$7.00 for a cup of Starbucks Coffee

You may wonder how this post fits here in Peak oil. Well I just drove to Starbucks which is 7 miles away. I got a 4 dollar cup of coffee and it cost me 3 dollars round trip in gas. This realization is just a small picture of the greater trouble we are in if we do not change to alternative fuels or transportation.

I make pretty good living. I cannot imagine how this must effect people living on minimum wage. It now costs more to drive to the store for a gallon of milk than the milk costs.

Few suggestions:

Find a closer store!

Walk.

Cycle.

Public transport.

Make coffee in your own kitchen?

Originally posted by Now_Then
Make coffee in your own kitchen?

I never understood why this one isn't a popular option. There are so many different types of products out there that allow you to make your own cuppa in the comfort of your own living space. Heck, even Starbucks sells beans that you can grind and mix at home.

I guess you may have to ride a bicycle next time, I am glad that my favorite coffee store is just a few block away from my house.

You will have the advantage of doing exercise also.

Originally posted by Now_Then
Few suggestions:

Find a closer store!

Walk.

Cycle.

Public transport.

Make coffee in your own kitchen?

Good points if only I were dealing with this. Many people who live on minimum wage cannot afford to live directly in urban areas with multiple stores near by. The cost of fuel has got to be killing folks who make less than 50G's a year that also have families.


America needs to lead the world away from oil and carbon based energy and not capitulate to serving Russia and enemy nations needs.

If America had invest the 500 + billion dollars (war money) into alternative energy we would probably have found ways to replace oil, coal etc.. or at the very least developed more nuclear energy, solar energy etc..

We should turn our back on oil even if we all have to ride buses to work until we can develope alternatives.

[edit on 22-11-2007 by Xeven]

...from this website, some tales of Hatebucks:

So why is Oxfam accusing Starbucks of preventing Ethiopia from seeking to gain more control over its coffee trade by opposing that government’s application to have some of its most famous coffee beans trademarked?

Ethiopian farmers are not the only sufferers, though. A 2002 report, also by Oxfam, states “coffee farmers are getting, on average, 24 cents a pound while consumers in rich countries are paying roughly $3.60 a pound – a mark-up of 1500%. Coffee now costs more to grow and pick than it does to sell.”

www.thenewblackmagazine.com...

Currently, many coffee farmers receive as little as 20 cents per pound of coffee, well below their cost of production. The substantial difference between 20 cents and the Fair Trade price of US$1.26 per pound often represents the road out of desperate poverty, said TransFair. It enables farmers to keep children in school, feed their families, improve healthcare and housing and invest in improving the quality of their coffee. Environmentally, an estimated 85% of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the US is also Certified Organic and most is grown under the canopy of bird-friendly shade trees, protecting wildlife habitats and the soil. Fair Trade Certified Coffee, currently sourced from 22 different countries, means quality -- for coffee drinkers, farmers and the environment.

www.organicconsumers.org...

...and there's plenty more articles out there about how the farmers of the world are getting ripped off w/ 'fair' or 'free' trade, which now seems like the same name, either way.

I read in a print newspaper a couple of years ago about the marketing of SB and how their cups are fractions of a cent in production costs, they seek out the best beans to make strong coffee to manipulate people to keep coming back at sick, inflated prices and tangle name musicians to push their garbage -- including, once respectable, Sonic Youth and Bobby Zimmerman.

I only shop at indy coffee spots when I want a cup, or there's plenty of 'good' coffee to buy that supports farmers. Plus, the street vendors in cities make a decent cup, for those who like black coffee -- never 'burnt' tasting!

I think the lesson here to be learn from Xeven experience is that he j just discovered how inflation feels

Very soon more and more Americans will start to feel the crunch.

Originally posted by Beachcoma

Originally posted by Now_Then
Make coffee in your own kitchen?

