B2 – Upper Intermediate
Starbucks is found everywhere in cities worldwide and they want you to feel happy with what they offer. But there’s more to know behind their friendly atmosphere and tasty menu. Even though Starbucks shares a lot about what they do, there are some things they don’t always tell their loyal customers.
Watch the video to know the five things that Starbucks might not openly talk about.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does the idiom “to take a hard look at something” mean? “A blogger called the Food Babe has taken a hard look at a pumpkin spice latte.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does the word “hyped-up” mean? “There’s something called a fruity pebbles frappuccino, it’s a sort of a hyped-up version of strawberry frappuccino.” Make one sentence using the phrase.
- What does the word “by-product” mean? “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.” Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What are your thoughts on the importance of transparency in the food and beverage industry, particularly for companies as large and influential as Starbucks?
- Do you think Starbucks has a responsibility to disclose all aspects of their products and practices to consumers, or are there valid reasons for them to keep certain information hidden? Share your thoughts.
- How much does transparency about ingredients and sourcing affect your decision to purchase from Starbucks? Would you be more or less likely to visit if they were more open about these aspects? Why or why not?
- How much do you trust Starbucks as a company to provide accurate and honest information about their products and business practices?
4 replies on “Things Starbucks Won’t Tell You”
“to take a hard look at something”: The scientists took a hard look at the virus.
“hyped-up”: the movie is a hyped-up version of the book.
“by-product”: Nocilla y a by-product of Nutella.
1. What are your thoughts on the importance of transparency in the food and beverage industry, particularly for companies as large and influential as Starbucks?
Transparency it’s not word in which I have trust. Transaprency is invisible. I love things that shine.
2. Do you think Starbucks has a responsibility to disclose all aspects of their products and practices to consumers, or are there valid reasons for them to keep certain information hidden? Share your thoughts.
In my opinion, Starbucks has valis reason to keep certain information hidden. Satrbuck’s main purpose is to make money.
3. How much does transparency about ingredients and sourcing affect your decision to purchase from Starbucks? Would you be more or less likely to visit if they were more open about these aspects? Why or why not?
I do not go to Starbucks. I love coffee but I prepare it in my home, with a good coffee of high quality.
4. How much do you trust Starbucks as a company to provide accurate and honest information about their products and business practices?
I do not trust Starbucks. As I watched in the video, Satrbucks do no provide a valid information to his costumers.
Very good job with your writing practice so far.
Here is a more concise way of expressing this sentence:
Keep going with this exercise.
The word “by-product” means an incidental or secondary product that was created in the manufacturing process of another thing.
So an example could be: Lees are byproducts of wine fermentation.