Starbucks - a first

[CNXBKKMAN]

I have been to a Starbucks in Taipei only because a friend who is a massive Starbucks fan had vouchers for free coffee. I thought the coffee was wank as we say back home.

Apart from the coffee not being too great i don't like they way they pay no tax in the UK and probably other countries. They run the business at a permanent "loss" to avoid tax. They expand this "loss" making business year on year. Defying the laws of economics! Its all bogus. The tax they don't pay gets dumped on joe average to pay out of his average pay check. Its easy to boycott Starbucks as there are many better alternatives. I would actually feel guilty or even ill going in a Starbucks.

[quidnunc]

At the festival mall across from KFC is a superb coffee shop that i will give a 9 out of 10. Nice atmosphere and staff. Rarely do i see more than 4-5 people in the shop. A few doors down ix a Stabucks with people lining up to get in Go figure.

That's Ristr8to and their coffee is first-rate.

[bangmai]

I have been to a Starbucks in Taipei only because a friend who is a massive Starbucks fan had vouchers for free coffee. I thought the coffee was wank as we say back home.

Apart from the coffee not being too great i don't like they way they pay no tax in the UK and probably other countries. They run the business at a permanent "loss" to avoid tax. They expand this "loss" making business year on year. Defying the laws of economics! Its all bogus. The tax they don't pay gets dumped on joe average to pay out of his average pay check. Its easy to boycott Starbucks as there are many better alternatives. I would actually feel guilty or even ill going in a Starbucks.

The basic difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the latter is illegal. Raising tax rates doesn't necessarily increase revenue; lowering tax rates often does. England should have learned its lesson from the tea tax. British Petroleum did 100+ billion usd in damages to the Gulf of Mexico...do you feel better doing business with them?

People with negative net worth go to Starbucks...the real money is getting Mcdonald's coffee with senior discounts...always consistent and fresh.

Edited June 11, 2015 by bangmai

[baywatch82]

I am not cheap charlie, but no money waster also.

There is no justification for small cup of coffee to cost 120 baht in Thailand. You can actually have a nice meal for that ! Or 4 meals if you like street food.

For snobs and posers only. Facebook check-in and selfie necessary !

[brewsterbudgen]

I will repeat Starbucks=Charbucks. Beyond me why anyone would patronize them.

For their banoffi pie and a double shot latté.

[searcher22]

The only time I go to Starbucks is when I want to buy a brewed decaf. They're one of the rare coffee shops in Chiang Mai that offers it.

[LarryBird]

Op, can you let us know when you make your trip to McDonald's?

[bangmai]

Dunkin' Doughnuts' coffee is also hugely popular, at a fair price.

[JOC]

OP that is an outrageous price!

But I wouldn't patronise that company even if they were the cheapest.

I enjoy good coffee and I'm amazed that so many people keep going to this establishment even after there has been so much publicity about the practice of over roasting the beans.

I mean why would any rational person a premium price for lower quality product?

Burned Beans — The Shame of Starbucks

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/03/09/burned-beans-the-shame-of-starbucks/

I mean why would any rational person a premium price for lower quality product?

Ask that question to 25+ million tourists visiting the Kingdom each year.....................

[CNXBKKMAN]

I have been to a Starbucks in Taipei only because a friend who is a massive Starbucks fan had vouchers for free coffee. I thought the coffee was wank as we say back home.

Apart from the coffee not being too great i don't like they way they pay no tax in the UK and probably other countries. They run the business at a permanent "loss" to avoid tax. They expand this "loss" making business year on year. Defying the laws of economics! Its all bogus. The tax they don't pay gets dumped on joe average to pay out of his average pay check. Its easy to boycott Starbucks as there are many better alternatives. I would actually feel guilty or even ill going in a Starbucks.

The basic difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the latter is illegal. Raising tax rates doesn't necessarily increase revenue; lowering tax rates often does. England should have learned its lesson from the tea tax. British Petroleum did 100+ billion usd in damages to the Gulf of Mexico...do you feel better doing business with them?

People with negative net worth go to Starbucks...the real money is getting Mcdonald's coffee with senior discounts...always consistent and fresh.

The only reason the tax dodge is legal is the big corporations with their sponsored politicians in parliament and congress have made it legal. Its not right though so i am happy to avoid. I am not sure i buy anything from BP as i ride a bike but they probably have loads of businesses i am not aware of. It might be called British Petroleum but ownership is whoever buys the shares and with big companies like BP and BA a lot of the stock owners are american. I don't boycott Starbucks because they are american, only because they dodge taxes that individual with a couple of coffee shops can't dodge. Its worth boycotting any firm thats up to no good. Easy to avoid Starbucks as their coffee isn't great.

