As a former barista of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, I have become somewhat educated on caffeinated beverages. I use to be obsessed with Starbucks because it is the only coffee shop everyone is familiar with. People are in love with Starbucks for two reasons: the convenience and the caffeine (obviously). What people don't like to realize is that this company purely thrives off efficiency. How else would this coffee shop be able to serve the amount of customers they get on a Monday morning?

For those of you that don’t know, espresso is usually pulled from a barista. The espresso beans will be ground into a portafilter that is packed by a barista and entered through an espresso machine. After the portafilter enters the machine, water streams through the espresso and is timed to ensure that the espresso grinds are at the right consistency and that the barista packed the espresso grinds well enough.

In this situation, the barista has complete control over the grind. They can always re-do their packing pressure and change the grinder settings if the espresso is too fine or too thick. At Starbucks, all the barista has to do a press a button on their automated espresso machine. Quick and easy, but good quality? I don’t think so, Starbucks.

Also, Starbucks regulars probably think a macchiato is what Starbucks says it is. An espresso drink filled with steamed milk and topped off with an inch of foam. Universally, this is not what a “macchiato” is. A macchiato is an espresso beverage with a small amount of steamed milk topped with a dollop of foam. It also can’t be served over ice. This is a big difference considering traditional macchiato is finished after three sips. Don’t worry; before I was a barista I was guilty of not knowing this either. I remember taking orders from a Starbucks regular that was shocked at the “wrong” beverage I made them.

I'm not shaming anyone at all for drinking beverages at Starbucks at all, because I'm guilty of it too. It is on every corner and there are even two located at my college campus. When I'm half asleep, I don't really feel like going the extra mile to get a local cup of quality coffee. I save that for a cute coffee date with friends or when I really want to indulge on a rich flavored cup.