Friday, May 13, 2011

When Words Mean Nothing - Starbucks, Tall, and No Coffee.

All I can say is WTF.  WTF?   I don't go to Starbucks.  The coffee tastes burnt and I'm not happy plunking down three bucks for a cup of coffee.  Plus, I don't like the snooty pretentiousness of the place.

Me, if I can't make it at home I want it from a gas station.  Gas stations make the best coffee.  Its the stuff that keeps truckers wired, the homeless awake and scientists honing their craft.

Last week I went to Starbucks.  Roxanne likes Starbucks, but probably because she's not a coffee drinker.  We went in and I ordered a coffee.  The guy behind the counter wasn't sure how to deal with an order of plain black coffee.  He then asks me if I want a "TALL".

I cheerfully nod, anticipating my TALL coffee.

See, where I come from "tall" means, well, tall.  It means one that is bigger, possibly higher than the others. You can't have a "tall" unless you have a "short".  "Tall" means that there is something on the scale that is smaller.  But I am just a rube off the turnip truck, unfamiliar with the ways of high-end coffee getting.

The Starbuck's "Tall" cowers in the shadow of the 
48 oz tumbler of goodness from Stinkie Lyle's 
Shit N Git.  Starbuck's tall, $3.  Stinkie Lyle's, $1.06 with tax!

The guy behind the counter puts a Barbie-sized cup of coffee on the counter with my name on it.  I turn to Roxanne and tell her that there must be some kind of mistake, as I clearly ordered a "tall" coffee and the thing I received as actually quite short, so short it might keep my heart beating for about ten minutes, enough to get over to Stinkie Lyle's for a good cup of mud.

Turns out that the tall is a short and there is no small, but there is some other things that one could order, and they are not extra tall and extra-super-tall

I'm saving my coffee dollar for Stinkie Lyle.  It tastes better, I get more, it is cheaper, and Stinkie Lyle inches a bit closer to his Nascar tickets with each purchase.  Forget Starbucks and their tall that isn't. 

1 comments:

Judy said...

kev, reminds me of my dad... "can i please just have a cup of regular coffee... no flavors.or perfume.. no hazelnut, cherry or oatmeal flavor..and I want it in mug you can hold on to,..not a paper cup with a some toilet paper holder around it."