Eh, while I have no special insight into why Starbucks might have had a poor quarter, none of this (in TFA) is new. As a moderate 'coffee person', Starbucks ha

Eh, while I have no special insight into why Starbucks might have had a poor quarter, none of this (in TFA) is new. As a moderate 'coffee person', Starbucks has always been somewhere between convenience and last resort. It has always sold an image, rather than an excellent product. Its practice of widening its offerings with weird and wonderful concoctions that bear little resemblance to coffee itself has been around as long as I can remember Starbucks existing as a presence in the high street. And frankly, I'm minded to be more forgiving of the derided 'Oleato' drinks - at least they're coffee-focussed, and novel enough to be interesting. Also, the headline of the article is flat wrong: while lots of people aren't serious about coffee, it's possible to be more serious about coffee than ever before - very serious indeed. If you want really good coffee in a reasonably-sized city, don't go to a chain. (Although I think most people that care, knew this already.). Instead, download one of the various coffee-shop-listing-and-reviewing apps out there, or alternatively (in a pinch) add the phrase "third wave" to your search on Google Maps - it's not guaranteed, but is usually a good starting point.