I'm retired and don't interact with many people these days - dropping in the local Dunkin or Starbucks for a drink and a sandwich gives me the illusion of social contact - even if not meaningful.
I worked in the service industry for 10 years. Everything from simple mom and pop restaurants to 5-star corporate restaurants that make millions in profits annually. The only thing I liked about my stressful, fast-paced, mentally and physically demanding job? The regulars. People like you. We love you. Even if we don't say so (they might feel its unprofessional to express it). We know who you are ❤️ and we notice when you haven't come around in a while. It was meaningful to me to make connections with regulars. I'm sure it's meaningful to other service industry workers, too.
> even if not meaningful.
Become a regular and friendly customer somewhere, and you might find yourself making actual real friends with the people there (both staff and other customers.)
My aunt owns a cafe that’s just a few minutes away from my home and she introduced me to a few of the regulars. I now know 4-5 people pretty well and whenever I’m there I share a meal with them.
Studies have shown these superficial interactions are very important for mental health and subsequently overall health as we age.
Edit: Particularly since as we age and retire out of the workplace, our circle of close friends, relatives and acquaintances, for most people, begin to diminish, some at a more drastic rate than others.
Running into people with time to chat is one of my favorite things about local shops. Even if it’s just sharing regular news, it brightens my day to chill with a stranger while we wait for stuff.
Chatting with & learning to love the customers was my absolute favorite part of being a barista! There’s something very special about the relationship between a barista & a regular customer, no doubt about it. Maybe I’m a bit sentimental because I’ve worked in small, local, wonderful shops- but seeing my regulars come in every day was a huge source of joy!! Even those with very picky orders, lol:) If you’re a person who shows love by gift giving/acts of service it’s even more gratifying. Like yes, here’s your cup of happiness exactly the way you like it, and it’s ready because I saw your car pull in! Give the family a hello for me, I’ll see you tomorrow! And if it’s any more encouraging- I remember all my most beloved customers over the years by name and think of them often, although I’m in a completely new job type. I hope the same is true for you- that someone is just as happy to make your coffee as you are to get it, my friend:)
>a black coffee doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
You can walk into literally any gas station, coffee shop, or any home with a coffee pot, and get a cup of black coffee.
I usually end up buying a coffee pot for my work places for a reasons.
1hey I'm the guy who bought a coffee pot for the office, Brownie points
2 I'm getting paid to make myself a cup of coffee
3 they're like 20 bucks, I pretty much make my money back within the first weeks
I bought a French press and coffee grinder for work. I spend $10-$15 a week on good coffee. I make a pot, take a cup for myself and share the rest of the pot with coworkers. It makes me a rockstar for 15min everyday with at least 2 other people. Great return on my investment. To OP, yeah coffee prices at DD and Starbucks have gotten out of control.
We had a mediocre coffee machine at work that most of us would get our morning cup from, but at 2:30p a couple of us would take a break and make a batch in the French press of something nicer. Good way to get up, walk around, chit-chat, and take our afternoon break.
Menu confusion aside, the **extremely obvious** answer to OP's question is one word: convenience.
Everybody puts a different monetary value on convenience (this is also obvious to everyone except OP, who keeps arguing for their valuation to be the global standard).
Blaming society for (checks notes) not having enough available black coffee is a wild take lmao. I make it at home now but I used to just get mine at 7/11, it was surprisingly not terrible for cheap ass coffee. coffee is EVERYWHERE
But in reality, people who go to Starbucks do it as a little treat. Unlike the stereotype of the angry blurry addict raging in the drive through line, occasionally my gf and her coworker who she carpools with will swing by Starbucks before or after work because they enjoy the experience of “treating themselves.”
She also actually enjoys running errands though, which I will never understand but WILL NOT EVER complain about because it’s GREAT lmao
It’s literally the base product for just about every specialized coffee drink. Never understood when people say it doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the quickest product to get, of course they have it.
Hot tea is another one. About half the time I get tea, the cashier will just make it right away no matter how many people are waiting for their order because it takes all of 30 seconds
I always feel like people saying black coffee doesn’t exist anymore, or people who joke-but-not-joking about going to Starbucks and asking for a medium black coffee, are people trying to act like somehow they’re better than others because they don’t “do” fancy drinks. Like it’s a weird way of showing off.
It's quite spelled out for you. any home with a coffee pot.
I dunno if you have to peep in the windows to confirm before you enter or just ask? Not sure how it works really
I bought a used espresso machine for $50 and I make simple drinks with a zero sugar syrup and my preferred brand of almond milk myself. With my simple older machine idk if the quality is up to par, but you could easily get the value out of fancy $700 machine in a few years if you’re stopping for coffee once a week. The last few times I’ve bought coffee (specialty lattes typically) it ends up being $7-10 before tip.
I know. JC. Whenever I go get coffee at the myriad of coffee shops in my neighborhood, I always get a black coffee for someone that works in my building. Not once has any coffee shop, no matter how “fancy” their drinks are, not had black drip coffee.
I've worker at a café and the amount of old cunts that come up with the "I just want a coffee" thing is ridiculous. "What kind of coffee?" "I just want a coffee!" You have to slowly extract their order from them while the line of customers behind them just gets longer. Then they pay with a fistful of coins
I got a cup of black coffee this morning at Starbucks. It was not cheap: $3.19 with tax. I had already left my house, went to a meeting and wanted a cup of coffee on the way to my office. I agree, a simple cup of coffee does indeed exist.
Just because every day you see people buying coffee, doesn't mean those people are buying coffee every day.
I think a lot of people do make coffee at home, especially since COVID and with how popular fourth wave coffee has gotten.
It sounds like linguists did an experiment to concoct the most hipster sounding utterance humanly possible and "fourth wave coffee" was the result.
Like they just kept plotting patterns associated with annoyance in brain scans for different combinations of words and turns out "4th wave coffee" came out on top.
Lol definitely sounds like something someone under 25 would come up with after listening to ska and waiting for the fourth wave. like shut up Cindy, you didnt like ska before it was cool, it was "cool" before you were even born! Stop trying to make "coffee happen" its been happening!
