The problem is, more than anything, I really love the taste of Starbucks coffee. It's partly the romance of it - the marketing genius, the feel/ambiance of their stores, the elitist attitude of much of the clientele, but it's also the taste. Blends like House, Kenya, Columbia, and Italian make my taste buds jump for joy! And not only are there Starbucks stores within 7 minutes of me 99% of my day, the coffee pots at home and church (home #2) both have Starbucks beans ready to brew at any moment.
Here's the dilemma though, it costs over $2 now to buy a grande cup of Starbucks coffee. And as I found out two weeks ago, a cup of medium coffee at McDonald's is only $1.60 (although I saw it on sale at one location this week for only $1.00!). And while McDonald's doesn't have much romance or ambiance, it's A LOT CHEAPER!
Another interesting factor is that with Starbucks coffee, I usually really enjoy the first half of the cup, but the second half is hard to finish because it's so strong and getting colder by that point (I don't chug my coffee, I usually take 30+ minutes to drink one cup). With McDonald's, I really don't like the first half (too hot, and tastes watery), but I really enjoy the second half! So I endup having a good memory of the cup of McDonald's and a more negative memory of the Starbucks! In fact, I've often found myself trying to convince myself to stop for Starbucks because the last experience was so bitter! And oftentimes, I end up getting Lattes or Frapps instead of the coffee -- but that doubles or even triples the price and adds sugar.
So, I'm at the point now, that if I'm going to stop someplace and buy coffee, I'm going to force myself to be content with McDonald's. In fact, I've decided that unless I'm meeting a friend there (couple guy friends I frequently meet up with and Starbucks is a great place for it), I'm NOT going to Starbucks. It's just not worth the extra money - whether it be $0.40 or $0.80 or even more! So unless I need a LOT of caffine (like driving all night or have a ton of work to do) and get a Black Eye (coffee + two shots of espresso), I'm a McDonald's man.
Did I just type that? I'm really getting old. One day I'll probably be blogging about the great Senior discount I'm now eligible for at McDonald's....!
A thermal travel mug will solve your heating problem. Also, if you use your own you get 10 cents off. (in case you have a day where you need the extra caffeine) Also, your brother probably already told you this, but the darker the roast is the less caffeine there is. So a black/red eye doesn’t have any more caffeine. Although, I know the taste of the darker roast gives you a jolt which makes it feel that way. Counter-intuitive, but all true.
Thanks, Lisa! I do use a thermal mug for the morning coffee I brew at home. I’ve always felt weird asking a Starbucks barista to re-use that though because it’d always be dirty (and I’m such a clean freak that would bother me to re-use it if it hadn’t been washed out with soap!).
And I definitely go for the mild brews — used to like the bolder ones, but the past year or two, it’s mild/light bold only (unless the only option is Pike Place, and in that case, I’d rather have super-bold). Pike should have never been invented