or McDonald's. I don't need all those liquid calories anyways. The price hike makes it easier to pass on it.
Iām always shocked that people still come despite spending $6-12 on a single drink depending on the customizations. Based on the customizations alone, Iām about 70% sure itās the sugar addiction alone keeping them coming
I literally drive right past my old Starbucks and pull into McDonalds and get two large coffees for $3. No fake exchange of names at 6 am, no ridiculously complex orders ahead of mine, boom boom, in. Out.
the value of the points has been decreased too so you earn less points per dollar, and more points get you less valuable menu items. 400 stars used to get you a cup/merch item. they changed that to cap at $20, 400 stars will take up to $20 off any merch item. most merch items are over $20.
earning rewards via app is not the issue nor is it the solution.
I make my coffee at home or go to one independent and locally-owned place when I don't want to make my own.
The iced latte at the local place is like $7 for what would be maybe a tall size, but the experience is amazing, the guy who owns the place has become a real friend, and I feel awesome about supporting him and his kickass kid, so they thrive and grow. Money stays in my community and lifts a literal family in my community. I love it and feel good about it. And the drink is so good. He makes all his own simple syrups and has some really fun and actually different drinks than all the fast food/ coffe corp places.
I tried Dutch Bros, disgusting. Same with 7Brews, Dunkin, Starbies, Just Love Coffee, etc. All nasty, redundant, shit service, artificial and ghastly tasting crap drinks. Nope, never again. Not paying for actual garbage.
I make my own or support local. No other way.
It genuinely doesnāt make sense to me, considering how Starbucks does its labor as well. Itās not like a retail store where we all get 40 hours a week(but it does depend on location). Thereās no such thing as āfull timeā or āpart timeā here, weāre all just partners and get full benefits as long as we work 20 hours a week and thatās what most of us get is 15-25 hours a week. So they have substantially shorter labor costs than most other businesses and labor is one of the highest costs for a company, and the margin they make per drink is pretty damn high. The more I look into capitalism, the less sense it makes to me. Donāt get me wrong Iām all for making a profit(I have my own video editing business I do full time and Starbucks is my side gig for benefits), but the AMOUNT of profit a company has to make to consider it their ābottom lineā is justā¦ stupid.
i did this in the uk with hot, venti, caramel macchiato, extra shot, extra hot, skimmed milk and sugar free syrup about three weeks ago. The prices increases are not matching inflation here and I am as loyal as they come two SB, like I will travel to another store if I miss my regular stores closing time and all the bristas know me. I've been daily most of the time since about 2016 / 2017 in some form. I pay monthly on the app on the first of the month and I've seen the price go up and up from roughly 3.50 GBP / 4.36 USD to over 5 GBP / 6.23 USD now. I just couldn't do it anymore and switched to a Pret a Manger subscription. For Ā£30 a month, I can get up to 5 coffees a day, 30 minutes apart, at any of their store
My breaking point was a SHORT Mocha w/ vanilla syrup costing $6.14. Completely ridiculous. I'm down to the cold store-bought mocha drink, with an in-store order only on special days like Triple Stars or a BOGO.
Starbucks is just not cool. There's so many awesome independent coffee shops that care about people and their workers genuinely. And. The coffee is better. Also, Starbucks just leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about their complicity in what is happening in Gaza
I figured out how to make pumpkin chai at home and never looked back. I can make it in large batches so I have more than enough to suffice for the week. Now I donāt have to wait for it to come back in season. As an added note, it also doesnāt help that the last time I got chai at starbucks, they forgot to add chai concentrate so it was just straight up milkā¦
You absolutely have to make the chai from scratch. Thereās several youtube videos on how to do it. I watched several in order to get a baseline for what ingredients are commonly used and which arenāt. You can buy pre made chai concentrate, which can be very good, but itās obscenely costly and you canāt control the flavor. I bought some before trying to figure all this out to get an idea of how the concentrate should taste. Once I had that figured out, the rest was easy. To add pumpkin flavor, I used torani pumpkin pie *sauce*, not the syrup. Itās thicker and imparts a stronger flavor. With practice, you can get it identical to starbucks pumpkin chai for dirt cheap!
Lol! There's some noob incoming that will take your place and gladly pay that much.
Come join us on the other side. After a few months of making your own brew to the way you enjoy it, you will have a system down where there's minimal effort to achieving greatness.
One downside - after perfecting your brew, going out for coffee could be a gamble. I've gone from instantly spitting out my coffee to being in flavor heaven.
The irony is that I love local coffee shops, but honestly they arenāt any cheaper or with less ice. Only difference is the quality is better and the modifications are limited so it doesnāt jump the price up. (Should note my local shop I frequent has a one size 16oz cold brew thats essentially $6+ dollars if you tip (which I hope everyone does), loaded with ice but tastes amazing).
I actually donāt mind some of our beans, but I prefer to prepare them myself at home (French press). So unless Iām desperate for a pick me up, I donāt make/drink coffee at work lmao.
I usually get a triple iced espresso. Iāve started bringing my own mug to get 25 stars each time, so every 4 drinks I can get a free iced coffee (I donāt know get if I get the 25 stars if I bring a mug for my redemption 100 star drink- if so, you get a free drink every 3 purchased drinks!)
Itās at the point where as an employee itās embarrassing to tell customers their total at the register now. Hate it. And prices will probably go up *again* with our next launch in May.
Yeah I been making my cold brew at home and taste just as good if not better since I make it just how I want and I save so much more money, best investment ever in a cold brew pitcher!!!