I never understood why this one isn't a popular option. There are so many different types of products out there that allow you to make your own cuppa in the comfort of your own living space. Heck, even Starbucks sells beans that you can grind and mix at home.

I have never been able to match the taste of Starbucks at home. I would still prefer to get out of the house for awhile than sitting at home. Lota pretty girls go to Starbucks

Originally posted by Xeven
I would still prefer to get out of the house for awhile than sitting at home. Lota pretty girls go to Starbucks

I hear you. Here's what I do -- I make friends with the Starbucks baristas and get free coffee. Never paid a single cent for Starbucks in my life -- never will

Anyone who will pay $4 for a cup of coffee deserves what they get.

$4 a cup- that's like $15-$20 a gallon, isn't it?

It's just beans & water!!

The DISTURBING part of this all is that you spent $3 in gasoline to go 7 miles... to get COFFEE!

Originally posted by marg6043
I think the lesson here to be learn from Xeven experience is that he j just discovered how inflation feels

Very soon more and more Americans will start to feel the crunch.

Fortunately for me I have plenty of expendable income from years of work and study but I fear for others unlike the pathetic extremely wealthy greedy corporations.

How can a man look himself in the mirror giving himself a $$ million dollar annual bonus for sitting in a fat office pretending to give to a crap while the people actually doing the work can barely afford to pay their rent.

My countries (corporations) and government as it is today sickens me.

I am not sure how you fix this but I can tell you that relying on the Billionaires to have compassion is a lost cause (it does not happen).

By the way I do volunteer work, and often use my own money to help others out. I especially like to help out poor children around holidays.

Originally posted by jupiter869
The DISTURBING part of this all is that you spent $3 in gasoline to go 7 miles... to get COFFEE!

Was 14 miles (round trip) =). I actually met my dad to just chit chat.

[edit on 22-11-2007 by Xeven]

Originally posted by Xeven
How can a man look himself in the mirror giving himself a $$ million dollar annual bonus for sitting in a fat office pretending to give to a crap while the people actually doing the work can barely afford to pay their rent.

It's called denial and that's not a river in cliché

What a waste of money,I can buy a whole can of coffee for 8 bucks will last me a month,plus who wants to drink coffee with a bunch of weiners acting like they are the social elite anyway

It's a conspiracy I tells ya...

Why anyone would drive, ride, run, walk, crawl, slither or apparate to Starbuck's is beyond me... It's God awful coffee; flawed in roasting technique, brewed at to high a temperature and served in a cup that taints the flavor. Find a local roaster who will charge less for better coffee, use good water and a premium machine and enjoy yourself sans lining the pockets of OPEC.

Coffee Nazi Monkeys, not just for a better cup anymore...

Wait.....

You drive down to the shops.... just to get a cup of coffee.... then you drive home?

You can go to your local supermarket and get a lb of good Starbucks coffee when you do your food shopping, then just make it yourself and think of all the money you save!!!!

7.98/lb is the going rate. I know because i'm so hooked on it- the Espresso!!!!

I cant stand the Dunking Donuts scene here on the Cape.

I want my Starbucks! Another hint: Get tall disposible cups and lids so you can pretend you just bought it there. Its all in the head.

you could always buy a car that doesn't drink fuel, good god man, 14 miles on three dollars of gas and you blame fuel prices rather than your bad sence in choosing a car with rubbish fuel economy!!?!?

Food for thought... Alternative fuels at present are ethanol or alcohol based. If you used E85 which is 85% ethanol and it cost the same per gallon as gasoline, your trip would have cost you $4.50 (approx) instead of $3.00 due to higher consumption rate. People won't buy a product that cost more.
Busses and trains are not a good choice here in the US as we aren't set up that way in most cities. A two hour buss ride each way to and from work won't encourage people to use the system.
Raising the price of fuel only hurts the poor. Now if we have a shortage, real or contrived, like we had in the early seventies. The only way people will change their habits is if they cannot get fuel or they are restricted to X amount of gallons per week or month.