That $4 cup of coffee...

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

So that is why the top brands of Scotch or Irish Whiskey can go for prices well north of $100?

--
Bill

i'm sure good liquor tastes like good liquor (it's all relative to my tastebuds) but generally if one can afford a bottle of the "good stuff" they'll buy it. if you're bringing in an income that makes a bottle of remy martin louis xiii a viable purchase, you're not going to be serving your guests thunderbird or mad dog 2020.

personally, i don't know from hard liquors. i'm sure a connoisseur would go into conniptions, but they all taste like rubbing alcohol to me. i have come to somewhat learn the difference between beers though. i'm not a hardened beer drinker but even i could tell the difference between decent beer and swill.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

I am on week 3 of a 4 week coffee and cola fast. It was supposed to have been all caffeine -- but I needed something to keep me from losing it so I started drinking green tea. Now I just need to find...a flavorful one..

Let me know if you find one, I'd like to try this too but green tea seems a very poor substitute on the few occasions I've tried it!

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

So that is why the top brands of Scotch or Irish Whiskey can go for prices well north of $100?

[pedant alert]Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey

[Kumabjorn]

If you're going for green tea make sure it's either from Shizuoka or Fukuoka. They have the best variations.

[b0ned0me]

Originally Posted by MattW

See how it's done? That's what I call science

You're probably aware of this already, but a certain George Orwell did a very similar analysis a few years ago. Plus ça change, etc.

[stewacide]

Here in Korea $4 is the absolute minimum you'll pay for a cup of brewed coffee. And they don't even have cream.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by stewacide

Here in Korea $4 is the absolute minimum you'll pay for a cup of brewed coffee. And they don't even have cream.

Do they add Kimchi?

[Kumabjorn]

They add kimchi to their deserts.
But hey, I love kimchi. especially the one done on daikon (large white oriental radish)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

They add kimchi to their deserts.
But hey, I love kimchi. especially the one done on daikon (large white oriental radish)

Yuck! I hate the stuff.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yuck! I hate the stuff.

Bananas are sweet, kimchi not so much.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Yuck! I hate the stuff.

It takes some getting used to. It's supposed to have plenty of health benefits - or so I learnt at the Kimchi museum.

[Kumabjorn]

It is a great snack with a cold beer, makes you drink lots of beer

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Skydog

I agree 100%. American coffee is watered-down and dreadful, by comparison, but most Americans have no idea what a cup of quality, properly brewed coffee tastes like. (and it sure is not Starbuck's)

Judging by the length of a single drink order from people in this topic and elsewhere, it seems like most americans don't like the taste of coffee as that is the only explanation for adding so much stuff in it to hide the coffee taste.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

As to the $13 e-book, I think the author is out of line. I don't know the author, haven't read his work, and have no idea whether the book is worth $13. And I have happily paid that much for an e-book, so I don't think that a $13 price is necessarily out of line.

However, if the book *is* worth $13, it's not worth $13 because some 2000 calorie coffee drink at Starbucks costs $4. It's also not worth $13 because Weeks spent two years working on it. As others have noted, it has no inherent worth; it is only worth what people will pay for it. Which means that individual readers will need to decide for themselves whether the price is right; Weeks's opinion doesn't have any impact on whether an individual reader would value the book that much.

I sort of understand why he was annoyed by the fan's comment, but a simple "if you don't think it's worth it, don't buy it" would have been enough.

Indeed, he does seem to have made a rather pointless comparison when the short and sweet response you mention would have been more effective as right from the outset it avoids any response of 'I don't overpay for coffee either' or encourages more relevant comparisons such as to the paper edition where it may not fare too well either.

[LucyLu]

Originally Posted by afv011

I have yet to find it. Every single bar, restaurant or coffee shop I tried sells the real thing. Italians and Spanish don't want a half litter cup of dirty water, they want a tiny cup that is really strong. The way it should be. And it only costs about 1 euro.

That's the reason why Starbuck is not present in Italy. They know that they should be doomed to fail!

Coffee is so much a part of Italian culture that the idea of drinking a "Starbuck half litter cup of dirty water" instead of a strong espresso is considered an heresy.

Just in case you want to order a coffee in Italy remember that there are several way to order it...

http://www.charmingitaly.com/types-of-italian-coffee/

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by LucyLu

That's the reason why Starbuck is not present in Italy.

I had to google that...and it's true!

At a time when Starbucks views global expansion as the key to future growth—and when it is virtually impossible to walk through a major European city without stumbling onto a Starbucks—the company has no presence whatsoever in the country that inspired its founding.

But it doesn't seem like quality would be the problem. Business model is:

In the U.S., most restaurants, including Starbucks, fill an espresso cup nearly to the top. In Italy, a typical serving rises only about a finger’s width from the bottom.

Chiari sells at least 1,000 cups of coffee a day, mostly in three short bursts, during which customers press and jostle against the bar. (Ordering it “to go” is unthinkable.) The first rush is at breakfast, on the way to work. There’s another at 10 a.m., when Italians break for espresso, and one more after lunch. A similar rhythm plays out in the nearly 140,000 bars and cafes across the country.

Italians, particularly those living in the south, prefer a stronger, more astringent espresso. Starbucks prides itself on using expensive arabica coffee beans with complex flavors. In Italy, because of cost and market demand, many roasters mix in significant quantities of bitter robusta beans.

In Italy, Starbucks finds itself on the knife-edge of globalization. The company may have taught tea-drinking cultures like China and Japan how to appreciate a cup of coffee. But in the birthplace of the cappuccino, Schultz confronts a more daunting challenge. Can a company succeed in a place where its product is available on every corner, where consumers remain wedded to a culture that’s all their own? Is it possible for an international brand to repackage a local tradition to the very people who invented it? There’s reason to believe the answer could be “si.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...092012.html#p1