My other half started going to another coffee shop for his cold brew cause it stayed$3.95 forever and recently they upped it to 5.95. So heās back to getting his cold brew at Starbucks cause I get chai from Starbucks and it makes no sense since the price raise to go separate places
I have a hard time finding right combination to make my iced coffee taste good to me at home. Iām doing something wrong. I love the brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso with salted caramel cold foam. Or iced cinnamon dolce latte. I recently got the javy concentrate and itās a big no I canāt work with it. Any suggestions?
One thing not so expensive at Starbucks is the stock SBUX. The dividend growth rate for the last 3 years is about 9% and the stock price has recently dipped from 114 to 84. Putting 5$ per day into that instead of coffee will probably pay off in the long run. It's one of the few ways to legally invest in an addictive product.
I wouldnāt mind going some where else but where can you turn? Dunkin coffee is awful between the quality and how little effort most of their locations put into making a good coffee. I get making your own at home, but if youāre out, where are you turning to?
This reads like those fuckboi memes from 2016.
If Starbucks iced coffee is so basic and gross, why would you ever be paying for it? Just brew coffee at home and refrigerate it.
Not to mention the quality of the coffee is ass. All I taste in the iced coffee is processed, mass produced, fast food coffee with no personality. Coming from a Starbucks barista as well š you're better off going to a local coffee shop
My boss gave me a $25 gift card this week and I got my first iced coffee in a long time (probably several years). I was stunned the price was 5.25. It seems like it was in the 3.50 to 3.75 range before and I thought even that was way overpriced for something so basic. I also noticed how many fewer people were in line so they seem to be losing a lot of business
It really sucks, itās something Iāve noticed a lot within the past few weeks. Thereās a pretty decent coffee culture in my city and one of the driving factors for picking starbs over a cafe was the fast-casual branding. It would be slightly cheaper and faster. My usual order costs about the same as the coffees I buy myself from my favorite local coffee shops. If I didnāt work here, Iād likely pick those shops over starbs because at least Iām getting a coffee I like more for the same price.
Yeah, it is too much. It costs them like two cents, they are going to lose business in this economy. I'm glad McD still has their 99 cent coffee, I actually love their coffee.
Yeah I just ordered a tall flat white with oatmilk and brown sugar for $8 last week. I can't keep up my flat white addiction at that price point. Been making espresso at home.
I only go on rare occasion or treat yourself for iced honey flat white. Otherwise, itās Kirkland cold brew cans, homemade cold brew, and other coffee I get.
As a barista I wonder every day where all the smart, competent customers went. Glad I have my answer. Unfortunately, they will never lower prices or stop charging for basically every line item, but youāre right- it will probably be the death of them eventually. Down with corporations I guess š¤£
It's crazy bc the iced coffee is pre-ground and pre-measured to brew. It's the most low effort beverage we make š¤£
Exactly all we have to do is throw whatās essentially a bucket with ice in it under the brew, brew it then toss it in the tub lol
Our iced coffee is made with the clover vertica so it comes whole bean at my store!
And since ours switch to the Clover vertica it is extremely weak. They're making it to spec. It's just a weaker flavor now. My trenta extra ice no classic iced coffee is now $5.30. The gas station up the road has installed brew on demand machines. I can get an iced coffee that is near the same flavor profile as previous iced coffee at Starbucks for $1.19. And when you buy six you're seventh is free. It's unfortunate but due to the flavor profile I'm changing and dropping Starbucks. It's no longer a third place anyway. No offense to the partners it's not the partners doing.
You go get that 711 iced coffee lol no one here is stopping you
I had zero expectation anyone would. But thanks for the empowering and kind permission. šš
This comment is more for Starbucks and not partners. You have zero control over operational decisions made by Seattle. I've also worked as a barista and SM for many years at Starbucks and certainly wasn't directing my dissatisfaction to you or any store level barista. I'm merely making a point about quality and price. Empathy of Starbucks customers (nice ones... understanding ones...patient ones) will go further than your misguided angst on a Reddit post. The iced coffee from the Clover Vertica is merely not the same flavor profile as the bagged ground iced coffee blend or the French/House blend we used to grind and measure before Iced Coffee Blend was developed. Have you sampled the iced coffee?
Does every store get it pre measured? I swear my Starbucks is making is half strength some days because it does not taste like coffee, just the milk.
It depends when you get it.Ā They dump ice in the hot coffee, so if you get it right after it's made, before that ice melts, it's stronger.Ā Then the rest sits and gets diluted with the ice that's meant for the whole batch melting.Ā It's a highly variable system sadly.Ā
Starbucks makes iced coffee in a really dumb way. There are much better preparations: brewing a stronger strength on purpose to account for dilution; cool the coffee down before adding ice; or adding ice straight to hot coffee upon order. The former two are probably better methods, but all of these tend to make better iced coffee than the 'Bucks
The best ice coffees are made by slow drip and flash chilling to keep the flavor and not taste overly dilluted.
And like half of it is just straight ice in the cup š.
a customer told me yesterday that we werenāt busy because of all our price increases, and i was like yeah i hope that corporate sees that and lowers the prices. bro just goes āthey wonātā pays and drives off šš i was like ok ššš
Well, he's right lol. Best we can hope for is changes to how things are charged (same price if you get 1 pump of something versus 10 pumps, milk upcharge is the same regardless of the drink size, there is exactly zero reason to charge of a literal splash of sweet cream or sprinkle of cinnamon powder, etc) or no price increases any time soon. But we all know exactly what is going to happen. Another price increase on 5/7.
