[TwistedFates]

Lets all try not to get so bent out of shape here fellas.

kombuchakid,
Drink it. That's the best way to handle wine! Make up an occasion, invite some good friends, and toast away! Wine appreciation is great and all but the best way to appreciate it is to look at a group of friends, say "Kampai!" and gulp it. If you need more, any store will sell merlots.

BobbyBo,
That would be your noble choice and principle. However, Starbucks is a business. It operates on the basis of some simple economics: people buy their coffee. In fact they not only buy it, they choose to pay more because they go to Starbucks rather than a cheaper coffee retailer. By doing so they give Starbucks economic leverage and a clear indication that people are willing to pay a lot for coffee. Is that good or bad? That's for you, the informed, to decide and choose where you want to spend your money. The rest of the people will spend what they feel like spending.

[Bobbybo]

I wanted to be informative and then I added my comment.

In Italy more and more companies dealing with coffee agree to the "fair trade". People are willing to pay more for beans or grounded coffee sold on these terms.

To be informed is important in my opinion.

[kombuchakid]

a great reason to avoid SB and PC for that matter is that for the price of a large cup, you can get half a pound of freshly roasted beans from Graeco-Egyptian.
This thought keeps my visits down to maybe twice a month.

[TwistedFates]

Originally Posted by Bobbybo

I wanted to be informative and then I added my comment.

In Italy more and more companies dealing with coffee agree to the "fair trade". People are willing to pay more for beans or grounded coffee sold on these terms.

To be informed is important in my opinion.

Yes, it is definitely important to have all the facts.
Did you know too that "fair trade" beans only increases the cost of each cup of coffee by a few cents? But some companies dealing in "fair trade" beans push the marketing of this idea by charging 2 to 3 more times the cost of getting the "fair trade" beans per cup. So say instead of charging you the actual cost of 10 cents, they charge 20-30 cents. So they ended up making more money. An indication that people are actually willing to pay top dollar prices for their coffee. In England this was the case with at least one coffee chain but after complaints about this, they have now returned to fair pricing.

[Bobbybo]

Originally Posted by TwistedFates

Did you know too that "fair trade" beans only increases the cost of each cup of coffee by a few cents? But some companies dealing in "fair trade" beans push the marketing of this idea by charging 2 to 3 more times the cost of getting the "fair trade" beans per cup.

Now in Italy the price of "fair trade" coffee and normal coffee is almost on the same level.
A pack of 250gr. of "fair trade" grounded Colombia or Kenia or Santos goes around Eur3.
A generally called Arabica coffee from the well known brand Lavazza (oro) goes for Eur2.50 more or less.
Illy coffee, that I haven't heard supports the fair trade, goes for Eur4, but you pay the brand.

When the difference is small choosing fair is something smart to do.