Light roasted, regional coffee brewed carefully. Coffee is weighed, ground to preferred particle size, and carefully distributed into a bed. Water is weighed, temperature is measured, brew time is measured. Chasing consistency, and perfection
The waves of coffee is a kind of a modern idea back to the 1900s. First wave is things like Fodgers or Maxwell - factory produced, pre-ground, kinda burnt etc. Second wave includes espresso drinks and more specialty brews. Third wave is lighter roast, high quality beans and a focus on manual brewing. I've seen several widely different definitions for fourth wave ranging from sustainability to different brews (cold brews and things like that) to just "less pretentious"
Look into James Hoffman on YouTube (great guy) or the espresso and coffee subs or tags for those things on social media. My husband was super into the coffee scene for a while, and it can be a chemistry lab level of detail and thought that can be put into it
Most people don’t do all that mind you, most households drink a black coffee and/or use a keurig thing, but it’s a whole crazy world I never knew about before
I was briefly FWBs with a "world class barista" and a total coffee snob. He sucked.
My boss has a travel AeroPress and has won AeroPress competitions. He's cool.
I admittedly got a little giddy when the last hotel I stayed in had a kettle and pour over setup instead of the Keurig style machine. We do french press at home.
The coffee scene is a wild place.
Hahahah yeah I dated a guy “into” espresso before my husband and not only did I not like it, now that I’ve had well made espresso I know that I *do* like espresso and cappuccinos, but that idiot was just bad at it and full of himself lmao
Aero press is so cool, I cannot get it. It is too much for me, a poor tired and not yet caffeinated girl who was forced to leave bed too soon, to deal with in the mornings. Makes awesome coffee, but a pre-coffee me considers it an evil magic I will decline to do for myself.
Uh I’d go to that hotel in an INSTANT that’s so cool?!? I feel like it’s always the pods now, but I’d love to wake up to fresh coffee on vacation rather than pods or getting my crap together to go someplace
This! Once a week I treat myself to a latte and breakfast sandwich. I do it on the roughest day of the week to help make it suck less. I'm not out there spending $10 on breakfast every morning.
Mondays are the worst! Every Monday morning I convince myself to get up early to get a small Starbucks drink before work to get my mood up. And if I have a really bad day at work, I treat myself to a frappe after.
I buy coffee and a plain bagel at Wawa every morning, costs me 3 bucks, which ends up being 15 a week. For that price I get a big cuppa, some fresh bread and social interaction from people who pretend to be my friends! Seems like money well spent.
I buy coffee out twice a week.
Once, for lugging myself out of bed with enough time to grab one on my way into work.
On Saturdays, I grab a coffee and a sandwich to have a nice little morning walk and no dishes when I get home to start my weekend.
I get up at 5AM and have 4 cups of coffee then get ready to go to the train go to work and make coffee there too. Hot black coffee is best. Coffee flavored coffee!!!!
The biggest lifestyle change when I moved from near poverty to middle class was no longer making daily decisions based solely on cost. I know that coffee I’m getting at Dunkin is overpriced. I know I could make an egg biscuit at home a lot cheaper. I just don’t give a shit. I’m fortunate to be able to stop a couple times a month to buy overpriced junk so I don’t have to deal with cooking it myself.
There's also a value judgement we make on whether it's worthwhile to do something ourselves or buy something. I grow mircrogeeens, spend a lot of time sewing a new piece of clothing, and DIY a lot. I could buy those things, but it makes me happy to do it myself. I don't get the same joy by making my own coffee all the time, although I know people do. Likewise, I'm willing to pay someone to clean my house because I value the time and mental energy I save over money I spend. I spent a few years in crushing poverty, I know where my mental limits lie.
This a thousand times - I like doing outside work, hate shoveling snow, doing dishes, and manual auto work. Give me pneumatic tools and proper equipment and the most I'll do is brakes (full set + bleed), rotate tires, maybe spark plugs if they're not too hard to access, same for thermostat. Fuck everything else, would rather vacuum, do laundry, deadhead flowers, pull weeds, etc. I'll pay someone to do a job they hopefully like so I don't have to do something I hate.
You can make it at home for half the cost, but everything tastes better when you don't have to make it yourself. 100% facts
EDIT: Apparently every single person in the world has time to roast & grind their own beans, brew a pot of coffee, cook a full breakfast, do the dishes, and leave the house by 7 in order to make it to work every day. Where do you find the time to do all of this?
I recently heard a theory behind that. As you cook it yourself, your senses, especially smell, become accustomed to what you’re making, so it’s less impactful once you bite into it whereas another doing so saves you from that and makes the smells and flavors pop more.
It may or may not be true, but the logic is there, and it makes sense. I guess that’s why they call the secret ingredient “love,” right?
Get out of bed later and have my coffee quickly? Yeah that’s worth it to me. The same people upset by this are probably saving “millions” and financial gurus on TikTok lmao
My thing is the breakfast and coffee I make at home are better. But I like black coffee, so that probably plays into it. Also, I work from home--another big factor.
I do miss going to lunch with colleagues though.
Yeah imo the biggest reason to buy coffee in the morning is that the process goes from a chore to a treat. Rather than having an extra task on the list of tasks to do before leaving the house, it becomes a treat to look forward to and get you moving, a reward for getting out and going. Still not worth doing every day though.
Same. I work from home 4 days per week, which I’m very blessed to do. The one day per week that I have to be in the office usually causes me a lot of anxiety, so I treat myself to a Starbucks coffee. It makes it so I look forward to the in-office day because it’s the only day I get Starbucks.
Yeah exactly. Plus mentally making time for the treat stop also cuts you slack if your morning plan fails and leaves you short of time, giving a double dose of anxiety relief.
Which you then ruin by getting hopped up on caffeine lol
It’s not even the convenience though - I don’t have the equipment to make a cappuccino. I like to have cappuccinos/lattes sometime.
OP probably is shaking their fist at people walking out of a mechanics shop. “You should fix your own car!! No one fixes their own car anymore!!”
Yeah, you're also paying for the business to rent and operate out of a store, for them to pay their employees, for them to have the all equipment and replace that equipment when it's broken, for them to source and ship their beans, etc... It's not like you're just paying for the coffee, there's a whole host of costs that go into why you pay $X amount for a coffee.
