I, too, worked as a barista at Starbucks, while I was in college. Always gave away my beans, too. Starbucks still has those health bennies for part-time employees.

I prefer the smaller coffeeshops to Starbucks, not because I think Starbucks is necessarily evil, but because I can't stand the faux hipsters that infest the DC locations, and I just happen to like most of the ones in my area. Sadly enough, my favorite local coffee shop is under new ownership that added hookah to the mix...and it has become a hipster hangout. Ugh.

I must be weird because I absolutely love home-brewed drip coffee to the point where my mom has to dig out the regular coffeepot from the basement when I'm at her house, since I prefer it to her espresso machine. I have a thing for creamers, and I'm always trying new flavors, so maybe that's it. While you think this would save me money, despite my preference I am usually grabbing Starbucks since I couldn't wake up in time to brew coffee/prepare a travel mug to save my life thanks to law school exhaustion.

I rarely hang out in Starbucks because I literally hate being in one. They used to be overcrowded with sorority girls when I was in undergrad, and this drove me nuts because I was already a bit overtired from constant sorority from living in my house. I don't like the atmosphere at the one at my law school because there are students with babies in there and it makes me feel old.

What's up with people talking about "hipster" people at Starbucks? I've never seen them at any of the Starbucks in my area. Maybe it's a location thing.

Starbucks is a commodity in Seattle, so you see all kinds there. We don't have as much fast food here - Starbucks is our fast food. Hipsters abound from San Francisco up to Seattle, and it's fair to say you'll see them in all the coffee shops, restaurants, bars, etc. I think it comes with the creative, tech, educated populace.

That's because Detroit hipsters wouldn't be caught dead in a Starbucks.

Hipsters have a neighborhood in L.A. as well, Silverlake.

When I'm traveling I've spent time in quite a few Starbucks on the road. Bathrooms are always clean, I can get a caffeine pick me up, there's free internet, and I can nod off for a few minutes and not be concerned about being axe murdered.

This is me, minus the fraps. I'm a white mocha kind of girl.:) For me it is about the experience. Besides the above (being almost everywhere, being able to work), my experience at Starbucks is consistent, no matter which one/which city I'm in. I'm from and live in New England and I do my best to give DDs a shot, but my coffee almost always tastes different every time I go and that is annoying. There was one time I had the BEST cup of coffee from them and went back the next day (same location, might have been the same associate that took/fulfilled my order) and the drink was the polar opposite of good.

There are bumps in the road at Starbucks sometimes (I swear no one in there can hear, there is no reason to spell my name wrong when I spell it for you), but overall I get a drink I enjoy, and should I choose access to a calm (not always quiet) location and free internet.

This.

I'm confused. Honestly, I've really never heard of the term "hipster" before. I was just thinking that you guys meant "hippy". I didn't know there were Detroit hipters, Novi hipters, Westbloom hipters.... Totally confused. :o

From the Urban Dictionary -
http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...&defid=2705928

Short version - (also from UrbanDictionary.com)

hipster - 2. Hipster's can't be defined because then they'd fit in a category, and thus be too mainstream.
3. Someone who listens to bands you've never heard of, wears ironic tee-shirts, and believes they are better than you.

In other words - if since you asked, you must not be a hipster. :o
(I am obviously a geek and not one either...)

lol
I read the whole thing. Thank you for posting this. I've seen them before, but I didn't pay much attention to them. I've never seen them at the Starbucks I go to, though. The only people who I see there, who are...well...kind of different, are the two chess players who come in all the time. They both look like "Dungeons & Dragons" people. Based on the information you've posted, hipsters don't seem any different from the hippies of the late 60s and early 70s.

#2 is perfect. And yeah, the "listens to bands you've never heard of" takes care of half of Seattle, and most of Portland. Except for people who maybe appreciate the occasional Kanye/Katy Perry/Disco/80s "ironically." I swear, everyone I know listens to alternative or public radio here (myself included, but I also listen to Top 40 and country).

If you've ever watched the IFC show "Portlandia," it is filled with hipsters. Here's one example - notice all the glasses (Wieden + Kennedy is really Nike's advertising agency): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGPt5P3CYY4

They're not at all the same.

That's why I said "based on what I read" they don't "seem" to be any different.....

There's a lot of differences. I was a hipster in my younger years and my friends and I weren't into anything near the hippie counterculture. Maybe shared an affinity for Volvo or Subaru station wagons but that's about it..