[true blue]

try if its possible not to buy anything if its American.

[LarryBird]

try if its possible not to buy anything if its American.

Ok, please don't use facebook, google, iPhone, Intel, watch our movies, take our medicine, listen to our music, read our books, etc, etc. Because, well, everything made in America sucks!!

Go drink your Est Cola while sitting in your chair from Ikea.

[bangmai]

don't forget the steak and wine, Larry.

[bangmai]

Dead Lobster sounds like your style, Bertha.

[bristolgeoff]

I don,t think it was needed in chiang mai,so many shops and little stalls everywhere.they make better coffee to I believe

[coulson]

I don,t think it was needed in chiang mai,so many shops and little stalls everywhere.they make better coffee to I believe

Are you still with us? It sounded like you were in the middle of a serious statement (and a joint) and then fell off your chair mid-post.....let us all know you are ok

[rijb]

I think his point (and the op's) is that they don't like certain products, from a very large corporation. Shocking!

And for some insecure reason, they feel the need to get all preachy about it.

[arunsakda]

One thing I can say about Starbucks that differentiates it from other "chains" in CM is the staff are well trained. They are the earliest place open unless you want an instant coffee from 7/11. Yes they have good AC too. I mostly go for black coffee and at Starbucks order an "Iced Americano" or Iced coffee and it will come with no milk and no sugar every time. At Wawee if one orders "Americano" it may or may not as there is no apparent consistency in the menu standard. (If I order "mai sai naamthan" at other spots it may have no sugar, a little sugar, or three times as much sugar as normal but that is probably still my fault for having such bad pronunciation. ) Apparently no decent person here can take a coffee without lacing it with several heaping tablespoons of sugar.

Starbucks in the states is another thing, mostly to be avoided. Recently Starbucks in Waikiki was offering "100% Kona Coffee" from the premium drip menu. So I fell for it. $5 USD for a small cup (so about 169 Baht). Completely tasteless waste of time.

They have free Wifi of course and the place is plagued with homeless charging their mobiles. One man smelled so foul that I had to move away for him whilst waiting for my order. I doubt Starbucks in CM would tolerate the presence of minging vagrantes hogging seats for hours, nursing a coffee with money begged from simp tourists.

Edited June 12, 2015 by arunsakda

[brewsterbudgen]

They have free Wifi of course and the place is plagued with homeless charging their mobiles. One man smelled so foul that I had to move away for him whilst waiting for my order. I doubt Starbucks in CM would tolerate the presence of minging vagrantes hogging seats for hours, nursing a coffee with money begged from simp tourists.

In the Starbucks in Bangkok we have the same problem with students!

[sfokevin]

I noticed the Starbucks will be opening at Kad Farrang. Right next to the new Wine Connection..

It will be interesting to see how these do in a more rural area?

[VillageIdiot]

This topic is ridiculous.

Starbucks offers a good selection of excellent coffees at somewhat exorbitant prices. Nobody forces you in at gunpoint.

If for whatever reason you don't like Starbucks, Chiang Mai has gourmet coffee outlets all over the place. - everything from the posh to the funky. There are even sidewalk kiosks that have good coffee at reasonable prices. The hilltribe blends are becoming recognized internationally for their quality. Doi Chaang, Wawee, and several others are well worth trying.

Starbucks - whatever you may think about it - is just one option in a city where you are spoiled for choice when it comes to getting a good cup of coffee.

Incidentally, the target of this ill-natured complaint is in all probability not so much Starbucks itself, as it is the omnipresence of American pop culture here in Thailand and in so many other countries.

Live with it, or try to supplant it in some way... maybe kangaroo-dung coffee could be the next big thing.

[2020]

This topic is ridiculous.

Starbucks offers a good selection of excellent coffees at somewhat exorbitant prices. Nobody forces you in at gunpoint.

If for whatever reason you don't like Starbucks, Chiang Mai has gourmet coffee outlets all over the place. - everything from the posh to the funky. There are even sidewalk kiosks that have good coffee at reasonable prices. The hilltribe blends are becoming recognized internationally for their quality. Doi Chaang, Wawee, and several others are well worth trying.

Starbucks - whatever you may think about it - is just one option in a city where you are spoiled for choice when it comes to getting a good cup of coffee.

Incidentally, the target of this ill-natured complaint is in all probability not so much Starbucks itself, as it is the omnipresence of American pop culture here in Thailand and in so many other countries.

