Originally Posted by jackal

I have the opposite problem: outside of the Pacific Northwest, I have a hard time finding good coffee and actually find myself descending to the level of Starbucks. Starbuck's mass-produced, over-roasted ("for consistency") beans and mostly-entry-level baristas pushing buttons on automated machines is just not quality. But when the only other options in an area are Seattle's Best (also a SBUX company, but an even more down-market brand) and Dunkin' Donuts, well, sometimes the 'bucks is all you can get.