8 Reasons To Love And Appreciate Starbucks Even More
We all need more Starbucks in our lives.
Call me traditional/#basic/a consumer feeding into corporate America, but I will always get my coffee from Starbucks.
I love the coffee, the relaxed vibe that's somehow consistent across thousands of stores and everything in between. So much that I've even forgiven them for their lame red ombre holiday cups.
Recently, my favorite coffee chain proved it's not some corporate, heartless giant when they pledged to donate 100% of its leftover food to FoodShare.
So, in honor of this amazing initiative, here are eight reasons I love Starbucks.
1. They have 87,000 types of drinks
THAT'S SO MANY DRINKS! I have a go-to drink for each season (fall: pumpkin spice latte, winter: chai tea latte, spring: iced/hot vanilla soy latte, summer: peach green tea lemonade), but I basically could get a different drink each day for the rest of my life and still never have tried them all.
2. Speaking of which, the secret menu is golden
The secret menu has 200+ drinks, including seasonal flavors. There's the Shamrock Frappuccino (which totally gives McDonald's Shamrock Shake a run for its money), a Chunky Monkey Frap (equivalent to dessert heaven) and the list continues. You can check out all the other secret menu items here.
3. There's nothing that gets you in the holiday spirit like Starbucks' seasonal drinks
Peppermint mochas, chestnut praline lattes, eggnog lattes...the list of greatness goes on. The moment I see those red cups, I immediately know it's time to jam to holiday music while sipping liquid holiday spirit.
And that's not even including all the other holiday brilliance, like the three drool-worthy Valentine's Day Frappucinos that filled a big hole in my single girl heart.
4. They have every size drink to fit your caffeine needs
Sure, Tall, Grande and Venti are the most common sizes, but they also have a Short, which is smaller than a tall, and a Trenta, which is bigger than a Venti.
Fun fact, though: Trenta means 30 in Italian because the drink is 30.9-ounces -- that contains more liquid than the average human stomach can hold.
Luckily, most of us will just sip our coffee over the course of a few hours so if you're really feeling it, by all means go Trenta.
5. Starbucks spends more on healthcare insurance for employees than on coffee beans
CEO Howard Schultz returned to the company in 2008 and cut $600 million in spending. When analyzing the company's expenses, health insurance for its employees was estimated around $300 million, which is more than Starbucks spends on coffee beans alone. Instead of decreasing it, Schultz chose to shut down 600 stores.
6. Some Starbucks sell craft beer and wine
I have yet to try this, surprisingly, but I'm already loving the idea of casually sipping some Chardonnay in Starbucks.
7. It's all over the world
Starbucks is in Australia, Japan, the UK, the Middle East, etc. Isn't it cool to have something that sort of unites all us coffee lovers?
You can check out the full list of Starbucks locations here.
8. Starbucks donates its leftover food to people in need
As mentioned before, Starbucks recently pledged to donate 100 percent of leftover food through FoodShare. The amazing initiative is in partnership with nonprofit organization Feeding America and food collection group Food Donation Connection, which allows the company to donate perishable, ready-to-eat meals from its 7,6000 U.S. stores.
To give you an idea of how many people this program could be feeding, check this:
So how does this work? Food Donation Connection and Feeding America will pick up food each day from Starbucks in the US with refrigerated vans.
It will take 24 hours or less for the food to reach those in need, roundtrip.
"This food is going to make a difference, whether it’s a child not going hungry for the night or a family that’s able to enjoy a protein plate that they would not have otherwise been able to afford at Starbucks," Starbucks store manager Kienan McFadden said in a press release. "Rescuing food ... from being thrown away will change lives."
Keep being awesome, Starbucks.