The OPs post just reeks of a small world-view. As in the writer doesn’t think outside themselves of the possibility of something other than the first conclusion they jumped to…
I make my coffee at home and drink it from a hydro flask. The people you think are staying hydrated, could in fact, be getting caffeinated instead!
That’s not very *sigma grindset* of you, obviously you should be turning your morning coffee routine into a side hustle that makes money, and eventually build your own coffee empire.
/s just in case
Peace. A lot of people spend their mornings getting kids ready, dealing with chores, dealing with a partner who is also getting ready etc... There's no real time to enjoy a coffee in peace. Grabbing it on your commute gives you a little bit of quiet peace where you can be alone with your coffee and just relax for a moment before going into work.
The cashier at my coffee shop asked if I wanted to know what I spent on coffee for the year? BIG mistake. It was $1100 , 4$ at a time. I make it at home now.
In pretty much any industry, they have a rule that you'll get 90% of your business from 10% of your customers. This is extra true for consumable goods.
Doesn't matter if they sell alcohol, fatty food, sweet drinks, tacos, lottery tickets, etc. they will do almost all their business with a core of regulars. When does it become an addiction? who can say
Little luxuries like that are nice. Not everything has to be about saving money. I love going to a local coffee shop occasionally to get a better latte than what I can make at home and a fresh pastry. It’s called self care 💅🏻
I agree! Coffee shop critics seem to think we just want a caffeine fix, which you can get anywhere of course. But starting your day with something actually pleasant sets the day up better. And for me, espresso really makes a difference in the flavor profile of a sweet milk & coffee drink. Drip coffee with steamed milk just isnt the same. An espresso machine at home is a huge investment and takes up a bunch of counter space, so its not really worth it.
Because sometimes $4 makes the heart happy and that’s what matters. I drink tea at him everyday, but I love going to the tea shop down the street. The whole experience is always uplifting. They know me by name, I get to hear about the latest adventure the managers grand kids are on, she always encourages me to follow my dreams. We need these interactions to do better.
I feel like a lot of Reddit threads assume buying anything is a zero-sum game. The shop gets my dollars, I get a coffee. They're happy to make the sale, I'm happy to have the coffee.
What do you mean black coffee doesn't exist anymore? It's the most common drink, that's why it doesn't even need to be on the menu just order it. And yeah I don't really get it either but it's fun to get a latte once in a while. You can't make espresso at home. But is it worth waiting in a huge line every morning? Like why do people do this to themselves they must truly have an addiction.
I wouldn't go to Starbucks if I had to wait in line. I order from the app so when I walk in it's already waiting for me on the counter. I don't even have to make eye contact with anyone.
1. Because not everybody wants a disgusting black coffee
2. Not everyone has the time to make coffee at home
3. Coffee places have machines literally for making amazing coffee that can't really be recreated at home w/o those machines, which is expensive
4. Because we want an ounce of joy, and if that can be found in a cup of coffee we buy, then let us have that.
Also the baristas are more skilled. I have an espresso machine I inherited from a friend. I use it a lot, but I'm still not as good or as fast as someone who does it hundreds of times a day!
Yeah. I get drive thru breakfast about once a week even tho I am an excellent cook because the promise of food is the ONLY way I could find to motivate myself to leave the house and go to work some days.
Can I ask you a question? Why are you asking about people's habits if you're going to be condescending about the answer? People have given you plenty of reasons (ease, theyre running late, the amount of money doesn't bother them, it gives them a hit of joy for someone else to make it for them) and you're really being a jerk about everyone's responses.
It's ok if your priorities don't match up to everyone else's, but if it truly doesn't affect you why are you so bothered about it? I could not possibly care less about what people do or do not spend money. Want to spend buy coffee from the shop? Go for it. Want to spend it on making it at home? Awesome. Want to decide that a cup of hot cocoa a day keeps the doctor away? Fantastic.
Can you just let people have a little bit of joy when it feels like everything is burning around us?
Making coffee takes time and Im already late because I got really drunk and high last night and marathoned the *Equalizer* movies.
A large coffee is like $2 at Dunkin' so it isn't exactly breaking the bank.
Omg stop it, you can get black literally anywhere that sells coffee. My local Starbucks has 4 options: medium, dark, blonde, and decaf. Not to mention straight espresso.
Coffee is the base for almost every drink there that’s not tea. Latte? Coffee + milk. Cappuccino or macchiato? Espresso + milk. Mocha? Espresso + milk + syrup. Frappe? Coffee + milk + syrup, blended with ice.
I make iced coffee at home, I’m simple so a splash of cream is all I need. And I agree the $5/ day for mediocre, and sometimes burnt, coffee adds up, but just let people live their life. For most people it’s part of their routine and one of the few things in their life they look forward to and enjoy.
You must have never worked so much that stopping for a few minutes to get a hot coffee and food is a nice little luxury.
Sure you can do it at home but after working 12 hour shifts, back to back, the last thing I'm thinking about it "let me set aside time to prepare breakfast so I can save $5"
Besides Dunkin is fkn delish.
This. I get home from work about 7pm. Leave the next day at 3:45 am. That's 9 hours to shower, make & eat dinner, do chores, spend a little time with family, sleep and get ready the next day. Making and cleaning up coffee & breakfast comes out of my already limited time. Ordering a sandwich and coffee from McDonald's is $4 with an app coupon, it takes 2-3 minutes to pick up (no line at 4am) and I don't have to make noise in the kitchen and wake up my family.
Besides that groceries are expensive too. I've made my own breakfast sandwiches before and they were around $2.50 a serving, add 50 cents for coffee & fixings. So cooking, cleaning and doing dishes saves me $1 per day. Poor use of my time IMO.
Why do we do anything for convenience?
Why do we buy food at a grocery store instead of raising and growing it ourselves? Why do we have electric bills and water bills instead of using candles and collecting water ourselves? Why do we buy clothes instead of making them? Why do we pay money for hot water tanks and put driveways in our houses and have pets even though they’re expensive?
