Charity begins at. . . Starbucks?

By Mir
July 28, 2006
Category Quick Tips

Good morning! This little tidbit is something I learned from Carmen yesterday, and she had bags of coffee to prove it, so it must be true.

Apparently Starbucks takes the bottom cup of beans or so from every industrial-sized bag they use and wrap them up and give them out rather than repackaging and reselling then. Some Starbucks’ leave them sitting on the counter, some you have to ask for them. But what you’ll get is a nice little package of enough beans to brew a pot of coffee. For free.

Starbucks, I hereby officially repent of referring to you as the Evil Empire.

11 Comments

  1. If you garden, many starbucks have bags of used grounds near the door that you can take and add to your soil or what have you for free.

    Then your garden smells like coffee, and it helps your plants.

  2. I never knew that. We have a bagel shop around here that gives away bagels to their customers late on Saturday. If you order 2, they’ll give you about a dozen. It’s happened to us twice.

    Kudos to Starbucks

  3. Hey, I thought the Evil Empire started with a Wal and ended with a Mart. Ohhh…we don’t want to go there..so never mind.

    Yes, you can compost coffee grounds, but we careful to add it in with other material. I heard straight coffee grounds can be too acidic.

    Happy Friday, everyone!

  4. There is one very excellent reason why Starbucks is not the Evil Empire: They have a company policy that you don’t have to buy something to use their bathroom. Whether your guilt (or thirst) prevails is up to you.

  5. No, I do not work at Starbucks, but I recently was encouraged to hear that they offer even part-time employees health insurance benefits. In today’s world that can be priceless to many people.

  6. I don’t like what Starbucks does to Mom and Pop shops, but they treat their employees very well. Hooray for health benefits for part-timers! In all fairness it’s nowhere near the level of evil that Walmart is.

  7. I always thought that Microsoft was the “Evil Empire.” But my personal opinion is that Wal-Mart is eviler than Microsoft. But it’s true that Starbucks does offer health insurance to part-timers – I have a friend who used to work there. Also, I’ve seen a few tv/broadcast segments on Starbucks’ CEO/owner and I’m impressed by him – he is trying to do the right thing by his employees.

    Now, my question is, has anyone besides Carmen ever gotten this free coffee? I have an irrational fear of appearing stupid to people who don’t know me. If I walk up to the counter and asked for the “left-over, free coffee beans” are they going to stare at me like I have two heads?

  8. Not so fast, it’s probably only because they’re smooshy and gross. But it’s refreshing that you’re optimistically giving them credit!

  9. They aren’t smooshy and gross, they are perfect coffee beans. I get them all the time, and pop them into my cabinet. A free pot of coffee, after all, is a free pot of coffee.

    And I’ve seen them in tons of stores around. Just ask. The people who work there are usually pretty friendly and they’ll help you out.

  10. Okay, I’m going to be the bad seed here…

    If you like your coffee burnt, drink Starbucks. The reason behind the bitter, burnt beans is so you can get that consistent flavor all across the country.

    I personally, like to support the local shops. They often will do nice things for regulars (like give you free bagels on days you didn’t realize they were closing earlier because of the damn parade). Find a good local shop, that buys their beans that are roasted to perfect each time. Fair trade shops also beat out the competition any time.

  11. i’m afraid of starbucks. Everyone I know is addicted to that place.

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