Live with it, or try to supplant it in some way... maybe kangaroo-dung coffee could be the next big thing.

A timely and relevant reply. I suspect you are not the village idiot your name implies!

[VillageIdiot]

This topic is ridiculous.

Starbucks offers a good selection of excellent coffees at somewhat exorbitant prices. Nobody forces you in at gunpoint.

If for whatever reason you don't like Starbucks, Chiang Mai has gourmet coffee outlets all over the place. - everything from the posh to the funky. There are even sidewalk kiosks that have good coffee at reasonable prices. The hilltribe blends are becoming recognized internationally for their quality. Doi Chaang, Wawee, and several others are well worth trying.

Starbucks - whatever you may think about it - is just one option in a city where you are spoiled for choice when it comes to getting a good cup of coffee.

Incidentally, the target of this ill-natured complaint is in all probability not so much Starbucks itself, as it is the omnipresence of American pop culture here in Thailand and in so many other countries.

Live with it, or try to supplant it in some way... maybe kangaroo-dung coffee could be the next big thing.

A timely and relevant reply. I suspect you are not the village idiot your name implies!

I have my moments of lucidity.

Thanks for the good word.

[TheFishman1]

Hillkoff does some decent roasts to brew at home, I like the City blend (it's not Mocha just called that - TIT).

YEP That City blend the best I send it to my friends back in the states

[CNXBKKMAN]

try if its possible not to buy anything if its American.

Ok, please don't use facebook, google, iPhone, Intel, watch our movies, take our medicine, listen to our music, read our books, etc, etc. Because, well, everything made in America sucks!!

Go drink your Est Cola while sitting in your chair from Ikea.

The "made in america" sticker is quite hard to find nowadays. The sticker normally says "Designed in the USA" but the manufacturing is done in China. Even harder to find anything made in the UK.

[CNXBKKMAN]

No cars. I have a Trek, Specialised and a few Surlys. All american made in Taiwan. Apple com and Moto G phone made in China.

This is the most American thing in my house, a shrine to Coke and Pepsi....how young does Messi look.

[sfokevin]

I can remember an old Naam 2um thread here on Chiang Mai TV when mass panic ensued when Rimping ran out of Miracle Whip...

[Saan]

This topic is ridiculous.

Starbucks offers a good selection of excellent coffees at somewhat exorbitant prices. Nobody forces you in at gunpoint.

If for whatever reason you don't like Starbucks, Chiang Mai has gourmet coffee outlets all over the place. - everything from the posh to the funky. There are even sidewalk kiosks that have good coffee at reasonable prices. The hilltribe blends are becoming recognized internationally for their quality. Doi Chaang, Wawee, and several others are well worth trying.

Starbucks - whatever you may think about it - is just one option in a city where you are spoiled for choice when it comes to getting a good cup of coffee.

Incidentally, the target of this ill-natured complaint is in all probability not so much Starbucks itself, as it is the omnipresence of American pop culture here in Thailand and in so many other countries.

Live with it, or try to supplant it in some way... maybe kangaroo-dung coffee could be the next big thing.

What a pathetic attempt to imply a non existent attack on American culture.

I walked off the street into a Starbucks for the first time and was unhappy about the quality and price.

I didn't give a stuff whether the head office is in Kabul or Washington. It was rubbish and expensive and I said so.

Almost all Americans I know are balanced, easy going people who won't froth at the mouth when an American based coffee outlet is criticised.

I realize that America, with its large population, has a few crazies as does any country, and it's inevitable that a handful wash up on the shores of Thailand.

I suppose Villageidiot is right we just have to 'live with it' (or him).

Edited June 12, 2015 by Saan

[bangmai]

I agree...don't give a shiite, where their HQ is. It is what it is; overpriced and not that good. I an't think of one US franchise here that actually relies on Americans. Subway, MCD, DQ, Dunkin.....less than 10% of their business. What is odd. is that there are virtually no Euro or Aussie franchises here. Can you name one? Congrats to Canada, now that BK is actually a Canadian company....it's the same price as MCD in the States, so I won't be paying a premium to eat there. Those pellets they burn to give off the grilled beef smell are kind of catchy.

[philw]

"...prevent England from being annihilated..."

To use an americanism, "gotta" take exception to that.

Thank you very much for your help and let's not forget the Aussies, NZ's, Canadians, Indians, Ghurkas,Pakistanis,Chinese, Russians, Poles, Czechs, Greeks, French, Africans, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Protestants and Atheists who also helped america win the war.

In short, "Sod off ".

And the coffee sucks.....

Edited June 12, 2015 by philw