Today I lost my ‘Starbucks’ virginity.

It was my first time, and probably my last. I'd never been to a Starbucks before, partly because Naomi Woolf gave them such a bad rap in her book about rampant globalism, No Logo. Anyway, that didn't seem such an issue now that Starbucks have announced the closure of almost all their Australian stores. I read about it here.

 

That wasn't enough on its own to prompt me to break the habit of a lifetime and start drinking coffee. But a colleague who couldn't take a lunch break was desperate for her last 'Grande Mocha with skinny and no whip'. What a mouthful! What have I been missing?

 

A bill for $4.75, that's what.

 

As I handed my colleague a cardboard cup and her 25 cents change, I had little sympathy for her not being able to buy her favourite coffee any more. I have plenty of sympathy (and empathy) for the staff who are losing their jobs.

 

But apart from that, I won't miss Starbucks. They never were my cup of tea.