It's Never Too Late

When I make a cup of coffee I change the world.

― Jean-Paul Sartre

The smart money's on Starbucks: its stock, which bolsters the leading hedge-fund portfolios, returned nearly 19% this month, despite a global drop in same-store sales.

But, I'm sorry, I've had it with Starbucks. Not the stock. The store.

I just paid $3 for a single cup of drip coffee―only a buck less than the price I pay for a whole pound of ground at Safeway (the equivalent of 27 cups of brew).  

Coffee is my water, as singer Becky G says; and though many Americans will gladly fork over three bills for a bottle of water, I won't pay that for a cup of coffee―not even a cup of kopi luwak, the coffee made from civet doodie.

I guess I'll be making my own coffee now. It's still the cheapest way―and has been for a century. A home-brewed cup in 1920 cost only 24 cents (adjusted for inflation). Today it costs a drop less―just 18 cents.

The sad thing is, I used to love Starbucks. 

I'd spend hours of my time there, even though the chairs were tippy and the stores looped the same Bob Marley record over and over again. I sat drinking coffee and reading philosophy books, yakking with fellow caffeine addicts about movies and politics, and writing marketing copy (my sole source of income for years).

But at some point the romance forsook our marriage.

The reasons escape me. 

Were I to consult Dr. Phil, I'm sure he'd say it was my fault our marriage turned ugly (or as he'd put it, "It's because of you your marriage looks like the dogs keep it under the porch").

And he'd be right. I demeaned Starbucks, complaining when the bathrooms hadn't been cleaned. I hid expenditures for restaurants, clothes, and movie tickets. I was neglectful. And I had a wandering eye: more than once I fantasized about visiting Peet's.

But Dr. Phil would be quick also to point out that marriage is a proverbial "two-way street" and at least some of the blame for the chill in our relationship falls on Starbucks.

Starbucks was simply too needy. It begrudged me for sitting hours on end with my nose in a book. It turned angry over the the fact that I ignored important chores, like taking out the garbage. And it resented that we never went anywhere.

But it's never too late to remove the strains on our marriage, Dr. Phil would add. 

Starbucks and I could still sit down and reach an understanding about what we each need, what we each deserve, and what we can realistically give one another. 

Starbucks only needs to affirm that our commitment and loyalty to each other are deep.

And drop the price of a Grande Drip.