It’s gotten to the point that the word “coffee” has almost become synonymous with a white cup and a green goddess.  In a city the size of Vancouver there’s almost literally a Starbucks on every corner, and one in many of our grocery stores now too.  While they may be closing stores in both the US and Australia, here in Canada it seems like there’s a new one cropping up monthly.  I’m not sure I can even count on one hand the number of locations within a 10 block radius of Broadway and MacDonald (I believe there are 6).

While their coffee is probably not the best (their in-store brewed drip coffee tends to vary between weak mud, and caustic acid), it is definitely the most readily available.  Some locations are open as early as 5 am, or as late as 11 pm, which for those of us who work unusual hours, can be rather handy.  There’s nothing like not having to actually make a pot of coffee on the way to your night shift.  And definitely bring your thermos, they offer a discount to those who bring their own cups.

While they do offer an assortment of other hot beverages, and high colorie munchies (the healthiest of which, their “low-fat fruit bar” has 240 calories, and is admittedly ABSOLUTELY delicious), as anyone could tell you, Starbucks’ real specialty is in the form of over priced, over sweetened warm milk in their famously confusing cup sizes (anyone want to tell me what Venti really means!?).