Why is it so difficult for commercial coffee companies to produce good tasting coffee? For example, if you’re in America, how come Starbucks’s coffee doesn’t taste as good as Blue Bottle Coffee or Stumptown?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “blue bottle coffee best seller“
IMO, it all boils down to, how fresh is the roast?
Commercial coffee companies are focused on mega sales which they receive due to marketing, packaging, and shelf life. Smaller coffee companies, like Blue Bottle and Stumptown used to be (more on that in a moment), create better coffee because their roast is fresher. Same is true with small specialty coffee roasters. Better coffee because they are using fresher roasted coffee.
I have recently heard that the quality of Stumptown and Blue Bottle has declined which should not be surprising. These two companies were recently bought out by larger companies (Blue Bottle by Nestlé, Stumptown by Peet’s), which then change the business model from small artisan focused on quality, to big conglomerate focused on marketing, packaging, and shelf life.
The antidote for this phenomenon, is for consumers to buy green coffee and roast it themselves. This will provide multiple benefits which include; better tasting coffee, control and choice over roast preference (light, medium, or dark), increased health benefits, and saving money!
Your personal preference. Just like beer.