February 26, 2008

A world without Starbucks? Yikes, today! (for 3 hours)

All you Starbucks junkies out there (you know who you are) are in for a jolt tonight, and we're not talking about the caffeine in a Venti Espresso Macchiato, or whatever a $4 cup of coffee is called these days.

For three hours tonight, Starbucks is going dark. As in closed. At 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time (that's 4:30 here), all 7,100 Starbucks will close for training. According to an article in the Seattle Times, Starbucks is introducing a new set of standards for making their coffee drinks, and the most important feature of each store — the espresso machine — had to be commandeered to spread the knowledge to the baristas.

"They will be trained in creating the perfect shot, steaming the milk and all the pieces that come together in a drink," a company spokeswoman told the newspaper. (Gee, we woulda hoped they already know how to do that stuff.)

More HERE.

In the meantime, we're sure coffee lovers (and those of you who go mostly for the wi-fi connection), can find other alternatives around town. Can you spell JavaVino, Grounds Keeper, Caribou, Wilson's, Dunn Brothers, Mocha Lisa... who am I missing?

Hang in there, Starbucks aficionados. For three hours, anyway. Be brave.

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