I drink Starbucks a few days a week and their hot espresso drinks are fine -- but I bet most customers (myself included) really wouldn't be able to tell a $1 McDonald's iced coffee from a $6 Starbucks iced coffee. Starbucks is just using bottled concentrates for iced drinks.

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks cold drinks are such a scam. Do people not realize the iced coffee and cold brew is just concentrated garbage they top off with tap water? How is that worth $5-6????

I agree and mostly ice! I get the pre-made at grocery store now and make my own - taste even better. Lately I have been doing 1/2 unsweetened ice coffee and 1/2 chocolate milk over ice. It's delicious! Tastes even better b/c it's too much cheaper too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks is all push button and premade now.

This allows them to control the quality and ensure consistency. You should be grateful that your burnt caoffee and sugar now provides an identical crappy flavor without relying on the skills of the barrista.

I only drink Starbucks when traveling (which is weekly) and I do appreciate that my crap coffee is consistently crappy so I’m never surprised and have found a drink that I find tolerable. What gets me is when I go to an independent shop while traveling that clearly hasn’t trained their baristas and the drinks are awful. I need to be caffeinated.

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been drinking Americanos for years and I haven’t noticed a taste change recently. So I kind of doubt it.

A little off topic but from an Internet stranger; please try a real iced Americano from an independent espresso shop if you never have, you will sip it with joy bec. Starbucks' is really watered down.

They've also taken away the sugar and creams that you can self serve. So sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks is all push button and premade now.

This allows them to control the quality and ensure consistency. You should be grateful that your burnt caoffee and sugar now provides an identical crappy flavor without relying on the skills of the barrista.

Well said.

If I were a barista, I definitely would not put a shot of hot coffee into a plastic cup.

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks is all push button and premade now.

This allows them to control the quality and ensure consistency. You should be grateful that your burnt caoffee and sugar now provides an identical crappy flavor without relying on the skills of the barrista.

Starbucks is all push button and premade now.

Anonymous wrote:Starbucks cold drinks are such a scam. Do people not realize the iced coffee and cold brew is just concentrated garbage they top off with tap water? How is that worth $5-6????

An Americano isn't supposed to be an iced coffee.

Anonymous wrote:What did they say when you asked?

I didn't. They were pretty busy (AM rush) and I had to get to work.

Starbucks cold drinks are such a scam. Do people not realize the iced coffee and cold brew is just concentrated garbage they top off with tap water? How is that worth $5-6????

I’ve been drinking Americanos for years and I haven’t noticed a taste change recently. So I kind of doubt it.

What did they say when you asked?

Ordered an iced americano this AM. I’m fairly sure I saw the barista take a tall iced drink cup to some kind of vat… like a metal drink dispenser… dispense some liquid into the cup, and then proceed to fill with ice. Does Starbucks not pull fresh shots for iced espresso drinks like they used to? Or did my barista give me cold brew or something?