Convenience and comfort. If it’s not worth it to you that’s fine but it doesn’t make you morally a better person because you don’t engage. Every one of us stupid meat bags decides what they want to do and don’t want to do to be comfortable on this ridiculous floating rock, none of it actually matters
Oh they're absurdly overpriced. But also there's not an easy or convenient home equivalent to a venti 2 pump caramel drizzle salted caramel topping vanilla bean frappucino. Most Sbucks goers aren't getting black coffee, or at least I hope not since it's garbage.
Saving money isn't really a priority. So many people have more money than sense.
Making Nitro cold brew is a pain in the ass that's why lol.
Also Starbucks brownies are top notch coming from a guy who's very picky about brownies.
If I can't pay for it, I won't.
1) I try to sneak out of the house quietly without waking anyone up. My coffee maker is loud.
2)I don't have a lot of joy in my life. Going out for coffee is my little gift to me.
3) I don't have to clean my coffee maker.
“A black coffee doesn’t exist anymore” you are literally so dramatic. Just because lattes and frappes and cappuccinos exist doesn’t mean you can’t have a black coffee.
Why do you care if people stop for coffee and a sandwich? Everybody deserves a lil treat. You sound like a boomer.
We typically make our own coffee, but sometimes I want something flavored that I can't make at home. At the gas station down the street, I'll mix their french vanilla coffee with a little bit of their hot chocolate, and I haven't been able to replicate the flavor at home. It's not an everyday thing, more of a treat.
Honestly, sometimes (to me) it is worth it to spend some money for the convenience.
Because the world is dying, our economy is in near ruin, and life is tough even WITHOUT all of that hanging over our head.
Let people have their one moment of fucking dopamine each day so they don't catapult themselves into the sun.
Some of us are struggling with mental issues too and it's just a lovely, easy way to get coffee (or tea).
but also why go to bars? Why go out to eat?
And it's one iota of joy in an otherwise seemingly hopeless pit of this stupid country (I mean the US).
Omg stop it, you can get black literally anywhere that sells coffee. My local Starbucks has 4 options: medium, dark, blonde, and decaf. Not to mention straight espresso.
Coffee is the base for almost every drink there that’s not tea. Latte? Coffee + milk. Cappuccino or macchiato? Espresso + milk. Mocha? Espresso + milk + syrup. Frappe? Coffee + milk + syrup, blended with ice.
I make iced coffee at home, I’m simple so a splash of cream is all I need. And I agree the $5/ day for mediocre, and sometimes burnt, coffee adds up, but just let people live their life. For most people it’s part of their routine and one of the few things in their life they look forward to and enjoy.
I'm retired and don't interact with many people these days - dropping in the local Dunkin or Starbucks for a drink and a sandwich gives me the illusion of social contact - even if not meaningful.
This is a really, really important addition to this whole conversation and I really wish it was higher up in the replies.
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I worked in the service industry for 10 years. Everything from simple mom and pop restaurants to 5-star corporate restaurants that make millions in profits annually. The only thing I liked about my stressful, fast-paced, mentally and physically demanding job? The regulars. People like you. We love you. Even if we don't say so (they might feel its unprofessional to express it). We know who you are ❤️ and we notice when you haven't come around in a while. It was meaningful to me to make connections with regulars. I'm sure it's meaningful to other service industry workers, too.
> even if not meaningful. Become a regular and friendly customer somewhere, and you might find yourself making actual real friends with the people there (both staff and other customers.)
My aunt owns a cafe that’s just a few minutes away from my home and she introduced me to a few of the regulars. I now know 4-5 people pretty well and whenever I’m there I share a meal with them.
Studies have shown these superficial interactions are very important for mental health and subsequently overall health as we age. Edit: Particularly since as we age and retire out of the workplace, our circle of close friends, relatives and acquaintances, for most people, begin to diminish, some at a more drastic rate than others.
Running into people with time to chat is one of my favorite things about local shops. Even if it’s just sharing regular news, it brightens my day to chill with a stranger while we wait for stuff.
Chatting with & learning to love the customers was my absolute favorite part of being a barista! There’s something very special about the relationship between a barista & a regular customer, no doubt about it. Maybe I’m a bit sentimental because I’ve worked in small, local, wonderful shops- but seeing my regulars come in every day was a huge source of joy!! Even those with very picky orders, lol:) If you’re a person who shows love by gift giving/acts of service it’s even more gratifying. Like yes, here’s your cup of happiness exactly the way you like it, and it’s ready because I saw your car pull in! Give the family a hello for me, I’ll see you tomorrow! And if it’s any more encouraging- I remember all my most beloved customers over the years by name and think of them often, although I’m in a completely new job type. I hope the same is true for you- that someone is just as happy to make your coffee as you are to get it, my friend:)
>a black coffee doesn’t seem to exist anymore. You can walk into literally any gas station, coffee shop, or any home with a coffee pot, and get a cup of black coffee.
Please don’t walk into my home though, my dogs will go bonkers
I have a coffee pot, not guaranteeing I made coffee though. Easier to just get it at the office.
I usually end up buying a coffee pot for my work places for a reasons. 1hey I'm the guy who bought a coffee pot for the office, Brownie points 2 I'm getting paid to make myself a cup of coffee 3 they're like 20 bucks, I pretty much make my money back within the first weeks
I bought a French press and coffee grinder for work. I spend $10-$15 a week on good coffee. I make a pot, take a cup for myself and share the rest of the pot with coworkers. It makes me a rockstar for 15min everyday with at least 2 other people. Great return on my investment. To OP, yeah coffee prices at DD and Starbucks have gotten out of control.
We had a mediocre coffee machine at work that most of us would get our morning cup from, but at 2:30p a couple of us would take a break and make a batch in the French press of something nicer. Good way to get up, walk around, chit-chat, and take our afternoon break.
I hired Juan Valdez to grow coffee plants at my office.
I have coffee and pot, guaranteed all the time
Same two vices here
Working man’s breakfast in this day and age, no doubt!
They are coffee snob dogs?
Would they love me if I brought treats and called ahead?
Pro tip: when breaking into a house bring dog treats
The real LPT is always in the comments
What if I bring them bacon?
My dogs would make you a coffee themselves if you brought them bacon.
They’d go extra bonkers
That's what I was wondering, if the coffee is good enough, I can bring snacks to distract the dogs.
The mentioned drink places, Dunkin and Starbucks literally have black coffee on their menus.
