As usual, a company claims it is "addressing customer concerns" while attacking an issue that isn't the cause of their problems (not does it admit caused the problem itself).

Drawbacks is still overpriced, and they are still cutting back on how much coffee you get in cups. All in the name of shareholders' dividends.

I've heard a theory that they overroast the beans to achieve consistency throughout their market (the entire world).

@sean77: I didn't think D&D was a bad way to truncate. If they used DD, some adult site blocking software may get triggered. :p

@Doug Nelson: I still have tears in my eyes from laughing at your post!

To those who love to bash Starbucks:

You have your favorite beverage, I have mine. Don't like Starbucks? Don't go - your opinions about what I pay for my favorite beverage mean nothing. There are plenty of Indies and other coffee outfits that reaped benefit from Starbucks' faux-pas, but the sad fact is that their offerings are not always easily found. Many areas Starbucks serve don't necessarily have an independent or even the 'Me Too' Coffee chains to choose from, and Starbucks provides me with what I want in a strange place when I travel - which is a lot.

Hmm, I want the Starbucks in San Francisco (all 4565897 of them) to name their coffees after our neighborhoods! The lighter Pike Place Roast could be the Marina and the "burnt" roast could be my lovely 'hood, the Tenderloin. :)

If only they could tell the difference between sock-water, strong, and twice-blackened antifreeze.

Even so, I'm not above a cup every month or so when I'm short on time.

And why do people spend upwards of $120 a month on coffee?

Never liked the Pike Place... I was seriously hurt when they stopped brewing the bold coffee after 12:00 in my area. I stop at Sbucks on the route back to work from lunch and I've never liked the Pike Place.

@deserthiker: Ironic that the unwashed drink sock washwater. True sock juice afficianados use only socks from organic Free Trade football players (that's "soccer" to you heathens). The socks aren't washed, as the detergent lowers the acidity that's so essential to true gourmet sock juice. Rather, they are soaked for 23 minutes in 98.6 degree spring water. True afficianados let the socks soak for days, allowing a degree of fermentation that truly brings out the earthier tones. But the most important part is that the temperature never fall below 98.4 or rise above 98.9, otherwise it's undrinkable swill.

Maxwell House is swill; you probably drink Coors Light, too.

The "burnt" coffees are better although I certainly prefer Peet's to Starbucks. Light roasted coffees generally taste like "sock juice", the water used to clean dirty socks.

That's the story of the internet. Millions of people like something, but you like something else. That makes them idiots and you brilliant. 20 years ago they would have been happy and you would have been a crank.

Darkness and bitterness prevails, and I'm not talking about the coffee.

I like Maxwell House. Does that mean I'm a low-brow coffee drinker?

Don't recall this happening 20yrs ago. That's bad. I don't know if it's my memory or just my body rebelling. :)

Anyone know why they chose Pike's Place as the coffee to serve after 11 am? Was it cost?

@IfThenElvis: I travel quite a bit and there's been tons of Starbuck baristas and managers who've told me they're suppose to brew if someone requests it.

am I the only one who doesn't get any energy from coffee? No matter how much I drink, It seems to not phase me. I had a quad grande white mocha (4 shots of esspresso)(sp) and slept right after I drank it. In fact, I think it made things worse. If four shots of esspresso(sp) isn't enough to wake someone up then screw it, give me a monster so I can "Monster Up!"

Anyways, I'm always amazed at the blanketing of starbucks coffee as burnt. There'definitely some swill there. Their French Roast, supposed to taste "smoky", just tastes like ash. Sumatra, supposed to taste "earthy", tastes like mud. However, there are plenty of decent roasts there. Like someone said earlier, the roast used for starbucks espresso is actually very good brewed, though I've always found the espresso there to be watery and weak (strange that some of you hate their "burnt" coffee but will drink their 24 oz. of milk with a hint of espresso lattes). Kenya, out of a french press, is one of my favorite coffees.

Honestly, it's hard to make an opinion out of any bean unless its brewed in a french press. Which requires nothing but a kettle and 4 minutes hard labor waiting. I doubt anyone who claims "STarBUCKS BURNS ALL COFFEE LOL" has sat down with a french press and brewed any of their coffees, much less all of them, to really validate their opinion that all coffee coming out of a white bag with a starbucks sticker on it is burnt.

I live in Chicago so a lot of independent shops are loaded with intellegensia. I don't find the need for starbucks too often. But you will all be shocked to hear that I've had bad coffee at both Starbucks and local shops. I've had foamless cappuccinos made at starbucks and places using superior beans.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

If Starbucks kept their "nothing but Pike Place after noon" policy going, the streets would have run red with the blood of baristas. Some of us work nights, ya know...

@mexmexmex2000: That's the whole reason I'd get plain ol' coffee from Starbucks. If I wanted just coffee, I'd go to Dunkin' Donuts, but Starbucks had the different blends, so I could at least feel like I was drinking something different.

@Chris Walters: I think you'd see broad-based support here for Double-D...s. ;)

@Farquar: Snobbery, maybe, but at least beer brings everyone here to the table. :)

It's a good thing that Starbucks is listening to their customers.But in a sense that is the problem.Starbucks has been running off a really loyal & obessed customer base.In other words Starbucks hasn't done enough expansion into the lower priced less extravigant coffees ie:NEW customers.You can only do so much before you run the well dry.

One of the SBUX shops near me was actually serving drip espresso the other day. It was a lot better than I expected it to be and I would probably order it again.

As for Starbucks coffee tasting "burnt", I suppose it's just an acquired taste. I've been drinking Starbucks for years and other than the extremes (French, Gold Coast, Christmas) I don't get even a hint of "burnt". Try some Ethiopia Sidamo with no cream or sugar and some sort of lemon pastry...delicious. To me, after all this time, just about all other coffee tastes like truck stop coffee.

Oh great, the place reeks now, the burnt coffee smells even worse.

@B:

Heh I grow my own coffee and it is pennies per serving

I wrote and complained, got back some stupid corporate-ese form letter, but apparently they were keeping track.

Interesting that so "many" people complained about the burnt taste of the coffee only to have it brought back.

Consumers sure know what they want.

Another example of the "negative" crowd being the loudest voice.

I'll admit that I love my coffee, but if I am headed to $tarbuck$ then I'm no going for anything other than an espresso based drink. If I want drip, I'll do it myself.

@consumersaur: Surely you've seen the beer snobbery around here.. Alcoholic beverages are not immune from the self-righteous.

I buy store coffee and drink it at home. There's no reason to go to any coffee place when you can buy their coffee, or even better coffee, online.

Stabucks?

Cut it out before I get stabby.

Amen to that.

I tend to like dark pacific roasts, bordering on the burnt flavors of Starbucks.

One thing I don't get is why Starbucks is now trying to pitch itself as a place to get fresh roasted coffee. The chalkboard usually lists coffee roasted a month ago two states away, while the independant coffee shop I go to when in town serves coffee roasted in store less than a week ago. I think coffee dogma states that coffee peaks after 4 hours from roasting, and then sharply declines after 4 days.

I roast my own in a popcorn popper.

Hm, this reminds me of the New Coke v. Classic Coke strategy, bringing back a "customer favorite" to up your sales.

How does anyone drink that burnt swill? I'll admit that I'm spoiled when it comes to Java, as my local coffee place (Bongo Java-Nashville) roasts their own beans on the premises.

But even without that hook up, I couldn't see why people would pay extra for coffee that tastes like someone doesn't know the difference between "roasted" and "burnt".

AWESOME! Pike Place SUCKS!