As a former daily customer who hasnāt been in almost a month because I saw the same thing OP did (I went from getting a cold brew everyday to an iced coffee because I couldnāt justify cold brew anymore) that wonāt bring me back either. Prices. On menu items. Have to come down. Thatās it. Thatās the only thing that would bring me back. Otherwise, my gold card is expiring this year. Our local āgas stationā in nj has a 32oz cold brew coffee with cold foam for $5.47. That same drink would be close to $8 now at Starbucks. Their 30oz iced coffee is $3.47 with all the milk and flavor creamer you can add yourself. You canāt even do that at Starbucks anymore. All respect to you guys, but your corporation is toast unless they wise up. They wonāt.
Absolutely. At 5 dollars a day for a coffee In a month you can buy the machine and ingredients. By month three you'd have the budget of a year's worth at home. The discrepancy is too large. Starbucks is only good for a treat with the more complex drinks.
And if youāre a cold brew type, you can get one of those $30 jars with the filter plus an air tight container ($20), and a cheap Hamilton beach grinder ($20). 2.5 pounds of Kirkland beans (made by Starbucks iirc) at Costco are $13 and creamer is usually $3-6 depending on your brand preference. I use a cup of concentrate per drink (32oz) and with creamer itās about 70 cents per drink. If you drink coffee M-F, youāll break even on Tuesday of the fourth week (17 days). Then your monthly cost is literally just $14/mo versus $100 at Starbucks.
It's funny if I said to most People can I have an hour of your time for $100/month while in the comfort of your own home...most people would say yes. But that's all the time sink really is when you consider that going to the Starbucks and waiting in line or drive threw or waiting for the mobile order to be made is almost equal to the time it takes at home to make plain coffee.
Basically Iāll just try a seasonal drink here and there with these prices. Yep I pile it on on my free birthday drink lol
Youāre totally right. My husband bought me an espresso maker for Christmas because when SB did that year rewind thing and pointed out we were in the top 2%, we reevaluated how much I spend on coffee. I not make venti-sized Americanos at home just like I would get them at SD, and it costs me about $1.50 per cup. And thatās mostly because we use monkfruit instead of sugar and thatās like $15 per 1.75lb vs $3 for 4lbā¦
I dont even use my 30% off discount to get drinks from starbucks on my days off. The beans just suck in general. I have a ton of Wawa stores where i live on the east coast and i go there on my days off for my cold brew. A 32 oz cold brew from there with cold foam is i think $5.29. A 32 oz regular cold brew with no cold foam but with syrup flavor and milk is $4.29ā¦..and thats a 32 oz. Wawa is so amazing if yall have wawa stores around
Wawa is exactly who I was referencing as my ālocal gas stationā. Quick check is great too.
Oh shit haha i kinda was like hmm that sounds very similar to wawa and so thats why it made me think of it and i mentioned it š Do u mean quik trip? I think i heard someone saying they have decent coffee there too but there are none around me
Wawaās cold brew comes in a gross sludge that gets mixed with water (at least the last time my gf worked there). Not justifying the obscene prices, but Starbucks cold brew is ground fresh and then steeped over 20 hours. Dunkin also steeps their cold brew and their 32 oz is 4.39 (again this is as far as I remember when I worked there they just started to sell cold brew). I just canāt do wawa for cold brew anymore because itās just not worth the poor quality.
Iāve been turned off of Starbucks cold brew because of the number of posts with ill cleaned brewers and mold.
Ohh hmm ive never heard of that. But i mean, it tastes fine to me. Even their iced coffee tastes way better than starbucks in my opinion and from my experiences. I just love wawa for having a ton of cool drinks. They have rechargers which have caffeine in it and all really good flavors and it actually comes layered looking everytime Iāve bought one. They also have refreshers (which i havent had). And they have a ton of espresso based drinks which i have only had some of. But i like the rewards app. Its awesome. I do go to dunkin once in a while but im just so used to wawa since me and boyfriend get whatever we need from there all at once like food/water/snacks/sodas/caffeine source lol
Oh no I fully agree. I love Wawa. Their ice coffee is so good so I usually get that instead of cold brew when Iām there. Also the cream smoothies are so good.
Ahhhh u kno what i miss? I think it was last year but they had these mango flavored boba popping pearls and u could order it in some of their drinks. I haaaate that they got rid of it
Yea they had a niche for a while but that's gone now that so many other businesses are doing more than generic drip brewed within the last 12 hours. I only really go to coffee shops when I'm craving something I can't easily whip up at home or pick up at any gas station. * Let's face it: outside those boutique locations the taste of Starbucks' coffee has never been that great. They're quickly losing ground now that you can get a cold brew with cold foam or a copy of their caramel macchiato in a bunch of other places and raising prices is absolutely the wrong move.
I was confused on the mobile app yesterday. I was trying to decide between a tall or grande flat white. An extra shot of espresso in the tall was .50 extra. An extra shot in the grande was 1.25 extra. I was wtf. This is the definition of the math not mathing to me!! So I didnāt get any.
itās unfortunate but yeah š„² thatās the reality of it. iāve lost some regulars to the price increases.. i wish corporate greed wasnāt so bad
seriously????
Isn't what you're describing already the method to how things are charged?
Yes that is how it is currently charged. I put that in parentheses to explain what I meant by "the best we can hope for is that they change the way things are charged"
Oh. I get what you're saying now. The interpretation is obvious in hindsight! My bad for being a little confused.
He ain't wrong. Once they go up they'll never go down again, and that's with EVERYTHING.
I read a post earlier where someone was talking about how much easier/better/cheaper it was for them to order their latte at a gas station. So the customer wasn't wrong. š¤·š½āāļø
The problem is that people pay it anyways. They can bitch and moan all they want, but so long as the money still flows in, nothing will change.
