So we all know Starbucks, with their ventis, and their grandes, and their Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but here are a few things we don't know about America's favorite place to go for coffee.
我們都知道星巴克，知道他們的特大杯、大杯飲料，還有南瓜那堤，但對於這間美國人最愛買咖啡的地方，可能有幾件你不知道的事情。
The first thing—a surprising number of people don't love Starbucks's coffee. There's probably a reason why Starbucks has earned the nickname "Charbucks." Critics say that a lot of their coffee has an overly roasted quality, a real, kind of, dark and bitter taste. What's really interesting is that a San Francisco web publisher, The Bold Italic, did a survey of six packaged coffees. Starbucks came in dead last (sixth out of the six)! Even Folgers, a fairly mundane supermarket brand, beat it out. Of course, Starbucks says, "Different tastes for different folks." They now do have quite a wide range of coffees. They say if you don't like something dark, go with a lighter roast, which they call their Blonde Roast.
第一件事情－－令人驚訝的是，很多人並不喜歡星巴克的咖啡。這也可能是星巴克有另一個綽號「焦巴克」的原因。評論家說，星巴克很多咖啡都烘焙過頭了，有點像是，真的很黑又很苦的口感。真的很有趣的是，一家舊金山的網路出版商 The Bold Italic，曾經做過一項六家包裝咖啡的調查。星巴克大墊底（六名當中的第六名）!甚至 Folgers，一個再平凡不過的超市品牌也贏過星巴克。當然，星巴克會說：「每個人口味都不一樣。」他們現在真的有很多種咖啡。他們說如果你不喜歡黑咖啡，就選烘焙程度較低的咖啡，他們叫做「黃金烘焙咖啡」。
The next thing Starbucks won't tell you: There are a lot of chemicals in its coffee. This issue has come up recently because a blogger called the Food Babe has taken a hard look at the Pumpkin Spice Latte. She finds a lot of things she doesn't like in it, particularly caramel coloring, which is a known carcinogen—or at least one of the chemical by-products of caramel coloring is a known carcinogen. Starbucks says that they are taking a look at the caramel color issue and they will consider removing it from their coffees. They do say, however, their coffees are perfectly safe to consume. Starbucks also says that there are pumpkin spices in their Pumpkin Spice Latte, but guess what? No actual pumpkin.
另一件星巴克沒告訴你的事情是：他們的咖啡裡有很多化學物質。這件事最近被炒出來，因為一個叫做 Food Babe 的部落客仔細審視了南瓜那堤的成份。她發現裡面有很多她不喜歡的東西，特別是焦糖色素，是眾所周知的致癌物質－－或焦糖色素中至少有一種副產品是眾所周知的致癌物質。星巴克說他們會審視焦糖色素問題，他們也會考慮從咖啡中移除。然而，他們也的確有說他們的咖啡喝下去絕對是安全無害的。星巴克也說過南瓜那堤裡面有南瓜香料，但你猜怎麼著？裡面根本沒有真的南瓜。
Here's another thing Starbucks won't tell you: They've got a secret menu. Yes, of course, Starbucks has a very long list of drinks you can order, but there are a surprising number of ones that you can essentially create by having them mix different syrups and different things on their menu. For example, there's something called a Fruity Pebbles Frappuccino. It's a sort of hyped-up version of a strawberry Frappuccino, but they say it tastes like the namesake cereal.
這裡是另一件星巴克不會告訴你的事情：他們有隱藏菜單。對，當然，星巴克有一長串飲料菜單任你挑選，但有很多飲品是你真的可以自己調配的，像是混搭菜單上不同的糖漿和不同的飲料。例如：有種飲料叫做「果味星冰樂」。這其實就是嗨森版的草莓星冰樂，但星巴克說這喝起來跟同名的榖片一樣。
And let's talk about nutrition, as in calorie counts. Yes, it's another thing that Starbucks really doesn't like to talk about. That's because if you order certain Frappuccinos, you're looking at, easily, 400 calories, even up to 500 calories in some instances, it looks like. Plus, if you add in a snack, like one of those pound cakes or coffee cakes or different things like that, your total calories could come out to be almost a thousand calories. Keep in mind, we're talking about a "coffee and a snack"—a thousand calories. It's something that nutritionists say is just asking for trouble.
讓我們來談談營養，像是卡路里方面。是的，這就是另一件星巴克很不愛講的事情。這是因為如果你點了某種星冰樂，你很容易就會喝下四百卡，甚至有些還會高達五百卡。還有，如果再加個點心，像是其中一種磅蛋糕或咖啡蛋糕或其他類似的東西，總攝取卡路里量可以逼近一千卡。記住，我們是在說「咖啡跟一樣點心」－－這樣就要一千卡。這就是營養學家說的，只是在自討苦吃而已。
Finally, here's something to think about. Now, Starbucks will tell you they sell their products for home use, but if you really want to save money on their coffee, just do it in a very basic way: Buy yourself a good machine; buy yourself a good burr grinder. You can make, essentially, coffee for as little as a thousand a year. We're talking Starbucks-quality coffee. And guess what? You get to keep the brewer and the grinder for long-time use.
最後，這裡是要思考一下的東西。星巴克會跟你說，他們賣的產品是供自家使用，但如果你真的想要在他們家的咖啡上省錢，就採取這個基本做法吧：買一台好咖啡機；買一台好的磨盤式磨豆機。只要花個一千元，就真的可以泡上一年份的咖啡。我們在說的可是星巴克品質的咖啡喔。而且你猜怎麼著？沖泡機跟研磨機你可以用很久。
- 「贏過某人或某事」- Beat Out Someone Or Something
Even Folgers, a fairly mundane supermarket brand, beat it out.
甚至 Folgers，一個再平凡不過的超市品牌也贏過星巴克。 - 「仔細審視」- Take A Hard Look At Something
This issue has come up recently because a blogger called the Food Babe has taken a hard look at the Pumpkin Spice Latte.
這件事最近被炒出來，因為一個叫做 Food Babe 的部落客仔細審視了南瓜那堤的成份。
