00:00 [Music] hello everyone Thanks for tuning in it's Monday and if you're like millions of Americans out there you start your day off with coffee and because I received a request from a guy named Eric in the St Paul Minnesota that's what I'm going to be talking about coffee namely Starbucks coffee and a bit more than just that in the next few minutes thanks for the request Eric and thank you for the cup of coffee it is sincerely appreciated now I have to go into a little backstory here because if I don't

00:51 what I'm trying to fill you in on will be as clear as coffee and you probably won't be able to follow what the hell I'm trying to tell you I really enjoy a good cup of joe myself I even have a small espresso machine which I use occasionally but mainly for guests I mainly use the gravity drip meth method from good ground beans I take it black with no sugar which totally makes sense as it seems to match my admittedly stoic and Spartan personality but when I have a guest it's a different matter and if they're partial to

01:41 Starbucks macino fuino or crappuccino as I affectionately refer to them I can make them not only exactly like Starbucks but even better as I've been told many times and as an old friend named Scott was to find out I want to let you know at this point that how I discovered all this is far too much to go into but I know exactly how Starbucks makes its various coffees perhaps more importantly their actual cost so I asked Scott what his favorite Starbucks drink was and told him flatly that my version would be better of

02:28 course he was skeptical until he took his first drink and his reaction was priceless damn this is really better than Starbucks I think I'll start coming here for my morning coffee I said that's fine I'm really glad you liked it so much that'll be 750 and he laughed a little bit then I responded I'm serious Scott it's 7:50 it's the time expertise and ingredients he gave me that somewhat surprise deer at the headlight stare and actually started to reach for his wallet then I told him no Scott it's it's okay

03:14 this one's on the house but actually I was performing an experiment and it's because of that experiment that I can spill the beans so to speak to you concerning Starbucks and and a bit more first let me talk about Starbucks Highway Rob I mean um its prices a Starbucks price for the drink that I made for Scott around 750 for a regular size my price for the exact same coffee except better a111 for a regular size that comes down to a percentage difference rounded up of 576 more expensive at Starbucks let that sink in for just a

04:08 moment 576 one hell of a markup but wait it gets even worse that price and percentage I came up with included everything including ingredients utilities and labor averaged but bear in mind the price of my ingredients was at Supermarket Consumer Price Starbucks doesn't pay that the huge corporate discounts they get because they can purchase in much bulk significantly lowers their cost so the actual percentage difference or their actual profit ratios would be a bit more difficult for me to calculate but my point was to illustrate

04:56 that even at the obscene profit ratio of 576 was a minimum it should give you a pretty good idea of how much you're being financially raped every time you buy one of their fakinos but wait there's more in case you don't already know this regardless of what they call themselves and regardless of the actual product they sell you Starbucks is actually a real estate company and what really matters to that corporate Behemoth is total retail space and the total value of that space over time an admittedly oversimplified yet

05:44 accurate way of describing Starbucks would be as a real estate firm that just happens to also sell coffee and food items so at this point you might be saying to yourself thanks for all that information Ernest but as red butler with gone from the wind said frankly my dear nnest I don't give a damn and I can understand that I totally understand how some of you simply don't care about this people fall into patterns as a matter of comfort either the familiarity of getting what you want at Starbucks or you are wealthy

06:30 enough that a markup of almost 600% doesn't bother you and that's fine but what I'm talking about here is information that millions of other people really do care about especially if they're not wealthy and especially if they're smart enough to appreciate getting this kind of info because they know they sure as hell ain't going to be getting it from Starbucks just a brief moment with a message for our sponsor you if you're finding this episode interesting or informative so far I would really appreciate it if you would

07:15 hit the Subscribe and notification Bell it really does help the channel grow and if you want me to discuss a subject or offer me some support you can do so from the links in the description below hell just giving me a cup of coffee would be greatly appreciated and now back to the show I can't speak for everybody out there just myself as far as Starbucks's concerned I have never not once bought anything from Starbucks I've been in there with other people and if they offered to you know buy me a coffee I

07:59 would gracely accept just a cup of Basic Black Coffee well Eric that's some of what I have to say about Starbucks I could actually go on with a bit more but I really don't like to talk people's ear off so I hope my main points were informative or at least entertaining I would like to just leave you with this there's an old saying that a person who won't stand for something will fall for anything and as far as I'm concerned of the many things that I do stand for we can add another one for not

08:44 allowing myself to be financially raped to the tune of almost 600% overcost by a real estate company that just happens to sell coffee on the side until next time this is Ernest wishing your health wealth and good luck