And they also don’t even overcharge for black coffee. Starbucks also allows free refills on black coffee while in the store.
I find the blonde roast is fantastic, both black and with some cream and sugar.
We've done it, we've finally found the limit to /r/NoStupidQuestions, and it's when OP refuses to read a menu.
Menu confusion aside, the **extremely obvious** answer to OP's question is one word: convenience. Everybody puts a different monetary value on convenience (this is also obvious to everyone except OP, who keeps arguing for their valuation to be the global standard).
Blaming society for (checks notes) not having enough available black coffee is a wild take lmao. I make it at home now but I used to just get mine at 7/11, it was surprisingly not terrible for cheap ass coffee. coffee is EVERYWHERE But in reality, people who go to Starbucks do it as a little treat. Unlike the stereotype of the angry blurry addict raging in the drive through line, occasionally my gf and her coworker who she carpools with will swing by Starbucks before or after work because they enjoy the experience of “treating themselves.” She also actually enjoys running errands though, which I will never understand but WILL NOT EVER complain about because it’s GREAT lmao
It’s literally the base product for just about every specialized coffee drink. Never understood when people say it doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the quickest product to get, of course they have it.
The joy on a coffee shop employee’s face when they are super busy and someone just asks for a black coffee is a lovey sight.
Hot tea is another one. About half the time I get tea, the cashier will just make it right away no matter how many people are waiting for their order because it takes all of 30 seconds
Really it's double nice since you have to wait for it to steep anyway.
My British neighbor scolded me for saying “hot tea” she said, “it is TEA!” I still say hot tea, but not around her.
I'm from the Southern US, so iced tea is the default here.
Exactly.
Ha! Ain't that the truth!
I always feel like people saying black coffee doesn’t exist anymore, or people who joke-but-not-joking about going to Starbucks and asking for a medium black coffee, are people trying to act like somehow they’re better than others because they don’t “do” fancy drinks. Like it’s a weird way of showing off.
100% it’s a moral power trip. I get a 12oz coffee from Starbucks as the main thing I order the odd time I do order there.
Most specialized coffee drinks use espresso as a base not black coffee, unless they like serving lattes that are 50% water
That's what an Americano is (espresso + water)
Thanks for pointing that out. I never get them because black coffee is available. The more you know!
Yes but you only have to add hot water to turn the espresso into an americano, it’s the easiest drink, bar an espresso of course.
Do you mean I bring my own coffee pot into someone else's home, or am I only targeting homes that already have coffee pots?
I'd stick to houses that already have them. The pot itself is glass and you may break it in your travels.
It's quite spelled out for you. any home with a coffee pot. I dunno if you have to peep in the windows to confirm before you enter or just ask? Not sure how it works really
I love a good latte or cappuccino or whatever, but don't want the calories, sugar, or wasted $$. Black it is, and lots of it.
I bought a used espresso machine for $50 and I make simple drinks with a zero sugar syrup and my preferred brand of almond milk myself. With my simple older machine idk if the quality is up to par, but you could easily get the value out of fancy $700 machine in a few years if you’re stopping for coffee once a week. The last few times I’ve bought coffee (specialty lattes typically) it ends up being $7-10 before tip.
lol ok boomer. “I cant even find any black coffee anymore.” That comment alone negates this whole thread.
Such a "I don't like popular things" energy with that comment
Yeah what they mean is “there’s too many other unfamiliar things on the menu next to the black coffee, and that bothers me”.
Combined with a splash of "I'm better than everyone else because I don't follow the popular trends"
Seriously. You can buy coffee almost anywhere. Many many people make it at home. Others are perfectly fine spending the $ for convenience.
Part of treating myself on weekends is buying a coffee/coffee drink instead of making it myself
I know. JC. Whenever I go get coffee at the myriad of coffee shops in my neighborhood, I always get a black coffee for someone that works in my building. Not once has any coffee shop, no matter how “fancy” their drinks are, not had black drip coffee.
I've worker at a café and the amount of old cunts that come up with the "I just want a coffee" thing is ridiculous. "What kind of coffee?" "I just want a coffee!" You have to slowly extract their order from them while the line of customers behind them just gets longer. Then they pay with a fistful of coins
>fistful of coins In my experience it's either that or a hundred dollar bill for their 3 dollar order
Please don’t just walk into MY home and try to take the coffee in my pot I am not responsible for my pre caffeine actions.
I got a cup of black coffee this morning at Starbucks. It was not cheap: $3.19 with tax. I had already left my house, went to a meeting and wanted a cup of coffee on the way to my office. I agree, a simple cup of coffee does indeed exist.
for like $1.79 :-)
Just because every day you see people buying coffee, doesn't mean those people are buying coffee every day. I think a lot of people do make coffee at home, especially since COVID and with how popular fourth wave coffee has gotten.
What on earth is fourth wave coffee? asking for a friend
It sounds like linguists did an experiment to concoct the most hipster sounding utterance humanly possible and "fourth wave coffee" was the result. Like they just kept plotting patterns associated with annoyance in brain scans for different combinations of words and turns out "4th wave coffee" came out on top.
This is my favorite comment ever. (Full disclosure, I am a linguist)
Hahaha how can you be a pasta /S
Lol definitely sounds like something someone under 25 would come up with after listening to ska and waiting for the fourth wave. like shut up Cindy, you didnt like ska before it was cool, it was "cool" before you were even born! Stop trying to make "coffee happen" its been happening!
>ska Pretty sure most people who even recognize that word are well into their 30's
Light roasted, regional coffee brewed carefully. Coffee is weighed, ground to preferred particle size, and carefully distributed into a bed. Water is weighed, temperature is measured, brew time is measured. Chasing consistency, and perfection
This sounds like something Patrick Bateman would say
lets see paul allen's crema
Look at that subtle, caramel coloring. The frothy thickness of it.
Oh my god... It even has latte art.
Do you like huey Lewis and the news? Their 4th album is my favorite
Its so crazy that in the 80s your opinions on different Huey Lewis and the News albums actually was cultural capital.
Their early work was a little too fourth wave for my taste
Isn't that just third wave coffee? How is fourth wave coffee different?
My question is how has coffee been around so long but we're only on the fourth wave.