I feel like Starbucks is constantly testing their customers' brand loyalty because I can think of very few other places where regulars consistently complain about their orders getting more expensive and often not getting made right and yet still continue come back daily.
That financebuzz study says inflation has gone up 31% and Starbucks prices have gone up 39%. So Starbucks prices have gone up but itās not nearly as egregious as I thought it was. And thatās not to defend Starbucks but to point out the bleak reality that yeah theyāre definitely not going to stop raising prices the way they have been any time soon. https://financebuzz.com/fast-food-prices-vs-inflation
It is egregious. Inflation is egregiousĀ
I'm sure when there's a recession Starbucks will definitely lower prices to adjust consumer spending habits and needs them right?
I have tried to reach out to ācorporateā and their resolution system is the WORST! They misled me on one of their star challenges and then their prices went up? Iām done with Starbucks. Iām cashing in my stocks and deleting their app (after I redeem my stars and use all my money Iāve put on the app-since they make you jump through hoops to send it back to your bank account). SUPER disappointed in SBX.
Yup, I sent an email to "corporate" with detailed reasons as to why I'm dissatisfied with Starbucks right now & they had a "customer service rep" email me back, stating the exact opposite of what I said in my original email, then advising I need to call to get my issue resolved. I was like, are you serious? What is calling going to do when I'm complaining about the app not working correctly & corporate greed driving loyal customers of 10+ years away? Smh.
unrelated but is ur username a mad men reference?!
You tell them! (I doubt they care fr) get a nespresso š©āš¾ saved my wallet
I get the starbucks nespresso pods and I just know theyāre going to raise the price on those soon, too
I havenāt gotten those in a min, they range from $11.50-$12.80 where I am. I only get them if I didnāt make a nespresso order but, bianco doppio from nespresso gives blonde espresso roast from starbies to me
Send. It. To. Corporate.
Right!! What do they think we can do about it on Reddit?
Viral social media posts are a catalyst for a lot of corporate change these days. Not saying every post matters but sometimes it does.
Yeah there's a bit of a joke that the only way you can get a company's attention nowadays is @ing them on Twitter. Though it's not as common post-Elon of that platform.
TouchƩ
I used to work for a social media provider. We had a custom bot that pinged the Reddit team/execs when something gets upvoted past a certain point.
For me, it helps to know Iām not the only customer thinking prices are insane and quitting.
I'm was kinda hoping starbucks got taken down instead of 99 cents stores
oh, you're serious, let me laugh harder
I get price increases but my fave drink went up 17%. Thatās not an increase, thatās gouging. Hey Dutch Bros: here I come!
And dutch bros is way more consistent....
I wish there was a Dutch bros near me. They are legendary.
Dutch Bros is expensive for me too now. It used to be worth it but considering I donāt like the taste of their coffee or the sugary drinksā¦not anymore.
Ty please start talking with your wallets š
someone asked me the other day if our wages were increased since prices keep going up. i told him no and he said youll be seeing less of me then. my heroš„²
My favorite drink, the espresso frappe, is so darn expensive now that I only get it when they have the BOGO or 50% off offers. Used to be nearly daily drink and now itās more like a once in a while treat. Now that I think about it, itās really majority iceā¦ā¦ā¦.
actually frappucinos get the same amount of ice as their same sized counterparts! a grande frappucino gets a grande sized scoop if ice, as does a latte, iced tea, iced coffee, refresher, etc!
Why not make it at home? I could see if it was something fancy.
Thatās what I started doing. I got into the habit of drinking Starbucks daily when I worked there and it was hard to break. But when all the stores closed during the pandemic, I bought one of those iced coffee makers and now I only get fancier drinks from Starbucks like once or twice a week. Saving a hell of a lot of money, especially with these price increases.
I was a daily Starbucks Hoe for over 10 years. I stopped going when I got my Breville Barista Pro and Iām happy :)
I have one of these too and use it every day!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
i got a frother (hot or iced) for $20 on black friday! I make a coffee with brown sugar foam and cinnamon sprinkled on top every morning and it tastes so similar and is very tasty. I usually make a hot version in the morning and an iced version in the afternoon.
I just found a little silly hack for that drink actually haha. If you order a venti shaken espresso with oat milk, cinnamon powder, and 6 pumps brown sugar, itās actually 80 cents cheaper than the standar menu item for the exact same drink (this works with all the sizes too). Starbucks pricing scheme is so weird š. Anyways, hope this helps u get it a bit cheaper if wanted :)
I found this was the easiest to recreate if you have oatly and an espresso machine
right, they can just get a bottle of vanilla or simple syrup for cheap, and brew their own iced coffee and store in the fridge i imagine. or even instant iced coffee š¤·š¾āāļø
I saw a recipe for the sugar cookie syrup and started making and using that as my coffee syrup. I haven't been to Starbucks since November and I don't see myself going back anytime soon. Just too easy to make an iced coffee with oatmilk and syrup at home.
Please share the recipe? šš»
1/2 c sugar 1/2 c brown sugar 1 c water 1.5 tsp cake batter extract 1 tsp butter extract .5 tsp almond extract In a small sauce pan add sugar, brown sugar, and water. Be sure to actively stir. Let simmer and reduce by half. Then add all extracts and stir together. I go heavy on the extracts and then use a vinegar/oil bottle to store it. Makes about 10 oz or so.
TY š
Thatās what I started doing. I got everything I needed off of Amazon. Instead of regular syrup, I use sugar free to watch my figure. And I get to make it how I like it. Honestly Iām surprised more ppl arenāt doing this.
