Why I Gave Up Starbucks, and How it’s Going

Photo by Henry & Co. on Unsplash

Last May, I decided to limit my drinking of Starbucks coffee. I wasn’t giving up all coffee; I was just not going to drink Starbucks as much, with the ultimate goal of no longer spending what I suspect is $1,200 a year for my coffee drinking—though I’ve never actually run the numbers out of fear that the number is even higher.

I’d been drinking Starbucks Coffee almost exclusively for over twenty years. Whether it was store-bought brew or brewed at home, it was Starbucks. If I was somewhere that didn’t have Starbucks, I would go without it.

So, why did I give up Starbucks—a company I’d been loyal to for decades? It wasn’t the company’s politics, per se, because I’d known it was a liberal company with liberal politics and culture. But I didn’t care about that because the coffee was too damn good. And frankly, I don’t boycott companies over politics.

In May of 2022, I learned that Starbucks corporate has a policy to pay its employees’ travel costs for an abortion or for so-called “gender-affirming” procedures, even for dependents (read: children) of employees. (RELATED: Has Starbucks Finally Pushed Me Away?)

Anyone who reads my articles on PJ Media knows how I feel about transgenderism and the grooming of children into the transgender cult. Years ago, Target lost my business when it adopted its transgender bathroom policy in 2016, effectively allowing men to enter the women’s restrooms in their stores. And, from where I sit, Starbucks is aiding and abetting child abuse.

The decision to give up Starbucks was easy. But, unfortunately, the realities of doing so were not—it has undoubtedly been a lot more complicated than giving up Target, a store I rarely shopped at, and for which there are plenty of more easily accessible alternatives.

How’s it going so far?

Starbucks Coffee is no longer part of my daily coffee routine. I don’t buy Starbucks coffee beans or Keurig K-Cups. My coffee choice now is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s Just Black roast. Of all their roasts, this one is the most Starbucks-tasting to me. In addition to being able to get whole bean Just Black, there are also single-use pods compatible with the Keurig.

So, Starbucks is no longer part of my daily coffee routine, and I’m happy about that. However, other aspects have not been so easy to shake the woke coffee giant. Even though Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is growing and expanding, they have a long way to go to be as widely available as Starbucks. So, yes, there are situations (like when I’m traveling) where Starbucks is the only drinkable coffee option.

The other issue is during the summer months when I prefer to have cold brew coffee in the afternoons. Starbucks has excellent cold brew concentrate pods, and BRCC has no equivalent product. BRCC does have cold brew filter pouches, but my attempt to brew good cold brew from it wasn’t very successful, and even if it were, it’s not as convenient as the concentrate pods. So, I’m still looking for the ideal cold brew Starbucks alternative. It’s a small bump in the road in my quest to rid myself of Starbucks.

I’m open to recommendations for easy-to-make cold brew.

I estimate 95% of the money I’m currently spending on coffee is no longer being spent at Starbucks. So, considering I spent more than twenty years loyal to the brand, I think I’ve done well so far in the divorce with Starbucks.