Starbucks Getting Better And Better

I bought a Grande Half-Caf Non-Fat four Splenda latte yesterday, and something struck me. I haven't had a bad espresso drink from Starbucks in several months. Come to think about it, outside of that trip to Las Vegas, I haven't had a bad Starbucks coffee in so long, I can't remember the last time I got a bitter coffee.

Something has changed. I racked my brain, and realized that something was missing from the Starbucks experience. The familiar thwack thwack of a friendly barista has been replaced by something else. A machine.

For just a brief moment, I was heartbroken. There's something really nice about knowing each drink is hand made by a specialist. At the same time, when a store is busy, there's nothing worse than getting a bitter coffee because an employee didn't have time to wipe out the espresso cup or grinder. I settled. I much prefer the consistency of the coffee to the pleasure of knowing my coffee was hand-made.

hmmm. I feel like I should be disturbed, but I'm not.

Speaking of Starbucks - good news for the Durbin Media Group. We spent the money on an AT&T landline and DSL when we opened our office in Ladue. With that service comes free AT&T Wifi. From Techdirt, we get the announcement that Starbucks will be adding AT&T WiFi to their stores, which means free access for us (using our AT&T/SBC password).

Sweet. Especially when we travel, this will be a nice convenience.