Tully's Letters

Consumer Reports recently rated McDonald's Coffee more highly than Starbucks. In their March issue, the magazine referred to the fast food giant's Premium Roast variety as 'cheapest and best.'

The tasting panel took their coffees black and without cream, milk or sugar. They also visited two locations for each company that was reviewed. Starbucks coffee was labeled "strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open." Ouch!

So, is this an accurate perception of the American public on what is, if not the number one coffee chain in the country, certainly the one with the most retail stores (13,000 to date)? Or, if we look beyond the taste of their coffee and look at the brand experience, are we really getting anything different than McDonald's?

During the Starbucks expansion, the company installed automatic espresso machines rather than manual ones, and began to sell hot food, mugs and cds. And, yikes, they even began to install drive-through windows! As McDonald's, KFC and other fast food chains remodeled their interiors and offerings and began to move upmarket, Starbucks has begun to look less distinctive.

If the Starbucks plan is to grow to 40,000 outlets worldwide, what do they need to do to avoid moving from the upmarket to the middle? Or, is it inevitable that they will become, over time, the new Chock Full O' Nuts?