The Best Coffee

[BoldHighlander]

The only time I go to Starbuck's is I'm in need of a mocha fix & no one else is nearby

[dfmacliam]

I remember back in the days of CRats.. we used to take cocoa mix and mix it with the coffee... not the greatest mocha/ coffee... but the memories are priceless..

[TNKiltedWolf]

While I love coffee, and grew up with my dad drinking a pot or two a day, within the past two or so years I've had to make it an occasional thing due to stomach problems. However, if I do drink it, I prefer the Rwandan beans from Land of a Thousand Hills. It's great coffee (we use a french press) and at the same time you are helping restore the peace of war torn Rwanda by supporting the widows and families of people there. For more details go to http://www.drinkcoffeedogood.com
They are also fair trade. Besides all their activism, it is simply a great cup of joe.

[Ozark Ridge Rider]

While I love coffee, and grew up with my dad drinking a pot or two a day, within the past two or so years I've had to make it an occasional thing due to stomach problems. However, if I do drink it, I prefer the Rwandan beans from Land of a Thousand Hills. It's great coffee (we use a french press) and at the same time you are helping restore the peace of war torn Rwanda by supporting the widows and families of people there. For more details go to http://www.drinkcoffeedogood.com
They are also fair trade. Besides all their activism, it is simply a great cup of joe.

Just a bit of personal experience: I found I had a lot less stomach problems with coffee when I quit using a french press and started using a single cup paper cone filter holder.

I later read that paper filters remove cafestol which french presses do not. Cafestol seems to be associated with cholesterol problems, so I need to avoid that too.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I never deal with companies that mix political activism with their commercial enterprises. If one chooses to be politically active, fine. Just don't proselytize me with messages glued to the label of your product, which in effect say:

"Buy our product as we are marginally less exploitative of the work force than our competitors."

These companies are not only hypocritical, but insulting the intelligence of their potential customers.

After dinner we serve very strong, traditional Ethiopian coffee-- two demi-tasse and you are buzzing. Unable as I am to read Amharic (I can barely say "hello") I can't tell you the name of the product, but I buy it at an Ethiopian market in Falls Church, Va.

[Paul]

Not around here, they continue to build them & the locals continue to come.

As matter of fact in my city (& most cities in western Washington, well Seattle north anyways That I know of) you can't swing a cat without hitting a coffee shop of some sort (walk-in or drive-thru) on just about every corner, or so it seems.

Washington state is known for its apples, rain, & coffee consumption; and none seem to be abating soon

They've closed a lot of stores here - after all; many of them were within 100metres of one another. However - they've tried to establish themselves in so many countries other than USA and western Europe and failed miserabley. Most noticably Israel where they closed 80 or so stores - even though they put a lot of private investment and even donations to Israel. The public there still rejected it.
When I was in Italy the Starbucks were always absoltely packed... I later found out that they less less than a douzen within the whole country and never more than one per city.
Costa havent taken big risks and havent opened up too many stores in one area so theyre doing ok.

[callenstewart]

Pure fresh Kona if you can get it. But I like Peet's coffee in the Pacific NW. It's difficult to get here, so we usually stick with a Sumatra.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

There is a difference in the business model of Starbucks vs. Costa Coffee. Starbucks owns and operates all of its stores, while Costa Coffee (and most other coffee house chains) are franchise operations. O&Os run closer margins of profitability, and will axe, without remorse, a store if it fails to meet the numbers required to stay open.

A franchise operator will usually hang on like grim death because he doesn't want to loose his investment.

As business go, you can't really compare the two companies.

[Paul]

There is a difference in the business model of Starbucks vs. Costa Coffee. Starbucks owns and operates all of its stores, while Costa Coffee (and most other coffee house chains) are franchise operations. O&Os run closer margins of profitability, and will axe, without remorse, a store if it fails to meet the numbers required to stay open.

A franchise operator will usually hang on like grim death because he doesn't want to loose his investment.

As business go, you can't really compare the two companies.

I realise this but I was comparing their success and failure - not how the companies are actually run. I think the fact that Costa is a franchise has benefited it simply because it makes investors worry about opening stores too close to one-another.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I realise this but I was comparing their success and failure - not how the companies are actually run. I think the fact that Costa is a franchise has benefited it simply because it makes investors worry about opening stores too close to one-another.

Costa franchises grant the franchisee a defined territory-- no other Costa franchise within a specific distance, which means you don't have franchise holders competing against each other for the same customer. But your store could end up competing with a non-Costa Coffee shop right across the street.

Another thing to consider is that Costa makes money whether the franchise is successful or not. They are paid a franchise fee up front, and if the franchise holder goes belly up, they are in the enviable position of re-selling the business. That being the case we don't have any clear idea as to how many Costa Coffee franchises are in the tank.

The Starbuck's position seems to be that "marginal stores", those with less than high levels of profitability, are being closed. It's their philosophy that a Starbucks customer is a "Starbucks" customer and that they will drive an extra couple of blocks for their Starbuck's fix. So far this seems to be true, with many Starbucks stores reporting an increase in sales as near-by, less profitable, stores are closed.

Both companies are profitable-- Starbucks by eliminating the overheads of running marginal stores, and Costa Coffee by continually expanding its franchise network.

In the long run, however, it really comes down to the taste preference of the customer as to who makes the best cuppa joe.