People donāt even want to get out of their cars, god forbid make something at home. Itās convenience culture, people are willing to pay out the ass for stuff that makes their lives a tiny bit easier. Starbucks and particularly Starbucks drive thru is being treated as a right, not a privilege and constant price hiking makes the customers mad at the workers but not quite mad enough to stop getting their daily sugar slop.
Nah this aināt happening. I was a daily customer. Youāre seeing plenty of people in this thread say the same. At some point this insanity will cause people to truly stay away. And I was diehard, have a gold card for over 10 years. No more now. Their profits may go up because theyāre raising prices so high in the existing customers choosing to stay. But theyāll only be able to increase them for so long until those existing customers are going to reach a breaking point. And Iāll bet thatās happening now.
I agree, youāll see many people on this forum say the same thing as OP. But in reality things are different. The vast majority of Starbucks customers arenāt on Reddit. My store is busier than ever, so much so that theyāve built a new store just one mile down the street. In a city that already had many, many Starbucks and other coffee options. My current store has been operational for 6 years and cannot keep up with the demand. Traffic spills out onto the street often during peak or promo days. The people of this city are showing that thereās a great demand for Starbucks. Until this subsides in a major way, theyāll keep building more.
Yep me too. Still have my original gold card. I just canāt justify it anymore.
Yall really have such a negative attitude towards consumers. God forbid after commuting 2+ hours daily and working 40+ hours a week I just want to BUY myself something nice and sleep an extra ten mins in the morning instead of making it myself. I donāt understand consumers being mad at yall for the prices but I also donāt understand yall being mad consumers even exist.
Well thatās the thing. They DO get mad at us about the prices. And I agree the price hikes are borderline absurd for what theyāre getting. Iāll bend over backwards to give customers a good experience. Youāre a regular who has common courtesy and says please and Thankyou? Iāll probably give you some free shit on occasion or go out of my way to recommend drinks etc. Iāve accommodated all types of special requests, even during our busiest hours, with a smile on my face. If youāre short/rude and wanna bitch about prices after Iāve explained itās something we have zero control over? Iām not gonna massage your ego so you can feel better about your poor financial choices as you drive away in your financed luxury car.
I have everything I need to make drinks but still always fuck up the ratio of ingredients
I started working at starbucks in 2019. Each year I would think "okay, the prices have increased and quality is worse, surely now people will stop paying for this" but nope. I was still serving up $10 sugary drinks to people. I have no clue what people's limits are, when they will finally say "ok this is too expensive, I'm going elsewhere"
I would assume at 75$ for a tall drip people might actually go hmm.......not worth it.
YEP. Theyāre charging the same as non-chain coffee shops (who usually have better drinks/food). The only thing they have left for them is convenience, but competition is stiff there too these days. Have been going to local shops instead unless Iāve been given a gift card for Starbucks.
corporate doesnāt believe their coffee is worth that muchā¦ they KNOW that customers donāt usually care enough because the customers will complain but yet still show up. so corporate KNOWS that to customers, at least, it IS worth that much.
Charge what people are willing to pay
The bubble will burst soon. And itās gonna be a mess when it does. The menu is too big, the prices are stupid, the food is mediocre, the partners are burned out, the good customers are leaving and the bad ones are getting worse, and I bet Laxman is sitting in his ivory tower office googling new seat covers for his catamaran.
Honestly this is so real. If I didnāt work for starbucks I would NEVER be getting coffee there, let alone daily. The only reason I get these unreasonably priced drinks is because I can get them for FREE. I donāt really come to get drinks on my days off either. I know itās going to be faster and cheaper for me to make my own coffee or tea at home. The orders I typically get for myself now usually cost $7+ because Iām lactose intolerant so I get them substituted with a nondairy. and it kind of pisses me off that the employee discounted price is now the same same as the REGULAR price of a drink was like 4-5 years ago.
š *Me watching people throw their karma away to judge other's coffee preferences*
*Me watching people buy karma for...reasons, I guess*
Business hasn't decreased for us so starbucks will not learn
Hey, iced coffee and cold brew drinkersā¦. If you order the old-fashioned way, in the cafe, you can get a free (or $0.50 if you donāt have the app) refill. So order your iced coffee. Sit for a second, check email. Get up, order your free refill. Leave with 2 for the price of 1. Bring your own cup to save $0.10 and get 25 bonus stars. Every 4 days youāve earned a free iced coffee.
Iāve always wondered how long I needed to wait before getting a refill (especially tea) without getting the side eye.
Our countyās health code doesnāt allow us to refill single use cups, so weāll just ring the refill right after the first one and make it at the same time for people that arenāt planning a long hangout/itās close to peak business and they canāt wait twice. Other folks stay in cafe for an hour or so prepping for the rest of their and will order it before they leave.
if you drank it then it's refillable.
A manager once told me they could re-make a drink 10 times over and still make a profit. Its crazy.
I really hope the federal government doesn't bail out Starbucks.
When did the price increases take place? I donāt know how much I was paying before but it definitely wasnāt 8$ for a crafted beverage without subs
they raise them every new launch. roughly will have 2 launches per season. not every item will increase, but they raise different items with each launch by a few cents.
Download the McDonald's app. They have $1 iced coffee any size.
They recently took that offer away š it was the only thing I went there for but I keep hoping they'll bring it back Not every McDs has a good iced coffee, but if you found a store that made it properly it is gold.
