By: Tara Goodfellow
Tall Frappuccino. Grande cappuccino. Vente mocha latte.
These are just some of the drinks that students can now be heard purchasing at the new Starbucks location in the Student Commons building at Algonquin.
It can be asked why there is a Starbucks location in the college, as opposed to a cheaper or even Canadian-based coffee shop.
Tim Hortons, Second Cup and Bridgehead are other coffee shops that may have been a more favourable choice to the college students.
Despite the cost of Starbucks, students continue to stand in the line for a cup of coffee.
“The school already had an agreement with Starbucks to sell their coffee in the Observatory,” said Connor Benson, the frontline client associate at the Student Association office. “I guess they just made another deal, basically, to have an actual location for Starbucks, and then they’re going to sell Seattle’s Best in the Observatory, which is also owned by Starbucks. So now they’re selling two brands of their coffee.”
Starbucks coffee is arguably a higher quality than Tim Hortons or any other location on campus that offers coffee.
It also offers more options for those needing to get their coffee kick than the other locations on or around campus. It is for this reason, that it’s not a surprise to see Algonquin students lined up all hours at the Starbucks location. The location offers everything any other Starbucks in the city does.
“It shouldn’t be more expensive, if it is, because we’re students,” said Judith Kallaghe a travel and tourism student, when asked if she found the prices of Algonquin’s Starbucks location more expensive than other locations.
The prices are debatably the same, if only a few cents higher, which would be having to do with it being a part of the school.
“They should have put in a Tim Hortons, instead, or something a little cheaper,” said Danielle Bargen, a business administrator student.
But for now, the students of Algonquin aren’t particularly complaining about having a Starbucks in their college.
Many find it a more convenient place to buy their coffee, than having to walk to the Tim Hortons down the road.
Starbucks has a higher quality coffee, more choices, and more caffeine added to each beverage, compared to that of any sold at Tim Hortons.
A higher priced coffee, whether on occasion or as a regular basis, is where many students will now be choosing to go.