Boycott of one

I can hold a grudge.

I started boycotting Starbucks in 2005 to teach them a lesson when they closed the Torrefazione cafes.  Clearly they've suffered financial from my boycott of one and rue the day they crossed swords with me.

I remember learning Star-assimilate-or-die-bucks bought the chain in 2003 and asking the baristas what would happen.

"We've been told everything will remain the same."

My friend Dorcas and I exhaled in relief.  The NW 23rd location was one of our favorite places to meet up.  I continued to blissfully sip my uber-yummy cafe au laits for a couple more years before the ax fell.  I vowed a Starbucks brew would not pass over my lips again.

I never was a Starbucks fan.  The coffee usually tasted burnt and bitter.  I generally referred to the behemoth as the Walmart of coffee.  Instituting my boycott wasn't a hardship.

What was challenging, was getting other people on board with me.

People like to meet at a Starbucks (they're conveniently located and always near wherever you happen to be at the moment) and bring Starbucks to meetings at the office (who doesn't love a box of coffee?). Plus, it's predictable (McCoffee).

I confess, I've given in more than just a few times over the years (again, when there's a box of coffee in front of you, it's hard to say "no, thanks").  And, it's getting harder to buy coffee beans at the market that aren't somewhere, somehow actually produced by Starbucks.

However, in the spirit of my but sandwich-free resolve, I recommit to the boycott.  I'm not asking you to join me.  I do ask that you 1)hold me accountable if you see me slipping & sipping and 2)understand if I want to meet at Caffe Umbria or Posie's Bakery or Albina Press, etc. instead of Starbucks.

You may have to walk a couple more blocks, but I promise the coffee and the company will be worth it.