Well, here I am on my first day in this coffee forum. Seems interesting, and defintely educational, considering I would like to open my own shop in the near future. On the subject of the Starbucks thing, we all have our opinions of them, and that's a good thing. Personally, I occassionally get in the mood for starbucks myself, but not often. The biggest thing I have against Starbucks is the environment itself. When I think of a coffee shop I think of a place where friends gather to chat all night long about school or work, playing cards, or using the computer to dig around on the internet. Or even studying, or possibly just escaping for a little while. A social experience. It should be unique, and with franchise cofee shops, it just seems way to standardized. It's boring. I'd rather hang out with my friends at my house, then to sit in Starbucks. lol. Just my two cents. When I am fortunate enough to have my shop, I'd rather be near a college campus, and have the art students there be the interior decorators. Make the shop itself a work of art. You'll never have that at a Starbucks. DAMN THE MAN! lol!