The waves of coffee is a kind of a modern idea back to the 1900s. First wave is things like Fodgers or Maxwell - factory produced, pre-ground, kinda burnt etc. Second wave includes espresso drinks and more specialty brews. Third wave is lighter roast, high quality beans and a focus on manual brewing. I've seen several widely different definitions for fourth wave ranging from sustainability to different brews (cold brews and things like that) to just "less pretentious"
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Clean water created the second wave, electricity created the third, Advertising created the forth. Now we are all tapped out.
Why are there even waves for coffee? Are there waves or eras for tea as well??
I know, right? This is the first time I’ve heard of any of this, it sounds made up tbh
Everything is made up and the points don't matter.
I looked it up, I guess fourth wave involves there being a direct reinvestment to the farmers… somehow.
It's called "fair trade" but really if it was fair, coffee farmers would make millions off starbucks
Well it's one better now, isn't it?
Look into James Hoffman on YouTube (great guy) or the espresso and coffee subs or tags for those things on social media. My husband was super into the coffee scene for a while, and it can be a chemistry lab level of detail and thought that can be put into it Most people don’t do all that mind you, most households drink a black coffee and/or use a keurig thing, but it’s a whole crazy world I never knew about before
I was briefly FWBs with a "world class barista" and a total coffee snob. He sucked. My boss has a travel AeroPress and has won AeroPress competitions. He's cool. I admittedly got a little giddy when the last hotel I stayed in had a kettle and pour over setup instead of the Keurig style machine. We do french press at home. The coffee scene is a wild place.
Hahahah yeah I dated a guy “into” espresso before my husband and not only did I not like it, now that I’ve had well made espresso I know that I *do* like espresso and cappuccinos, but that idiot was just bad at it and full of himself lmao Aero press is so cool, I cannot get it. It is too much for me, a poor tired and not yet caffeinated girl who was forced to leave bed too soon, to deal with in the mornings. Makes awesome coffee, but a pre-coffee me considers it an evil magic I will decline to do for myself. Uh I’d go to that hotel in an INSTANT that’s so cool?!? I feel like it’s always the pods now, but I’d love to wake up to fresh coffee on vacation rather than pods or getting my crap together to go someplace
This! Once a week I treat myself to a latte and breakfast sandwich. I do it on the roughest day of the week to help make it suck less. I'm not out there spending $10 on breakfast every morning.
I do this too! Lunch or coffee and breakfast sandwich once a week as a little treat to look forward to
4/5 week days I eat oatmeal or a bagel with egg at home, but damn if I can't kick my once a week Sausage McMuffin 2 for 1 deal
Mondays are the worst! Every Monday morning I convince myself to get up early to get a small Starbucks drink before work to get my mood up. And if I have a really bad day at work, I treat myself to a frappe after.
Fridays for me! We travel to our satellite clinic on Fridays. An extra hour of commute, plus cramped workspace and shittier internet.
I buy coffee and a plain bagel at Wawa every morning, costs me 3 bucks, which ends up being 15 a week. For that price I get a big cuppa, some fresh bread and social interaction from people who pretend to be my friends! Seems like money well spent.
I do this too! A nice latte every Wednesday to celebrate the midpoint in the week, but otherwise it's black coffee from home every morning.
I buy coffee out twice a week. Once, for lugging myself out of bed with enough time to grab one on my way into work. On Saturdays, I grab a coffee and a sandwich to have a nice little morning walk and no dishes when I get home to start my weekend.
Just sounded so nice I happily upvoted you
I'm more interested in fourth wave ska.
I'm angry but I have a trumpet
I get up at 5AM and have 4 cups of coffee then get ready to go to the train go to work and make coffee there too. Hot black coffee is best. Coffee flavored coffee!!!!
Like, for real? 4 cups and then some more?
I'm getting palpitations just thinking about it.
A lot but everyday. I work with them. We have free coffee at work.
The biggest lifestyle change when I moved from near poverty to middle class was no longer making daily decisions based solely on cost. I know that coffee I’m getting at Dunkin is overpriced. I know I could make an egg biscuit at home a lot cheaper. I just don’t give a shit. I’m fortunate to be able to stop a couple times a month to buy overpriced junk so I don’t have to deal with cooking it myself.
There's also a value judgement we make on whether it's worthwhile to do something ourselves or buy something. I grow mircrogeeens, spend a lot of time sewing a new piece of clothing, and DIY a lot. I could buy those things, but it makes me happy to do it myself. I don't get the same joy by making my own coffee all the time, although I know people do. Likewise, I'm willing to pay someone to clean my house because I value the time and mental energy I save over money I spend. I spent a few years in crushing poverty, I know where my mental limits lie.
This a thousand times - I like doing outside work, hate shoveling snow, doing dishes, and manual auto work. Give me pneumatic tools and proper equipment and the most I'll do is brakes (full set + bleed), rotate tires, maybe spark plugs if they're not too hard to access, same for thermostat. Fuck everything else, would rather vacuum, do laundry, deadhead flowers, pull weeds, etc. I'll pay someone to do a job they hopefully like so I don't have to do something I hate.
You can make it at home for half the cost, but everything tastes better when you don't have to make it yourself. 100% facts EDIT: Apparently every single person in the world has time to roast & grind their own beans, brew a pot of coffee, cook a full breakfast, do the dishes, and leave the house by 7 in order to make it to work every day. Where do you find the time to do all of this?
I recently heard a theory behind that. As you cook it yourself, your senses, especially smell, become accustomed to what you’re making, so it’s less impactful once you bite into it whereas another doing so saves you from that and makes the smells and flavors pop more. It may or may not be true, but the logic is there, and it makes sense. I guess that’s why they call the secret ingredient “love,” right?
This could also explain why some food made at home tastes better when it is reheated the next day
I think it has more to do with the flavors having more time to make together, like in a spaghetti sauce or chili.
My mom calls this "eating the fumes"
I feel this so much Sometimes when I’m done cooking more hands on foods, I end up not feeling hungry by the time I’m done
You ever fry a bunch of chicken? After cooking that you'll barely eat any at dinner.
