The Starbucks Affect

At the outset, I just want to say that this post isn't going to be my usual light-hearted look at the coffee industry, leaders and trends. Rather, it will be a serious rant brought on by a feeling of frustration of most, if not all of the Barista's and Specialty Coffee Shop owners in America. I know that this sounds like a huge remark but I believe you will by the end of this post you will agree with my assertions.
I call this blog the Starbucks Affect or "What the heck Starbucks has done to the coffee industry." Not just from the perspective of the consumer but from the perspective of the barista and the perspective of the Starbucks Affect from the perspective of the Coffee shop owner.

Barista Perspective

The barista is more than just the person who mixes the drinks for the customer. He or she is an educator, counselor and encourager, occasionally, of the clientele that walks in the doors of every shop worldwide. From time to time the education part of the barista's job profile gets stretched. Let me give you a case in fact. Starbucks makes a version of a Macchiato that has come to be known as a macchiato. This perversion of the classic macchiato is no less than a rip-off. The classic macchiato is two shots of espresso with a dollop of milk foam on the top. (macchiato means to stain) in this case, the stain is the milk.

What Starbuck's passes off as a macchiato is actually a single shot latte. A Latte should have two shots of espresso. They have made the stain the espresso, thus ripping off their customers for one shot of espresso. (they get around this by calling it a latte macchiato)

To shorten up this post, I'll cut to the chase. As a Barista, our job has turned from being an educator and server of Specialty Coffee, to being a Coffee Psychologist. We have to retrain people into knowing what the correct definition and expectation of classic coffee and espresso based drinks. This can sometimes be frustrating. We have even had people come in the door and question our knowledge and in some cases our ethics because they have been brain-washed by Starbucks versions of drinks.

Shop Owners Perspective

As a coffee shop owner my take on Starbucks has done for the coffee landscape is bitter sweet. On the one hand they have helped to highlight coffee drinking to more acceptable level. People who may never have tried coffee now do because of the Starbucks Affect. So thank you for that Starbucks but on the other hand the feeling that Starbucks has sold their soul for the almighty buck is a deeply and widespread feeling among the coffee community.
In their zeal to be the #1 coffee company on the planet, they have lost sight on one glaring promise, "Serve good coffee."

As a shop owner, wanting to expand my business and serve other areas of my town, it has become impossible because of Starbucks business practices. Their effort to put a shop on every corner, serving inferior coffee, has meant that all of the available good sites have been taken. They work out arrangements with strip malls so that no other coffee shop can compete for the same business. The worst thing about this is that if they don't like their location, i.e. it isn't making $1 million dollars or more, they just leave, leaving the community with no coffee shop of any kind.

So from a shop owners perspective, in my mind Starbucks does more harm than good.
I wish I could say that I'm just jealous about the success of Starbucks but looking at the holistic effect of not only a Starbucks but any company that has business practices as they do all I can be is honest.

Where Are They At

Have you ever wondered how many coffee shops there are in Las Vegas? Not only how many but where in the heck are they all located? Well search no more. Follow the link and you will find an interactive website that we have made to help you in your search.

If your shop is on the list and it doesn't have all the details included, be sure and contact us at the Las Vegas Coffee Culture Magazine. We'll update the map and be sure everyone knows about your shop.

Just follow the link:

click here: LV Coffee Shops Map

info@lvcoffeeculturemagazine.com

The Best Coffee Shops in Las Vegas

The editors at the Las Vegas Coffee Culture Magazine took an unscientific poll, not persuaded by anything other than our own sense of fairness, flavor and fraternity. We tasted and compared then came up with a list of which shops in the Las Vegas valley were our favorites.

Anyways, we at the LVCCM did visit many of the shops in Las Vegas and came up with our list of the Best in Las Vegas. Each of these shops was judged on taste, atmosphere, product knowledge and overall Wow factor. If the shop was a major franchise, ala Starbucks or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf they were not counted in the scoring. The reason being, Espresso bars are more than cookie cutter fast food spots. We believe that the shops that we have chosen are truly representative of great coffee shops, just like you would see in coffee-centric places in Cali, Washington, N.Y. or before they sold out to Burger King, Canada.

Here are the shops in no particular order. We want you to decide for yourself which ones you would put as #1

• Galaxy Cafe- (7 Hills and St. Rose Pkwy) Out of this world atmosphere. 7 Hills area. A diamond worth visiting everyday

• Tiabi- (Maryland Pkwy and Flamingo) Near the College. Mae and Tiff you have something going on and Waffles too.
• Sambalatte- (Alta and Fort Apache) Great espresso, cool vibe. 10, 10, 10 we love Luiz
• Sunrise Cafe- (Sunset and Easter)You can smell the quality roast even before you walk in the door.
• Grouchy John's- (S. Maryland Pkwy and Windmill) JJ and his staff know how to pull out all the stops to make coffee right
• Avery's Coffee- (Sahara and Fort Apache) If I didn't mention Avery's my wife would kill me. Awesome westside cafe.

