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A lot is said about the coffee giant Starbucks. A lot is said about their expensive drinks, their marketing, their customer service, and their 'atmosphere'.
A lot is said about the coffee giant Starbucks. A lot is said about their expensive drinks, their marketing, their customer service, and their 'atmosphere'.
However you feel about Starbucks, one thing is certain: They are a part of the American culture.
I have experienced Starbucks from Denver to D.C., from Ft. Launderdale to New York City (I came up from the subway in Manhattan and asked Siri to find me one. There were four within a 1/2 block radius of where I stood).
All three of my children, plus my daughter-in-law have worked for Starbucks. (Actually, that's where my son Zach met his bride Jessie.)
My last ministry job would find me regularly having meetings with my colleagues and team members there.
Before he moved away, I met every two weeks in the early morning with a friend for a mutual encouragement and accountability at a Starbucks.
I have even shared an 'airport layover coffee' in Delhi with one of my sons while traveling through India.
Why am I sharing all of this? Because although I enjoy the Starbucks experience, I cannot afford the Starbucks prices on a regular basis. Plus, plain coffee is really not my thing: I prefer the more expensive flavored drinks. So for my own coffee enjoyment, I make Starbucks.
It began with my wife buying me a nice coffee machine for my birthday a few years ago. Then she bought me an assortment of flavored syrups. I experimented with different combinations of mocha, white mocha, caramel, peppermint, raspberry, hazelnut, toffee nut, and even orange. Peppermint mocha emerged as my favorite.
Recently my wife surprised me with an originally created dark chocolate syrup that is literally to die for. I remembered that Starbucks once had a dark cherry mocha drink on their menu a few years back, so I did a little online shopping and found some black cherry syrup. The result: My new all-time favorite dark cherry mocha drink!
You too can be creative. I achieved this with three essential elements:
- A felt need: Enjoy a Starbucks style flavored drink without paying the Starbucks style prices.
- A tested model: I had sampled the Starbucks flavored drinks and knew what my favorites tasted like.
- A little creativity: Online & local shopping, kitchen experiments, imagination.
What have you created on your own as an alternative to consumer products? Share your thoughts below in 'comments'. If you like this post, you can re-post, 'share' it on your Facebook@bigcloudmusic if you find me interesting. Subscribe to this Blog if you'd like.
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