Simple explanation for Starbuck's downturn this year
By now it is common knowledge - and old news that Starbucks announced this summer they are closing hundreds of their coffee shops around the U.S.
Here is something I discovered at some point in the 2000s that I never tried in the 1990s.
If you heat your coffee up extra hot in the microwave, and then add about an eighth to a quarter cup of cold milk from the fridge to it, you get a beverage that tastes just like the Starbuck's fancy latte coffee drink.
The trick is you have to make sure the coffee is a little stronger than usual. You have to leave some water out in order to make up for the milk you are adding.
That cup of coffee costs you small change to make. Starbucks cup of coffee costs about a fiver these days.
Bottom line is Starbucks has raised the price of a cup of coffee with milk in it until it is fantastically higher than the cost of making something similar yourself. The difference between 30 cents and 6 bucks is huge!
Granted, if you are a conniseur there is a difference. Most people are not conneseurs. They go into Starbucks thanks to marketing and convenience. If they try to duplicate most of the taste of a Starbuck's cup off coffee, they will succeed.
I think Starbucks created a bubble and kept inflating it with higher prices. For a long time, it worked. Then, the bubble burst.
Anybody else tried to whip up there own cafe au lai or latte-like tasting coffee drink at home and been satisfied with the result?
Here is something I discovered at some point in the 2000s that I never tried in the 1990s.
If you heat your coffee up extra hot in the microwave, and then add about an eighth to a quarter cup of cold milk from the fridge to it, you get a beverage that tastes just like the Starbuck's fancy latte coffee drink.
The trick is you have to make sure the coffee is a little stronger than usual. You have to leave some water out in order to make up for the milk you are adding.
That cup of coffee costs you small change to make. Starbucks cup of coffee costs about a fiver these days.
Bottom line is Starbucks has raised the price of a cup of coffee with milk in it until it is fantastically higher than the cost of making something similar yourself. The difference between 30 cents and 6 bucks is huge!
Granted, if you are a conniseur there is a difference. Most people are not conneseurs. They go into Starbucks thanks to marketing and convenience. If they try to duplicate most of the taste of a Starbuck's cup off coffee, they will succeed.
I think Starbucks created a bubble and kept inflating it with higher prices. For a long time, it worked. Then, the bubble burst.
Anybody else tried to whip up there own cafe au lai or latte-like tasting coffee drink at home and been satisfied with the result?
posted by John Collins | 2:58 PM
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