The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[monkeymom]

For those of you who don't like Starbucks, but want more than Dunkin Donuts offers, give Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf a try - if you have one near. My daughter has worked for them for a couple of years (not management though, just a supervisor) - I can honestly say that I really love their product. The coffee is much better than Starbucks - no burnt beans there. And their teas are awesome.

One complaint though - they do not use the sugar free syrups, so finding a flavored drink that is compliant is a bit more of a challenge, but they have no sugar added/fat free powders, so there are things you can do.

Oh - and they are certified Kosher. Doesn't matter to me, but I know a lot of people go there just because of that.

[Mike]

My vote is for Peets Coffee and Tea. Its just smoother, but alas, not as extensive as Starbucks.

They have a SF mocha, and vanilla syrup. Good for coffee and espressos with a little half and half.

[Serendipity]

Am I the only burned bean lover here? I feel so alone!

I love coffee, burned or not, smooth or not, the stronger the better. Non of those syrups to ruin the coffee taste either.

Alas, no coffee shops within 50 miles of me. I order some great stuff online at beancentral dot com. And of course every trip to the city includes a stop at Starbucks.

[alpha femme]

nah, i dig 5bucks. it's an office i can rent for $5 a day, and the employees at any of the 5 locations i hit (oh, the life of an adjunct) up always treat me right.

as far as the military donations are concerned:
starbucks has a charitable donation policy they have used since inception-- they donate time, money and resources (heavily, i might add) to the communities immediately surrounding their locations. they do not give to oganizations of a political or religious nature.

to me, this makes sense. they do allow customers and employess to organize mass donations, but they keep the focus at home. i think our military personnel appreciate the fact that a middle school can get sports equipment and/or instruments from seriously under-funded programs-- especially if they have children living in such an area.

too often, we want to blame corporate america for being successful. i look at the fact that our goverment wouldn't provide decent (or any) body armor for years as a problem. i have issues with the fact that humvees were not plated on the bottom (to reduce costs of manufacturing and operation). i have no problem with a successful company that makes a conscious decision to give back to the communities that support it.

not everything in life is about supporting the government or its employees, and our troops, while brave, are not starving. they get coffee with every single mre. sometimes the most patriotic thing to do is contribute to areas the government is letting fall between the cracks.

[Diana]

Hear, hear, Alex!!!

[SharonR]

Wow I love Starbucks!

I will say that a client brought me a Latte a few weeks ago from Pete's and it was smooth, very yummy. I have only had Pete's a few times and wasn't very fond of it until then.

[Mike]

Peets beats all other local places for me. Ya gotta beware of them though. A SF vanilla americano with a little cream is the way to go and be compliant.