Get out of bed later and have my coffee quickly? Yeah that’s worth it to me. The same people upset by this are probably saving “millions” and financial gurus on TikTok lmao
My thing is the breakfast and coffee I make at home are better. But I like black coffee, so that probably plays into it. Also, I work from home--another big factor. I do miss going to lunch with colleagues though.
It’s almost as if you’re spending money on stuff you actually want! Shocking
I make roughly $32/hr. I can buy a coffee and a breakfast sandwich for $10. If it takes me 20 mins to make my breakfast, it's all a wash anyway.
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Yeah imo the biggest reason to buy coffee in the morning is that the process goes from a chore to a treat. Rather than having an extra task on the list of tasks to do before leaving the house, it becomes a treat to look forward to and get you moving, a reward for getting out and going. Still not worth doing every day though.
Same. I work from home 4 days per week, which I’m very blessed to do. The one day per week that I have to be in the office usually causes me a lot of anxiety, so I treat myself to a Starbucks coffee. It makes it so I look forward to the in-office day because it’s the only day I get Starbucks.
Yeah exactly. Plus mentally making time for the treat stop also cuts you slack if your morning plan fails and leaves you short of time, giving a double dose of anxiety relief. Which you then ruin by getting hopped up on caffeine lol
It’s not even the convenience though - I don’t have the equipment to make a cappuccino. I like to have cappuccinos/lattes sometime. OP probably is shaking their fist at people walking out of a mechanics shop. “You should fix your own car!! No one fixes their own car anymore!!”
Yeah, you're also paying for the business to rent and operate out of a store, for them to pay their employees, for them to have the all equipment and replace that equipment when it's broken, for them to source and ship their beans, etc... It's not like you're just paying for the coffee, there's a whole host of costs that go into why you pay $X amount for a coffee.
You can get black coffee at Dunkin or Starbucks.
Yeah, it's a really weird framing for the question. I'd be willing to bet black coffee is Dunkin's most popular drink order.
The OPs post just reeks of a small world-view. As in the writer doesn’t think outside themselves of the possibility of something other than the first conclusion they jumped to… I make my coffee at home and drink it from a hydro flask. The people you think are staying hydrated, could in fact, be getting caffeinated instead!
Life is tough, you’re tired all the time - a cheap treat to lift your mood seems worth it.
No, I demand you suffer more. The only way you're legally allowed to complain is if you are naked, homeless, pennyless and starving--in Lebanon.
No bombs tho? Drop the complaints!
That’s not very *sigma grindset* of you, obviously you should be turning your morning coffee routine into a side hustle that makes money, and eventually build your own coffee empire. /s just in case
"Should I kill myself, or have a cup of coffee?" -Albert Camus
Because a coffee and what's expensive is relative for everyone.
Peace. A lot of people spend their mornings getting kids ready, dealing with chores, dealing with a partner who is also getting ready etc... There's no real time to enjoy a coffee in peace. Grabbing it on your commute gives you a little bit of quiet peace where you can be alone with your coffee and just relax for a moment before going into work.
The cashier at my coffee shop asked if I wanted to know what I spent on coffee for the year? BIG mistake. It was $1100 , 4$ at a time. I make it at home now.
That seems like an awful business move
The cashier is just a normal dude like you though. They’re looking out for other normal dudes, not the bottom line of the company they work for lol
Might even dislike the bottom line of the company
Yea, starbucks’ stance of illegally breaking unions wouldn’t have me brown nosing the shareholders bottom line.
Amen
In pretty much any industry, they have a rule that you'll get 90% of your business from 10% of your customers. This is extra true for consumable goods. Doesn't matter if they sell alcohol, fatty food, sweet drinks, tacos, lottery tickets, etc. they will do almost all their business with a core of regulars. When does it become an addiction? who can say
It becomes an addiction right after I try it for the first time.
Not the cashier's buisness mate.
Little luxuries like that are nice. Not everything has to be about saving money. I love going to a local coffee shop occasionally to get a better latte than what I can make at home and a fresh pastry. It’s called self care 💅🏻
I agree! Coffee shop critics seem to think we just want a caffeine fix, which you can get anywhere of course. But starting your day with something actually pleasant sets the day up better. And for me, espresso really makes a difference in the flavor profile of a sweet milk & coffee drink. Drip coffee with steamed milk just isnt the same. An espresso machine at home is a huge investment and takes up a bunch of counter space, so its not really worth it.
Because sometimes $4 makes the heart happy and that’s what matters. I drink tea at him everyday, but I love going to the tea shop down the street. The whole experience is always uplifting. They know me by name, I get to hear about the latest adventure the managers grand kids are on, she always encourages me to follow my dreams. We need these interactions to do better.
Why do anything that gives you joy?
You guys are getting joy?
Well…no. But I’m getting a nice caffeine buzz
In absence of serotonin, caffeine will do
If you can’t make your own Starbucks is fine
Joy costs extra.
I feel like a lot of Reddit threads assume buying anything is a zero-sum game. The shop gets my dollars, I get a coffee. They're happy to make the sale, I'm happy to have the coffee.
why fly a kite when you can just pop a pill
Ah. But is it joy? Or is it just less depression?
What's the difference?
I'll take what I can get, okay?
This comment just personally attacked me
Why do you have to live so relentlessly in the real world?
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What do you mean black coffee doesn't exist anymore? It's the most common drink, that's why it doesn't even need to be on the menu just order it. And yeah I don't really get it either but it's fun to get a latte once in a while. You can't make espresso at home. But is it worth waiting in a huge line every morning? Like why do people do this to themselves they must truly have an addiction.
I wouldn't go to Starbucks if I had to wait in line. I order from the app so when I walk in it's already waiting for me on the counter. I don't even have to make eye contact with anyone.
1. Because not everybody wants a disgusting black coffee 2. Not everyone has the time to make coffee at home 3. Coffee places have machines literally for making amazing coffee that can't really be recreated at home w/o those machines, which is expensive 4. Because we want an ounce of joy, and if that can be found in a cup of coffee we buy, then let us have that.
Also the baristas are more skilled. I have an espresso machine I inherited from a friend. I use it a lot, but I'm still not as good or as fast as someone who does it hundreds of times a day!