• StripView Cafe- (Desert Inn and Rainbow) Renata's shop is Mediterranean, inviting, Great pastries and wonderful charm
• Cafe Darak- (Durango and Flamingo) Crystal has taken a bit of Korea, mixed in some Vegas stock and worked her magic. Love this spot.
• Typsy Cafe- (215 and Sunset) Kim's espresso is delicious, pastries done on premises, fresh, delicate, outstanding. 

• The Beat- (Fremont and 6th) Downtown's answer to eclectic energy. It has some truly quirky angles, mocha's to die for and great customers.

When you are out and about. Remember this list of truly exceptional shops. They have fresh coffee, great taste, atmosphere. Drink safely my friends.

I had a conversation with a customer this morning. He owns a bicycle shop in our town. Our conversation revolved around the madness that he had been seeing while he drove up to our small roaster/cafe.
His travels take him by a shopping plaza where there is a Starbucks drive-thru. It was so backed up that the cars filtered out into the street. He thought to himself, "How can these people be so mesmerized by an arguably inferior product, that they would sit in a mile long caravan to purchase the stuff."
Now this was an unsolicited conversation. I never told the guy to give me his opinion on Starbucks or on anyone for that matter. He was just a regular Joe who was genuinely wondering out loud.
My concern wasn't so much about why people would drink a Starbucks cup of coffee (though I would never do so myself). My concern was how lazy we've become as a society that we can't, or won't get out of our cars to even buy a cup of coffee.
There used to be a time when people would walk, ride, get up to change the television. Get out of the car to open the garage door. Heck we used to walk across the street to say hello to our neighbors. Today just the very thought of doing anything physical is horrifying to 30 somethings and our teenagers are so hooked on video games that all but the most adventurous wouldn't attempt anything that would be physically exerting.
The long line at Starbucks is just a manifestation of a bigger problem with the PC generation. They know that the coffee that they are getting is crap, yet they are conditioned to glub it down like hapless lemmings.

Be honest, when was the last time you stopped in to a Starbucks because you knew that you were going to get the freshest most flavorful drink in town? If you are being honest and I know if you are reading this blog, you'll agree, that you can't remember the reason why you are stopping at any of those so called espresso bars. It might be out of habit, but it isn't because their coffee was fresh and good.

Specialty Coffee bars, especially those who are riding the 3rd Wave are dedicated to producing flavorful, fresh coffee. The Barista's that I've spoken with in my travels have been outstanding examples of people dedicated to making sure you have the best experience. It's those 3rd Wave folks that people should be lining up to be served by.

I Tweeted this @lvcoffeeculturemag but this bears expanding upon.

Many of you have heard about and are part of the so-called Third Wave movement in the coffee culture. That means you pay attention to things like Direct Trade, Farmers, sourcing, roasting, taste, stuff like that. After tweeting about this topic, I ran across an article about Starbucks launching a new model that they say will revolutionize the coffee industry but not to call it "Third Wave".

Unfortunately for Starbucks they are late to the party. Third Wave has been on for many years. Specialty Coffee artisans especially those in places like S.F., Seattle, Oregon, Idaho and here in LV are all over crafting great coffee, sourced from Fair Trade farmers.

It almost seems ironic that a company like Starbucks would abandon its quest to dominate the world with so-so to poor quality coffee would now try and make atonement for their folly by mocking "Third Wave".

Read the article for yourself. http://bit.ly/1wfat9J

Tim Horton...Who's Next

Tim Horton, Canada's answer to America's Starbucks, has taken the biggest step that we've seen in the coffee industry in a long time. Last month they announced that they would be selling their company to fast food giant Burger King.

I recently heard about this monumental selling. A few of our friends came into our shop. They just came back from Canada, where they are natives. I asked them whether they had heard of the Horton selling. The silence in the room was deafening. "WHAT..ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!", was the reaction from not just one Canadian but a couple of our customers, who we spoke to about the merger of the two companies.

The selling of Tim Horton to Burger King, financed in part, by Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway, marks one of the single most pivotal moments in the history of coffee in North America. I cannot stress how important this event is. This day will be remembered, as the day that the Independently-owned operator becomes the franchise maker/seller model.

Take a look at all of the major coffee shops around your city. Most of them, if not all of them are either a Starbucks or a Coffee Bean and Tea or some other major franchise. There used to be a time when "Mom and Pop" owned shops littered each and every corner of the country. The uniquely decorated and flavored shops were home to many a romantic ballad, hostile conversation or influential meeting.

It wasn't until the advent of the Franchise (ala Starbucks) store, that we saw a shift in the landscape of the coffee community nationwide. When Seattle's Starbucks began making a name for itself, with its 7-11 cookie cutter, low service, high volume metric, coffee shop owners began looking at ways to model their businesses in the exact same manner. (not you of course)

No one ever thought that Canada's Tim Horton, who had been a staple in Northern America coffee culture since the early 60's, would ever fall by the wayside and be swallowed up by of all companies Burger King. It is almost unthinkable that something like this would ever happen.

On the horizon, will we  continue to see power grabs like this by other establishments, wanting to get in on the coffee shop business. Will Bluebottle be next, maybe Stumptown? Could one of the shops here in Las Vegas become the coffee delivery vehicle for say Taco Bell. Only time will tell.