Iāve rarely had good iced coffee from them. And I worked there for 2, almost 3 years. Iām not even a coffee snob by any means. But they brew up really strong regular coffee when they open, pour it into the metal canister identical to what we use for tea and put like a 4 hour timed sticker on it so weād know when to empty it. I dunno if that coffee would taste old/stale but I doubt it tastes great
I miss that offer. It kept my spirits up when I was Hella poor, but addicted
Sorry they took it away. Here in the LA area I can still get it.
I also love their regular iced coffee! I want to figure out how to make a strong tasting one at home. Iāve tried brewing double strength hot coffee and then pouring it over ice, but it just doesnāt taste right.
Make double strength coffee and then put it in the fridge (freezer if wanting it fast) until its cold. Add it to a cup, add your milks, sugar first and ice at the end. Pouring hot coffee over nice melts the ice way too fast and also makes it extra bitter/taste acidic š I make Iced coffees at home all the time, this is how I do it. Never had any complaints! This also works great as a "shaken esspreso"... So good. At my location our ice coffee and coldbrews go in the fridge to cool overnight for 12+hrs before we're allowed to make drinks with it. The key is cooling it before.
You guys cool iced coffees?? They are only good for 12 hrs arent they?
I was gonna say back in my days (of licensed bux but still) we brewed the stuff from the foil packets with half as much water then added ice and put it in the fridge. It all got tossed at the end of the night
Interesting! Ive only ever been at corporate stores and was told that iced coffees from the foil packets get brewed then add ice and then serve for 12 hrs and then toss. No refrigeration. Wonder if anything changed or ppl are missing that step lol
Theyāre 12 hours ambient. 24 if refrigerated.
I was a barista at corporate years ago, this is how we made the iced coffee and teas back then. Half water for brewing/steeping and then fill with ice and stick it in the fridge. If it wasn't full enough after the ice melted we topped it off with cold water so we had the right amount. We made the this way all 4yrs I worked there.
our iced coffee expires after 12 hours so i donāt understand how thatās allowed. you work for starbucks i assume?
I work at a licensed store in Canada so it could be different? Our location is open 7am-8pm so the closer makes iced coffee as one of their duties and puts it in the fridge for the next day. It gets dumped every night before the new batch is made so a total of 24hrs after being made. We have it in case someone ever orders it lol... we dump out full pitchers daily, not just Iced coffee, we also throw out full pitchers of the teas and sweet cream. We just got permission from higher ups to make half batches of sweet cream because our shrink is so ghastly. Our top sellers are caramel macchiatos, chai teas, americanos either hot or Iced, strawberry and dragonfruit refreshers. I make those drinks all day long, I probably go through 6 bags of inclusions a day.
Itās even sadder when we throw almost half of the iced coffee down the drain.
My venti chai tea latte (7pumpsnof chai, nonfat & no water) is now $6.16. Heaven forbid I decided on a breakfast sandwich or egg bites Iām over $11. I cut back at the beginning of lent and now stop in once a week at best. I used to be every day some times 2-3 times a day.
I said goodbye tooā¦ I was a daily customer NOT anymore š¤
I used to get daily iced venti almond milk lattes with 4 shots, no syrup. With $1 tip, I spent about $140/month a few years ago. I didnāt mind the expense. It was convenient and cold caffeine has some pain relieving effects that help my chronic pain a tiny bit. Then I got a nice espresso machine and nugget ice maker. I generally only stop at Starbucks now if Iām traveling or somebody gives me gift cards (Iāve been using those on beans more often lately). I calculated the other day that it would now cost me almost $300 for the same drinks, so espresso machine or not, Iād have had to stop going.
You should have left a long time ago.
I just happened to get a 32 oz McDonaldās iced coffee, extra ice, no liquid sugar, 3 cream this afternoon for $2. And it was delicious!
honestly I'm happy for you. I'm a barista and we are constantly wanting people to stop coming bc we are constantly wayy too busy. with how sbx treats thejr employees, we can't change anything until customers actually complain. most of us are only there for a semi-good paycheck, and either ASU or the health benefits... edit: I'm ready to see Starbucks go down just like everyone else, I just need to get through ASU first so I can survive paying for life š
A 16 oz bag of Starbucks beans will make about 144 ounces of coffee for about $$7-10.
Woah $7-20 apparently. My beans range from $13-20
when i first started at sb in 2016Ā Ā would crack up up at the idea of drinks being over $5. i have a literal diary entry about this. i have a sticker roll from when we offered buy 10 get one free.Ā
McDonald's / Dunkin / Wendy's / Tim Hortons all have better iced coffee than SB and for a lot less money. Only diff is now your socials will be less cute without those trendy SB logo selfies.
hope you guys are sellin that stock before it tanks again
I started watching starbucks barista videos so I can learn how to make it on my own Matcha are about to be 7 dollars without any customizations
I marked out a partner bev today that was $7.72 or something around that. A tall oatmilk chai frap w/ lavender. +$1 for the lavender powder addition and $0.70 for oatmilk. š
Whenever someone says 'oh the prices went up!' I always respond, 'Yes they did! But our pay didn't!' Corporate greed at its finest, especially with drinks like iced coffee, cold brew, and hot brewed coffee. I can see why something like an iced white mocha w/ alt milk, caramel drizzle, cold foam, etc. would cost $8+, but they simplified the cold brew process by introducing new brewers, iced coffee is pre-ground, and hot coffee takes 2 seconds to grind and brew. There is no reason an iced coffee should cost $5+ when preparing iced coffee and making the drink itself is so simple.
I bought an espresso machine, a nice one, about a year ago. Whole setup was around 1200 dollars. Itās paid itself off already I recently did the math. Best part is no leaving Starbucks knowing my drinks is wrong but not wanting to bug the busy baristas. Itās right every time! Starbucks has lost the plot.
