the bean in my world.

coffee. archives. 00.

the new starbucks on court and dean streets in cobble hill has provided good customer service and acceptable coffee thus far. however, last night a cashier spaced out and neglected to provide me my change.

when i brought this to his attention he immediately saw the error of his ways and handed over the five cents after obtaining a special key for unlocking his cash register.

his sister barista shared a heart-warming anecdote about the time she, herself, had to demand her three cents change. she said, 'i know it was only three cents, but it was _my_ three cents.'

overall experience: positive.

12.18 | 4:38 pm
new starbucks opened on court & dean in cobble hill. had inaugural latte, it was good. only problem so far is the disc-like wooden protrusion on the latte-receiving counter. it is placed in a direction that is counter-intuitive and therefore users smack into it. but all is well, i no longer have to travel all the way up to montague street for my espresso beverage.

11.16 | 4:57 pm
yesterday i went to the sixth avenue, near west fourth street, starbucks. the man behind the counter was short, plump, had multiple piercings, and was swishy and affected to a degree that made me want to say mean things, kill him, or at the very least spread very negative rumours about him to other patrons. my order took way too long. so what else is new?

12:47 am
eastsidejournal.com
No charges in Starbucks embezzlement investigation: Authorities seize more cars, possessions, but release Bellevue couple. superfreak couple embezzle 3.7 mil from starbucks

12:32 am
Journal
look at this cranky journal entry from scott.
Monday June 4, 2000 @ approx. 1:50 am

Scott Writes:
I just want to go on record as saying that I wholeheartedly discourage the wanton deception or misleading of one's spouse. However, the "Cup in the City" example is a damned-fine one for eliminating irate responses to leaving pieces of litter around the subway. Truth be told, "Cup in the City" is just yet another scam to excuse the public display of crap. "Cup in the City" is in fact every man's garbage. It's a fucking empty coffee cup. To make matter's worse, it was a Starbuck's coffee cup, which means the coffee it once contained was made with substandard beans that have had the living shit roasted out of them. To top it all off Starbuck's being an American company, figures Canadians are just like Americans, assuming we are too inept to make a choice as to which crappy coffee we will drink today. So Starbucks makes the choice for you with their "coffee of the day". It was a holiday, there was nothing else open, and when I finished the coffee I was on a subway platform with no readily accessible garbage disposal. I was not in a position to toss the cup on the track as this would clearly be littering. So there you have it, the truth behind "Cup in the City". So for you artsy-fartsy pansies who want to look into the "deeper meaning of art"...you probably shouldn't.

12:29 pm
Starbucks soon to have it made in the shade
why was i not informed about this special high-end bean grown in the shade of rain forest plants?

12:27 am
oops! starbucks not getting with the world beat!

12:12 am
GMJ: Starbucks Coffee Profile
whoa! starbucks' mission statement, environmental mission statement, all kinds of touchy-feely lowdown from the green money journal.

12:10 am
Cloudland Journal - May 1998
i searched google for 'starbucks' and this is what i got! i hate this kind of nature shit. luckily, whoever wrote this sips a latte somewhere in the midst of all the trees and acorns and other tedious facts about the great outdoors. is this a literary genre?

12:04 am
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Setback for Starbucks as online venture fails

11.14 | 9:34 pm
i wish i had a double, short latte right now. why, o why, can't starbucks deliver? they "deliver" a hot beverage if you buy a thirty dollar cup, some freakish ceramic mug, some hideous piece of crap i don't need. when are they going to open a starbucks _closer_ to where i (a) live, and (b) work? there are two near where i work, but they are both longish treks. i want one across the street. we don't need twenty crappy delis lining our block, we need only one, and we need a starbucks.

11.11 | 7:05 pm
i don't think i've been to starbucks in like four (4) days.

11.7 | 4:01
location: seventh avenue around thirtieth street
violation type: short cup, sip lid
description: flat lid provided with double, short latte. it was suggested that i transfer the beverage into the tall cup which for which a matching sip lid existed; however, the crema and foam would be lost in the transfer. i executed this transfer anyway, choosing to sacrifice some flavor for the sheer pleasure of strolling and sipping.
conclusion: one should not have to choose.

11.4 | 4:39 pm
i would like a red customer service phone installed at all starbucks locations. i want to be able to reach for that phone the minute things start escalating.

4:37 pm
lately i have encountered some incredibly bad customer service at starbucks. the lines are long, the baristas are into hanging out or something, lots of joking and back-slapping and personal phone calls, boyfriends visiting, all kinds of fucked-up nonsense happening when i am in a rush and waiting for my drink. why? why is that?

11.28 | 7:16 pm
i had a most horrifying starbucks encounter today. it was so bad, i don't know what to do.

10.15 | 12:14pm
ethiopia sidamo is fast becoming my new bean of choice. i never thought that would happen.

12:13 pm
this past week, i noticed an insubordinate starbucks barista, who refused to call back (an interesting play on the musical/religious "call and response" found in churches and jazz) drink orders. his swagger could be channeled into behind-the-counter heroics, but instead, his homies were hanging out and he was giving all kinds of attitude. i truly hope he is not there when i return. location: sixth avenue and twenty-something street.

9.20 | 11:24 am
last night i purchased a pound of french roast, a half pound of ethiopia sidamo, and a half pound of sumatra decaf. all ground for my gold filter. know what? i need a new coffee grinder. i gave tricky mine, because she is new to brooklyn and that was my gift marking such a glorious thing. i want a chrome coffee grinder. in my mind, i think i've seen one made by krups, but i can't seem to find it in real life. where is it? if anybody finds it, please alert me.

9.19 | 12:58 pm
it is raining, i am inside, and i am out of coffee. what am i supposed to do? put on a rain bonnet and run over to starbucks? i don't know about that. i could call on kozmo...now there's an idea.

9.13 | 10:03 pm
tricky's trip to france almost had devastating repercussions on our shared pursuit of good coffee. while i can only imagine what the coffee is like over there, here it is what it is. starbucks' french roast is damn good. as is their sumatra decaf. i recently purchased some ethiopia sidamo and found it tasty. clearly i have issues with world travel and france in particular, but coffee is coffee.