- The coffee culture has created a frenzy amongst normally sane people who would of got up earlier and made themselves a coffee at home. Instead we troll through heavy morning traffic. Stumble in to Starbucks and ask for a hourly fix latte before going to work. Yep, the coffee culture has taken a grip and it is our wallets and purses that really need the fix.
Oxford Street is no different to any other caffeine source fixes across all towns and cities.. There people escalator system works well and I can't complain.. and you would if you could if your like me.. while waiting for your morning infusion. I do laugh, when I see business executives twitching at the coffee bar waiting for his extra hot latte with an
extra shot. The queues can get ridiculously long.. all very quiet contemplating what sort of beverage (that contains caffeine) they should have and 'oh yes, whether to have an pannini toasted sandwich. It all takes so much time.. especially if you have sped directly from your bed, which looks very likely that they did you have been in the Oxford Street branch at 8.36 am. Yea, I must confess this has become my normal daily patter. I'm guilty; but some-how I feel this is all going to change and I tell you why?
Starbucks, will become a victim of their own success if there price-plan doesn't change. Quality of product is very good..but if people stop going in droves - will it effect the bean quality? Or more importantly lets try and save your own at this difficult time.
> The actual costs that will save you loads of beans.
I can remember small coffee houses that were run by (2) people at a max.. They have been frozen out by big giants like Starbucks; without being to morbid.. it is a real pity that these establishments have been lost on such a huge scale. The incredible thing is that Starbucks and Co are pushing up the prices of coffee at an alarming rate, so much that now people who want their daily infusion pay by credit card, which is crazy. It pains me to say.. but if you stopped going .. eeek.. and give up your daily latte - you would retire two years earlier!
Well, I'm not suggesting you should do anything so drastic really.. but at least you can think about it for 10 seconds and maybe make you think. You need vices in life and I must say Starbucks has a great business model, they do have a plan to stop obesity by not adding so much cream to their ever increasing product ranges. In the press coffee experts - I guess these are people who drink loads of coffee.. state that lots of added ingrediences to coffee actually spoils the taste of the bean, so now you have people - like you and me.. who actually doesn't know what a coffee bean tastes like anymore. The fact that you have no smoking notices all around stating it spoils the quality of our beans deems as untrue as they are already spoilt apparently, depending on what topping you have chosen.
I can state Starbucks is the most expensive coffee source out there. It is also one of the nicest.. I don't know why but I've been seduced into all their faffing around with different blends of taste combinations. But what is all this costing you? What is the cheapest place to buy a latte? Is there anything you can do to cut your coffee costs without having to give up your daily caffeine fix?
The "daily latte factor"
I am not preaching but it pays to be aware of your "daily latte factor". Popping into a coffee shop on the run each day can cost a small fortune over a year -- without you really noticing, similar to bank interest rates, except taste nicer.
Saving a bean means introducing the caffeine crunch to you. That when paying over 2.05 GBP over an average 224 day period is a lot of money that can be reduced. Over 450.00 GBP per year can be halved; even going to other coffee houses will save you a fortune. The reality is that by saving a measley 50p per infusion does add up and that is by just changing your coffee chain, within the year the truth is your bean saving will be over 110.00 GBP
I shouldn't be concerned about Starbucks profits either. Their empire is still growing in 80 countries and prices are set to rise due to world economic forecasts. They will add another 3% of profit for each coffee sold worldwide. By opening up new conference areas for mass business corporations their empire will grow and by providing extra WiFi centres more students will be paying through the nose for the coffee while getting a free internet service. Starbucks is a way of life for many people, a lifestyle that is regarded as a luxury one.
Thank you for the read - hope it was of help to you.
So long, Starbucks, or is it?
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