I don't like Starbucks, I try at all costs to avoid going there for coffee. My reasons are flimsy at best, I don't like chains stores of pretty much anything (I appreciate I'm a hypocrite because of course we shop at Sainsbury's and from time to time eat and shop and chain stores). Another reason is that their coffee always seems more like a milkshake than a coffee to me. I hate those massively tall cups that Starbucks drinks come in. I don't like the generic-ness of Starbucks, I just don't really like what Starbucks represents, and no I'm not exactly sure what that means but that's what I think. Anyway, someone else has set up a website for venting about Starbucks so I'm not going to do it any more. If you want to have a rant about startbucks or read other people's rants, go here http://www.ihatestarbucks.com.
This blog is not about crapping on about my views of the world. It's about trying all the coffee shops in Balham and telling my story about it. There is a Starbucks in Balham so last week I did my duty, and here is the low down.
I've been busy at work recently and have had to take the unusual step of doing a bit of work on the weekends. However with baby spiller being all cute at home, it's tough to concentrate when working at home. So last weekend I took my laptop into Balham in search of a cafe where I could buy a coffee and more importantly sit down and work for a few hours without feeling bad about not buying anything else. Starbucks - the perfect place.
It's been raining a lot recently but it was still quite a shock to walk in to Starbucks, which is on the ground floor of a 3 story terrace to find there were buckets strategically positioned around the place to collect water leaking from the ceiling. Most concerning was the water dripping from a light, which was on and over the bit where you collect your drink from. So not only did you have to be careful not to walk off with someone else's drink, but you had the added hazard of having filthy water dripping into your drink and getting electrocuted.
Apart from the abundance of water hazards there was a number of trip hazards as I wasn't the only one who decided to set up office in Starbucks. There were cables running all over the place.
I realised there are two types of people that go to Starbucks, those that want free wifi and those with kids. Actually there is a third group, munters - there were a few of those there too.
My order today was a flat white and a skinny raspberry muffin.
The flat white was actually not bad. Had some kick, was served in an appropriately sized china cup. The milk was quite creamy all the way through. I wish it was worse in some ways but to be honest, it was fine. The muffin wasn't good but what do you expect when you buy low fat stuff, my own fault really.
I stayed there for a few hours and never felt awkward about not buying anything else and taking up lots of space so in many respects Starbucks served a very good purpose. I would have felt bad being in a small independent coffee shop doing the same thing because I might have been depriving them of additional customers, and might have been tainting the atmosphere of the place - no such worries when you're at a starbucks.
So how about that then, I went to starbucks, the coffee was ok and it was actually the best place for me to go in the circumstances.
Don't ever expect me to recommend starbucks to anyone, they don't need your custom but I guess they do serve a purpose which I guess is what good marketing is about. I suppose they will continue to do well, damn it.
I didn't take any photos because I was working diligently, but you all know what the inside of a starbucks looks like. I wish I'd got a photo of the dripping light fitting but my mind was on my work!
Scores
Coffee
Hot: 9/13
Aroma: 8/13
Flavour: 8/13
Texture:
8/13
Presentation: 8/13
General
Service: 7/13
Food: 7/13
Atmosphere: 3/13 (no, I don't like it to the point that I would have been embarrassed if a friend saw me in there)
Overall 7/13. I wish I could score it worse, but that wouldn't be honest.
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