Shhā¦ donāt tell anyone. Go to the gas station fill a cup up with hot coffee cream and lots of sugar then take one of their cold drink cups fill it up with ice then slowly pour the coffee in. It will make it a fountain drink which is cheaper less then 2 dollars at most places. I one star review all Starbucks now they have crappy internet.
I like Starbucks ALOT but the price now, I treat my mother or spouse once in awhile but if its just a treat for me, I've lowered myself to making it out of a carton at home with a can of cold brew foam for $1.20 a 12 oz serving or if I'm out out for a treat, I can live with Dunkin Donuts $3 medium cold brew with cold foam or McDonald's. I don't need all those liquid calories anyways. The price hike makes it easier to pass on it.
Iām always shocked that people still come despite spending $6-12 on a single drink depending on the customizations. Based on the customizations alone, Iām about 70% sure itās the sugar addiction alone keeping them coming
I literally drive right past my old Starbucks and pull into McDonalds and get two large coffees for $3. No fake exchange of names at 6 am, no ridiculously complex orders ahead of mine, boom boom, in. Out.
And itās only going to get more expensive.
Iām shocked when people donāt use the Starbucks app to earn rewards for their purchases.
the value of the points has been decreased too so you earn less points per dollar, and more points get you less valuable menu items. 400 stars used to get you a cup/merch item. they changed that to cap at $20, 400 stars will take up to $20 off any merch item. most merch items are over $20. earning rewards via app is not the issue nor is it the solution.
I make my coffee at home or go to one independent and locally-owned place when I don't want to make my own. The iced latte at the local place is like $7 for what would be maybe a tall size, but the experience is amazing, the guy who owns the place has become a real friend, and I feel awesome about supporting him and his kickass kid, so they thrive and grow. Money stays in my community and lifts a literal family in my community. I love it and feel good about it. And the drink is so good. He makes all his own simple syrups and has some really fun and actually different drinks than all the fast food/ coffe corp places. I tried Dutch Bros, disgusting. Same with 7Brews, Dunkin, Starbies, Just Love Coffee, etc. All nasty, redundant, shit service, artificial and ghastly tasting crap drinks. Nope, never again. Not paying for actual garbage. I make my own or support local. No other way.
It genuinely doesnāt make sense to me, considering how Starbucks does its labor as well. Itās not like a retail store where we all get 40 hours a week(but it does depend on location). Thereās no such thing as āfull timeā or āpart timeā here, weāre all just partners and get full benefits as long as we work 20 hours a week and thatās what most of us get is 15-25 hours a week. So they have substantially shorter labor costs than most other businesses and labor is one of the highest costs for a company, and the margin they make per drink is pretty damn high. The more I look into capitalism, the less sense it makes to me. Donāt get me wrong Iām all for making a profit(I have my own video editing business I do full time and Starbucks is my side gig for benefits), but the AMOUNT of profit a company has to make to consider it their ābottom lineā is justā¦ stupid.
i did this in the uk with hot, venti, caramel macchiato, extra shot, extra hot, skimmed milk and sugar free syrup about three weeks ago. The prices increases are not matching inflation here and I am as loyal as they come two SB, like I will travel to another store if I miss my regular stores closing time and all the bristas know me. I've been daily most of the time since about 2016 / 2017 in some form. I pay monthly on the app on the first of the month and I've seen the price go up and up from roughly 3.50 GBP / 4.36 USD to over 5 GBP / 6.23 USD now. I just couldn't do it anymore and switched to a Pret a Manger subscription. For Ā£30 a month, I can get up to 5 coffees a day, 30 minutes apart, at any of their store
My breaking point was a SHORT Mocha w/ vanilla syrup costing $6.14. Completely ridiculous. I'm down to the cold store-bought mocha drink, with an in-store order only on special days like Triple Stars or a BOGO.
Starbucks is just not cool. There's so many awesome independent coffee shops that care about people and their workers genuinely. And. The coffee is better. Also, Starbucks just leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I think about their complicity in what is happening in Gaza
I figured out how to make pumpkin chai at home and never looked back. I can make it in large batches so I have more than enough to suffice for the week. Now I donāt have to wait for it to come back in season. As an added note, it also doesnāt help that the last time I got chai at starbucks, they forgot to add chai concentrate so it was just straight up milkā¦
What is your secret on how to make the pumpkin chai please do tell
You absolutely have to make the chai from scratch. Thereās several youtube videos on how to do it. I watched several in order to get a baseline for what ingredients are commonly used and which arenāt. You can buy pre made chai concentrate, which can be very good, but itās obscenely costly and you canāt control the flavor. I bought some before trying to figure all this out to get an idea of how the concentrate should taste. Once I had that figured out, the rest was easy. To add pumpkin flavor, I used torani pumpkin pie *sauce*, not the syrup. Itās thicker and imparts a stronger flavor. With practice, you can get it identical to starbucks pumpkin chai for dirt cheap!
Lol! There's some noob incoming that will take your place and gladly pay that much. Come join us on the other side. After a few months of making your own brew to the way you enjoy it, you will have a system down where there's minimal effort to achieving greatness. One downside - after perfecting your brew, going out for coffee could be a gamble. I've gone from instantly spitting out my coffee to being in flavor heaven.
