Starbucks Coffee Company
Coffee shop · Hudson County ·
Signature roasts, light bites, and WiFi availability
Signature roasts, light bites, and WiFi availability
"Brought back for its 15th annual run, the chain’s pumpkin-spice latte is presented and best understood as a liquid dessert rather than an everyday coffee: a hot milkshake flavored to evoke pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) with only a small amount of actual pumpkin. Mass-produced and deliberately simple—brown in color and built on an already familiar flavor profile—it trades culinary ambition for broad appeal, which helps explain its popularity even as some consumers’ enthusiasm feels overwrought. As an industrially engineered sweet it’s a serviceable fast-food–style dessert, arguably preferable to other processed options, while some of the chain’s flashier seasonal experiments aim more for viral attention and visual spectacle than for lasting taste satisfaction. " - Tim Forster
"The pumpkin spice latte has become the definitive harbinger of fall for fans, described as tasting like a melted pumpkin‑pie milkshake with a hint of espresso. After early customer surveys in 2003 suggested little interest, a product manager named Peter Dukes refined a spice-forward formula and introduced the drink in a few markets, where it proved an immediate hit. Traditionally available a few weeks before the start of autumn and served for about four months—the chain’s busiest period—the beverage’s annual “drop date” is a major event; for the first time in company history it was officially released before Labor Day (August 28), a sign of the now-rampant “PSL creep.” To stoke excitement around its fall lineup the company even launched a warm, community-focused Facebook group called the Leaf Rakers Society. In addition to the pumpkin spice latte, the fall menu has included items like a salted caramel mocha, a pumpkin spice chai latte, and various seasonal baked goods, and the early release is part of a push to revive enthusiasm after a difficult year while spurring a wider flood of less-iconic pumpkin spice products across the market." - Greg Morabito
"A large coffee retailer has committed to replacing plastic straws with alternative options—such as sippy-cup-style lids—by 2020 as part of efforts to cut single-use plastics." - Chris Fuhrmeister
"Announced a commitment to eliminate plastic straws by 2020, prompting demand for viable paper-straw alternatives." - Daniel Geneen
"A corporate decision to phase out single-use plastics and shift toward biodegradable alternatives has provoked concern among disabled customers who rely on plastic straws and lids for safe drinking. Compostable or biodegradable straws often break down, melt, or fail with hot liquids, and asking patrons to bring their own or to disclose medical needs places extra labor, stigma, and barriers on people already navigating an inaccessible world. Policies that remove plastic options without robust accommodations risk excluding loyal customers and creating situations where disabled people must prove or explain their needs to obtain basic hospitality." - Alice Wong
