Reply #28: A different perspective from Boston [View All]

[Gormy Cuss]

I agree that Starbucks has helped develop the specialty coffee niche in areas where it hadn't been before, but the track record in other areas was to come in and conquer the local vendor. In the Boston market where specialty coffee niche had already been developed, Starbucks came in like a 500 lb. gorilla and stomped on it.

Starbucks may not have killed all the mom and pop independents but they have swallowed regional chains like the Coffee Connection. The Coffee Connection was a small but growing chain in the Boston area (mostly Boston/Cambridge/Newton) and they only made coffee in French presses, had strict limits on how long the beans could be used after roasting (a week or less as I recall) and had a genius roasting the beans because there were huge differences in flavor based on the type of bean.
The Coffee Connection brand value was so high that after Starbucks purchased the chain it retained the name for a transitional period.

Many people love the Starbucks roast but I don't so I'm one of those people who seek out the indys. There aren't that many in most cities and too often when they do exist I find they are using Starbucks-style roasts. It's rare to find a light roast anymore.