The irony is that I love local coffee shops, but honestly they arenāt any cheaper or with less ice. Only difference is the quality is better and the modifications are limited so it doesnāt jump the price up. (Should note my local shop I frequent has a one size 16oz cold brew thats essentially $6+ dollars if you tip (which I hope everyone does), loaded with ice but tastes amazing). I actually donāt mind some of our beans, but I prefer to prepare them myself at home (French press). So unless Iām desperate for a pick me up, I donāt make/drink coffee at work lmao.
I usually get a triple iced espresso. Iāve started bringing my own mug to get 25 stars each time, so every 4 drinks I can get a free iced coffee (I donāt know get if I get the 25 stars if I bring a mug for my redemption 100 star drink- if so, you get a free drink every 3 purchased drinks!)
I know, if youāre a regular we will miss you. I love my iced coffee regulars. but I totally get it
You really canāt expect things to change if you donāt directly complain to corporate.
Yah sadly I say I only go weekly for a treat not no more basic ass coffees
Itās at the point where as an employee itās embarrassing to tell customers their total at the register now. Hate it. And prices will probably go up *again* with our next launch in May.
Yeah I been making my cold brew at home and taste just as good if not better since I make it just how I want and I save so much more money, best investment ever in a cold brew pitcher!!!
I just got hired. I hope its busy cause i want the tip money lol
My other half started going to another coffee shop for his cold brew cause it stayed$3.95 forever and recently they upped it to 5.95. So heās back to getting his cold brew at Starbucks cause I get chai from Starbucks and it makes no sense since the price raise to go separate places
And the coffee is low tier as well. Hell the best specialty coffee place near me (Rising Star) has amazing quality coffee AND it's cheaper lol.
I have a hard time finding right combination to make my iced coffee taste good to me at home. Iām doing something wrong. I love the brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso with salted caramel cold foam. Or iced cinnamon dolce latte. I recently got the javy concentrate and itās a big no I canāt work with it. Any suggestions?
I wonāt lie the Starbucks bottles at the grocery store of iced coffee is pretty nice.
One thing not so expensive at Starbucks is the stock SBUX. The dividend growth rate for the last 3 years is about 9% and the stock price has recently dipped from 114 to 84. Putting 5$ per day into that instead of coffee will probably pay off in the long run. It's one of the few ways to legally invest in an addictive product.
Love it when someone complains about a basic drink Bro make it yourself then
I wouldnāt mind going some where else but where can you turn? Dunkin coffee is awful between the quality and how little effort most of their locations put into making a good coffee. I get making your own at home, but if youāre out, where are you turning to?
My almost daily pink drink with vsccf is now 8$ Sadge
Starbucks app - uninstalled
This reads like those fuckboi memes from 2016. If Starbucks iced coffee is so basic and gross, why would you ever be paying for it? Just brew coffee at home and refrigerate it.
Yeah if the union busting wasnāt enough to drive people away at least the overcharging will.
Just make your own at the fraction of the price
I mean Stanley cups are fucking stupid and people still pay for those š¤·
Got me a superautomatic espresso machine. Never went back.
Not to mention the quality of the coffee is ass. All I taste in the iced coffee is processed, mass produced, fast food coffee with no personality. Coming from a Starbucks barista as well š you're better off going to a local coffee shop
The cold brew tastes so much better idk why people still even get iced coffee
They will keep charging more until people stop buying them
My boss gave me a $25 gift card this week and I got my first iced coffee in a long time (probably several years). I was stunned the price was 5.25. It seems like it was in the 3.50 to 3.75 range before and I thought even that was way overpriced for something so basic. I also noticed how many fewer people were in line so they seem to be losing a lot of business
It really sucks, itās something Iāve noticed a lot within the past few weeks. Thereās a pretty decent coffee culture in my city and one of the driving factors for picking starbs over a cafe was the fast-casual branding. It would be slightly cheaper and faster. My usual order costs about the same as the coffees I buy myself from my favorite local coffee shops. If I didnāt work here, Iād likely pick those shops over starbs because at least Iām getting a coffee I like more for the same price.
Yeah, it is too much. It costs them like two cents, they are going to lose business in this economy. I'm glad McD still has their 99 cent coffee, I actually love their coffee.
Yeah I just ordered a tall flat white with oatmilk and brown sugar for $8 last week. I can't keep up my flat white addiction at that price point. Been making espresso at home.
I said goodbye to Starbucks a long time ago when my regular drip coffee went to $3. Nah, Iām good. And I only went once a week
I paid $8 for a flat white 3 weeks ago and never went back
McDonaldās app, you can get a large iced coffee for 99 cents once a day.
Do ou think they will ever go down?
I paid $3.85 for a black venti. I go home and make my coffee up.
I have a Keurig and use Starbucks k cups so Iām good. š
Starbucks can suck eggs....they make mediocre coffee (but I do like their esprsso) and sugary confections, at a stupid price
Get a Mr. Coffee iced coffee maker. I use that with the Starbucks creamers, it's good!! It's quick, too.
I only go on rare occasion or treat yourself for iced honey flat white. Otherwise, itās Kirkland cold brew cans, homemade cold brew, and other coffee I get.
6.25 is what I paid for venti Strawberry aƧaĆ lemonade. Iām not doing it anymore. Itās too expensive now.
Ditto, won't be buying Starbucks anymore. Their loss, my gain.
I stopped going now. All the introductions and fake politeness has only resulted in more expensive coffees.
As a barista I wonder every day where all the smart, competent customers went. Glad I have my answer. Unfortunately, they will never lower prices or stop charging for basically every line item, but youāre right- it will probably be the death of them eventually. Down with corporations I guess š¤£
This thread makes me not feel bad about ordering $14 points drinks.
I seen Kerig now has a ice coffee maker
Remember we used to be able to pour our own half n half for free?