In reality, I really hate to pick on Starbucks. However, their marketing speaks for itself when you consider—according to wikipedia—there exist over 40,199 Starbucks in 87 countries throughout the world whereby no other coffee shop/cafe including Dunkin Donuts, Caribou Coffee, Einstein Bros, etc. comes close not to mention Starbucks' revenue for 2024 was $36.18 billion and the price per share of stock has sky rocketed from $13.40 in 2005 to $87.63 in 2022. All considered, quite a track record to say the least. This noted, I can assure you Starbucks corporate didn't become 'numero uno' overnight nor by chance alone. Truth is, Starbucks knew exactly what they were doing to get where they are and know exactly what they need to keep doing to stay ahead of the competition. With this in mind, let's take a look at some of what they do. First of all, the majority of Starbucks locations are believed to have installed their own water purification systems/equipment knowing purified water enhances the taste of coffee and tea beverages. While 100% natural Spring water would have been a much better choice from a health standpoint given it provides minerals known to be beneficial to the human body, purified water doesn't. Hence, I would venture an educated guess that installing a water purification system using municipal tap water was determined to be most cost effective in achieving the same end result minus mineral health benefits. On a similar note, the default milk Starbucks uses to make most of their drinks is 2% dairy milk. Once again, my guess is because 2% milk is cheaper than grain/grass-fed whole milk. However, based on nutritional profiles not open to debate, while grass-fed milk has a higher fat content than basic whole and low fat milk, it has been shown to provide higher levels of omega 3 fatty acids together with higher levels of vitamins A, E, and antioxidants known to contribute to overall health and protect against cell damage. Last but not least, while adding sugar/sweeteners, i.e., processed/white sugar, organic turbinado raw cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, splenda, stevia, etc., to coffee/tea beverages may be open to debate, it still appears to be determined by cost as opposed to what may be considered healthiest. All considered, this website focuses on what we believe to be the healthiest ingredients to use, beginning with 100% natural Spring water, to brew your own espresso/espresso-based drink without breaking the bank.