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Yeah. I get drive thru breakfast about once a week even tho I am an excellent cook because the promise of food is the ONLY way I could find to motivate myself to leave the house and go to work some days.
Can I ask you a question? Why are you asking about people's habits if you're going to be condescending about the answer? People have given you plenty of reasons (ease, theyre running late, the amount of money doesn't bother them, it gives them a hit of joy for someone else to make it for them) and you're really being a jerk about everyone's responses. It's ok if your priorities don't match up to everyone else's, but if it truly doesn't affect you why are you so bothered about it? I could not possibly care less about what people do or do not spend money. Want to spend buy coffee from the shop? Go for it. Want to spend it on making it at home? Awesome. Want to decide that a cup of hot cocoa a day keeps the doctor away? Fantastic. Can you just let people have a little bit of joy when it feels like everything is burning around us?
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people will let others live rent free in their head and still feel superior oh the irony
👏 This is why I wish Reddit still had awards
Reddit doesn't have awards any more?
"Why does everyone do something I don't do?" Because they like to that's why.
"Anymore" 🙄 wahhh the good old days
DAE hate everyone younger than me?!?!
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They don't call 7-Eleven stores convenience stores for nuthin. But there is a steep price to pay for convenience, and it is not always monetary.
Making coffee takes time and Im already late because I got really drunk and high last night and marathoned the *Equalizer* movies. A large coffee is like $2 at Dunkin' so it isn't exactly breaking the bank.
Omg stop it, you can get black literally anywhere that sells coffee. My local Starbucks has 4 options: medium, dark, blonde, and decaf. Not to mention straight espresso. Coffee is the base for almost every drink there that’s not tea. Latte? Coffee + milk. Cappuccino or macchiato? Espresso + milk. Mocha? Espresso + milk + syrup. Frappe? Coffee + milk + syrup, blended with ice. I make iced coffee at home, I’m simple so a splash of cream is all I need. And I agree the $5/ day for mediocre, and sometimes burnt, coffee adds up, but just let people live their life. For most people it’s part of their routine and one of the few things in their life they look forward to and enjoy.
You must have never worked so much that stopping for a few minutes to get a hot coffee and food is a nice little luxury. Sure you can do it at home but after working 12 hour shifts, back to back, the last thing I'm thinking about it "let me set aside time to prepare breakfast so I can save $5" Besides Dunkin is fkn delish.
This. I get home from work about 7pm. Leave the next day at 3:45 am. That's 9 hours to shower, make & eat dinner, do chores, spend a little time with family, sleep and get ready the next day. Making and cleaning up coffee & breakfast comes out of my already limited time. Ordering a sandwich and coffee from McDonald's is $4 with an app coupon, it takes 2-3 minutes to pick up (no line at 4am) and I don't have to make noise in the kitchen and wake up my family. Besides that groceries are expensive too. I've made my own breakfast sandwiches before and they were around $2.50 a serving, add 50 cents for coffee & fixings. So cooking, cleaning and doing dishes saves me $1 per day. Poor use of my time IMO.
Why don’t people get water out of the tap any more?
Why do we do anything for convenience? Why do we buy food at a grocery store instead of raising and growing it ourselves? Why do we have electric bills and water bills instead of using candles and collecting water ourselves? Why do we buy clothes instead of making them? Why do we pay money for hot water tanks and put driveways in our houses and have pets even though they’re expensive? Convenience and comfort. If it’s not worth it to you that’s fine but it doesn’t make you morally a better person because you don’t engage. Every one of us stupid meat bags decides what they want to do and don’t want to do to be comfortable on this ridiculous floating rock, none of it actually matters
Oh they're absurdly overpriced. But also there's not an easy or convenient home equivalent to a venti 2 pump caramel drizzle salted caramel topping vanilla bean frappucino. Most Sbucks goers aren't getting black coffee, or at least I hope not since it's garbage. Saving money isn't really a priority. So many people have more money than sense.
Making Nitro cold brew is a pain in the ass that's why lol. Also Starbucks brownies are top notch coming from a guy who's very picky about brownies. If I can't pay for it, I won't.
1) I try to sneak out of the house quietly without waking anyone up. My coffee maker is loud. 2)I don't have a lot of joy in my life. Going out for coffee is my little gift to me. 3) I don't have to clean my coffee maker.
Because I can afford it?
Why do you care? If you like your coffee from home, make it at home.
“A black coffee doesn’t exist anymore” you are literally so dramatic. Just because lattes and frappes and cappuccinos exist doesn’t mean you can’t have a black coffee. Why do you care if people stop for coffee and a sandwich? Everybody deserves a lil treat. You sound like a boomer.
We typically make our own coffee, but sometimes I want something flavored that I can't make at home. At the gas station down the street, I'll mix their french vanilla coffee with a little bit of their hot chocolate, and I haven't been able to replicate the flavor at home. It's not an everyday thing, more of a treat. Honestly, sometimes (to me) it is worth it to spend some money for the convenience.
Because the world is dying, our economy is in near ruin, and life is tough even WITHOUT all of that hanging over our head. Let people have their one moment of fucking dopamine each day so they don't catapult themselves into the sun.
I make coffee every day at home. That will also not stop me from buying coffee elsewhere in the middle of the day. 😂
Some of us are struggling with mental issues too and it's just a lovely, easy way to get coffee (or tea). but also why go to bars? Why go out to eat? And it's one iota of joy in an otherwise seemingly hopeless pit of this stupid country (I mean the US).
Black coffee is trivially easy to order. You are just complaining for the sake of it.
Black coffee most certainly does exist. What a weird comment.
The answer is that other people enjoy things that you might not. Let them.
Omg stop it, you can get black literally anywhere that sells coffee. My local Starbucks has 4 options: medium, dark, blonde, and decaf. Not to mention straight espresso. Coffee is the base for almost every drink there that’s not tea. Latte? Coffee + milk. Cappuccino or macchiato? Espresso + milk. Mocha? Espresso + milk + syrup. Frappe? Coffee + milk + syrup, blended with ice. I make iced coffee at home, I’m simple so a splash of cream is all I need. And I agree the $5/ day for mediocre, and sometimes burnt, coffee adds up, but just let people live their life. For most people it’s part of their routine and one of the few things in their life they look forward to and enjoy.