Interesting how so distant persons can have the same opinion on the subject of coffee. As Starbucks is a multiple country business, here in Uruguay have it.
I'm a fanatic of GOOD coffee. We have a business named "El Palacio del Café" (The Coffee Palace) where I buy my Moka coffee in grain to grind when I'm brewing a new jug.
The Starbucks coffee is awful.
It's true that they have space for connecting laptops and people using the connections suffer the coffee for doing their jobs.
So, is a place where you can meet strangers that chat a little more than 15 minutes (in my country.)
Sadly, I have to say that the worst coffee I had when I was married with Dr. Roy E. Carter, was the American Standard brewed wherever I went inside the 48 states (I've never went to Alaska neither Hawaii).
Thank you for your Stranger in a Strange Starbucks.
Kevin - the conclusion you drew at the end of your 15 minutes with a stranger in Starbucks piece gave me a breath of relief in the stench of our daily political quagmire. I try not to be hostage to the current debacle but some days it's hard to ignore. So, beyond Starbuck's burned coffee (agree!), your point on the importance of connecting with others is wise advice. Sort of a Venn diagram approach to life.
Also, your D2D Step-by-Step publishing videos are thorough, friendly and fabulous. Thank you! I'll be uploading my first novel (mystery) on D2D in a couple of days. YAY!
PS - For the best coffee and pastries in Austin, try ROCKMAN on Cesar Chavez. (Full disclosure - it's my daughter-in-law's new place but objectively speaking, it's terrific!)
I also love my time writing in public, and Starbucks used to be my favorite (despite the less-than-ideal coffee situation). The space was always a good experience, until it wasn't. I miss that.
I hear the new guy says he wants to bring back that third place thing, but that could just be words meant to placate us.
Anyhow, I've met quite a few writers, but also artists, graphic designers, poets, and just plain interesting people at coffee houses, and it's all I can do to keep them non-identifiable as I write them into my stories. I often wish I could take pictures of them so readers could SEE what I mean when I describe them.
Like you, overhearing snippets from tables away can be enough to spark a scene in a book.
And, for me, it's just nice to be surrounded by people, even when I'm not talking to them. Alone in public.
This would be a better story if you and I had met at Starbucks, but whatever.
Roland
PS. I don't think their actual coffee and actual coffee drinks are overpriced, unless you compare it to home coffee, but that's true of burgers and steaks, too.
PPS. Some of their coffee is actually good, but most Starbucks customers don't want that coffee. Nothing against them, but the majority of people want dark stuff with cream and sugar, which I can also enjoy at times. But why provide high-end roasts and beans that their customer don't really want. And if some do, it's not a high enough percentage to justify serving it, just for them.
I'd bet a small percentage of McD's customers would love a 'wagu' burger, but would it be worth stocking it, just for them?
These are good points. And I try not to actually complain about Starbucks coffee because even though it IS a coffee shop, the coffee isn't why I end up sitting in one. When I want good coffee, I have my pick of hundreds of excelllent coffee shops. Some of them even have an amazing vibe. But every now and then I find myself in a place where either there is no "good" coffee shop, or it's so jam-packed I can't find a place to sit. So Starbucks becomes my spot.
It's a sort of coffee-shop-anthropology, I think. Maybe I should write a textbook.
It really is too bad we didn't meet as strangrs in a Starbucks. Maybe next time.
Interesting how so distant persons can have the same opinion on the subject of coffee. As Starbucks is a multiple country business, here in Uruguay have it.
I'm a fanatic of GOOD coffee. We have a business named "El Palacio del Café" (The Coffee Palace) where I buy my Moka coffee in grain to grind when I'm brewing a new jug.
The Starbucks coffee is awful.
It's true that they have space for connecting laptops and people using the connections suffer the coffee for doing their jobs.
So, is a place where you can meet strangers that chat a little more than 15 minutes (in my country.)
Sadly, I have to say that the worst coffee I had when I was married with Dr. Roy E. Carter, was the American Standard brewed wherever I went inside the 48 states (I've never went to Alaska neither Hawaii).
Thank you for your Stranger in a Strange Starbucks.
Kevin - the conclusion you drew at the end of your 15 minutes with a stranger in Starbucks piece gave me a breath of relief in the stench of our daily political quagmire. I try not to be hostage to the current debacle but some days it's hard to ignore. So, beyond Starbuck's burned coffee (agree!), your point on the importance of connecting with others is wise advice. Sort of a Venn diagram approach to life.
Also, your D2D Step-by-Step publishing videos are thorough, friendly and fabulous. Thank you! I'll be uploading my first novel (mystery) on D2D in a couple of days. YAY!
PS - For the best coffee and pastries in Austin, try ROCKMAN on Cesar Chavez. (Full disclosure - it's my daughter-in-law's new place but objectively speaking, it's terrific!)
I am ALWAYS looking for new coffee haunts, so I will definitely check it out!
Congratulations on the novel! Here’s to your bestselling success!
I also love my time writing in public, and Starbucks used to be my favorite (despite the less-than-ideal coffee situation). The space was always a good experience, until it wasn't. I miss that.
I hear the new guy says he wants to bring back that third place thing, but that could just be words meant to placate us.
Anyhow, I've met quite a few writers, but also artists, graphic designers, poets, and just plain interesting people at coffee houses, and it's all I can do to keep them non-identifiable as I write them into my stories. I often wish I could take pictures of them so readers could SEE what I mean when I describe them.
Like you, overhearing snippets from tables away can be enough to spark a scene in a book.
And, for me, it's just nice to be surrounded by people, even when I'm not talking to them. Alone in public.
This would be a better story if you and I had met at Starbucks, but whatever.
Roland
PS. I don't think their actual coffee and actual coffee drinks are overpriced, unless you compare it to home coffee, but that's true of burgers and steaks, too.
PPS. Some of their coffee is actually good, but most Starbucks customers don't want that coffee. Nothing against them, but the majority of people want dark stuff with cream and sugar, which I can also enjoy at times. But why provide high-end roasts and beans that their customer don't really want. And if some do, it's not a high enough percentage to justify serving it, just for them.
I'd bet a small percentage of McD's customers would love a 'wagu' burger, but would it be worth stocking it, just for them?
These are good points. And I try not to actually complain about Starbucks coffee because even though it IS a coffee shop, the coffee isn't why I end up sitting in one. When I want good coffee, I have my pick of hundreds of excelllent coffee shops. Some of them even have an amazing vibe. But every now and then I find myself in a place where either there is no "good" coffee shop, or it's so jam-packed I can't find a place to sit. So Starbucks becomes my spot.
It's a sort of coffee-shop-anthropology, I think. Maybe I should write a textbook.
It really is too bad we didn't meet as strangrs in a Starbucks. Maybe next time.