Comments on: That Starbucks barista is gonna love on you

By: Kali

Kali — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:37:50 +0000

You know—and I hate to be this person because I am really not this person, honestly!–calling the baristas at Starbucks “baristas” is honestly a joke. Bless their hearts, they got a job to tide them over between callbacks for a part or part-time for American Apparel, but they are NOT baristas. I trained with the best for the first part of my inadvertent coffee career and I know more than an obvious publicity stunt could ever gain them. Eight years and I love what I do; I am excellent at what I do, and I don’t need the McDonald’s of Coffee to re-Neducate me about that. So unless Starbucks plans on going back to the old school system part-time, this is nothing but “gee whiz, we’re still awesome” stunt.

By: Cliff Bostock

Cliff Bostock — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:31:40 +0000

Darin: You have to ask for a ceramic cup at Starbucks. I always drink my triple-espresso macchiato in an au lait cup.

By: Cliff Bostock

Cliff Bostock — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:28:29 +0000

Broderick: To my mind, if you have to put money on a Starbucks card to use the WiFi, it’s not really free. I am told, however, that there won’t be a limit on the number of cards you can maintain. It just seems like an absurdly complicated scheme to me. T-Mobile will, by the way, still be available at Starbucks, according to their website.

The Ansley Starbucks has been effectively free for many people for months. Across the courtyard, the smoothie shop has a WiFi signal that many people use. But it hasn’t been broadcasting in more than a week and you already see the effect on the number of people at the Starbucks.

Yeah, Octane is great but it’s not next door to my gym and its kind of out of the way for me.

By: Darin

Darin — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:24:24 +0000

I agree that Octane is the best coffee house in the city – they have the highest quality drinks in both the brewed and espresso categories and the staff really seem to know their stuff.

One drawback is that it gets so crowded with people perched in seats with laptops for long periods of time that there can often be no available seating. That means that I have to get coffee to go in a paper cup when I’d really rather sit and drink in the ceramic cups they have for in-house customers (one feature I wish Aurora had).

Sip in Lindberg Station actually makes very comparable coffee drinks using the same Counter Culture beans as Octane, but I’m not as taken with the atmosphere there, which is more of an uptown luxury vibe than a downtown artsy one.

By: Besha Rodell

Besha Rodell — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:49:17 +0000

Octane is the best office in the city and also makes the best cappuccino. I think Aurora has the best brewed coffee, and their espresso drinks are awesome. But Octane’s got it all – great space to work, great coffee drinks, delicious tofu sandwiches, and Belgian beer (if the work becomes too stressful).

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:20:13 +0000

Oddly, the hard-core Starbuck lovers who post to the internet gossip sites really seem to despise the sandwiches, and are happy to see Schultz stop their sales. The complaint seems to be that they mask the coffee-shop smell with a McDonalds smell.

By: Jim V.

Jim V. — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:14:56 +0000

It’s hard to think â€œromance and theaterâ€ when there’s a Starbucks located in the Kroger.

By: Broderick

Broderick — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:33:08 +0000

Actually when they switch the Wi-Fi to AT&T you’ll get 2 hours free Wi-Fi per day. The catch is it seems you’ll have to use the Starbucks card (gift card, free) to get the free Wi-Fi, which is actually a good thing, can u imagine the Ansley Starbucks if it was free all day? It’s hard enough to get a seat in there….

By: Cliff Bostock

Cliff Bostock — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:54:47 +0000

Yes, I agree that Aurora’s coffee is the best in the city, but I can’t comfortably sit in Aurora with my laptop for three hoursj. It’s great coffee, but it’s a lousy office.

By: jc_atl

jc_atl — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:49:21 +0000

Frankly I think both Starbuck’s and Caribou could go out of business and I wouldn’t miss them. I grind and pull my own shots at home, steam milk properly, and save about $3 per latte. If I have to go out there are a variety of independent shops that serve better product than the McCoffee stands and they really need and deserve your business. Aurora is the best I’ve had in Atlanta – consistently smooth and tasty.