Starbucks coffee is actually pretty good, at least in my opinion. The prices are awful; you're paying for $0.12 of espresso, ~$0.0001 of water and maybe $0.30 of milk and flavoring. Most of the drinks are too sweet, but you can still get an Americano or cold brew that tastes pretty good if you're willing to pay their prices.

I get the Starbucks Espresso roast beans at the store and blend it down at espresso grind as my dark roast. My light roast is the cheap pre-ground Cafe Bustelo, both serve me well.

When Starbucks opened in AU I tried out a couple of the venues. I got the impression that they were trying to make coffee appeal to soda drinkers, thus the syrups and other "contaminants".

I'm staying loyal to baristas who make quality espresso coffee.

What about the White Claw generation makes you think they have refined tastes?

Because they sell milkshakes, not coffee

I think they burn their coffee so it gives the appearance of having more uniformity. Also, I seriously wonder how little a share of their sales are just coffee these days. Even the Starbucks fanatics I know never actually buy regular coffee.

Starbucks is a good value in one place - the Puerto Rican Airport Mall. Literally every vendor besides Starbucks sells the same coffee for the same high price, so I willingly chose Starbucks. The only other time I have Starbucks is when it's free, and I do that to keep my opinion of their coffee relevant. I still don't like it, but free Starbucks is like sex and pizza - it's better than none at all.