Starbucks: Why in the world do they do this???

[nobody]

I always wondered this, but could never figure out why or how this could happen, and I have consistently watched to see it happen over many years. Anytime I see a Starbucks employee steaming milk, they just set the milk jug down on the Espresso machine with the steaming wand submerged all the way into the milk, walk away, then come back for it. I think that those of us that are even reasonably adept at making lattes, etc. know that this is not how you steam milk, but it is happening all day long. I also know that Starbucks isn't the barometer of quality coffee, but they probably are the largest coffee chain, and you would think that they would have their "baristas" use relatively proper technique. What's up with that? Do we have any current or former Starbucks employees that can explain why this happens?

Danny

 

[Musicphan]

I believe their machines have auto frothers which require no interaction...

 

[nobody]

I believe their machines have auto frothers which require no interaction...

Oh, thanks, though that is odd.

Danny

 

[froze]

Starsucks no longer makes good coffee, over the last 15 years or so they have been watering down their coffee to increase profits.

When I go into a Starsucks, which is rare, I will order a black with 2 shots of espresso just to get it to taste like a normal black. If I go to McDonalds and order a black all I need there is 1 shot of espresso. If I go to a privately owned small coffee shop I don't need to add any espresso to a black.

Geez, when I'm traveling I've gotten better coffee from Pilot truck stops than at Starsucks!

That is why I rarely go to Starsucks anymore.

 

[froze]

If you've been going to Starsucks for many years why are you still going? They've been watering down their coffee for the last 15 years, McDonalds makes better coffee than Starsucks does!

If I'm traveling and need some coffee, and all I can find is a Starsucks, I have to order a dark black and have them put 2 shots of espresso in it just make it taste somewhat strong.

But I try to avoid Starsucks at all costs, I'll go to McDonalds first, and McDonalds will put a shot of espresso into any coffee I order, and that one shot of espresso makes the coffee much more fuller in flavor than 2 shots from Starsucks. And McDonalds coffee is half the price of what Starsucks charges.

 

[CCafe]

Not that I'm trying to answer an old post but more rather then give some food for thought. When Starbucks left the traditional espresso machine for the super auto they had at the time about 17,000 stores. They did the math at that time and it took roughly $1,500 to train each employee to become proficient on the traditional espresso machine. Most of that $1,500 was spent on making them able to reproduce the same quality of drink each and every time and that steam arm was the source of a lot of lost revenue. If I also remember right they had close to a 40% turnover rate. It was costing them somewhere between $150 - $300 million year to train the turnover.

Fast forward to 2025 and they are now over 40,000 corporate owned stores just guess what that turnover would cost today? The things that make a good barista on a traditional espresso machine won't be found on a super auto because that automation was done to cut lost revenue. I'm not saying it's good or bad. I like all forms of espresso machines, well almost all. Astoria Jada's still give me nightmares and I haven't worked on one since 2014.