Edit: Jesus Christ, people. If you buy a $150 Thinkpad made by slave labor instead of a $1,200 MacBook made by slave labor, you're still supporting a capitalist economy based on slave labor. We all do. We have no choice. The number of smug liberals in the comments saying "well I buy a cheap used laptop" or "well I buy coffee beans and make my own coffee" are completely missing the fucking point.
Don't tell yourself your consumption is moral. All of us make unethical choices every day because there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Accept your shame and guilt and let it drive you to do better.
No one's talking about diners. We're talking actual coffee shop or cafe.
Of course any place that just has a coffee machine alongside everything else they do is going to be shit compared to a place that specializes in coffee.
And any sugar bomb dessert drink is going to be "better" than a bog standard cuppa joe.
That's like going to a sushi restaurant, getting the chicken tenders they have on the menu just so parents can placate picky children, and complaining that it doesn't stack up to a wings that specializes in wings.
It's apples and oranges man.
Look, my wife's from a small town where the main employer pulled out almost 50 years ago. Then they spent a shit ton of tax money on trying to build some stuff to become a cargo transport hub, which failed as no companies bought in. 90% of their downtown is empty storefronts and boarded up windows.
They have two entirely local coffee shops that I can personally vouch to do equal to Starbucks. Personally I think the one blows the pants off Starbucks, but I'm willing to concede in the court of opinion. There's at least two other coffee places within 10 minutes, two breakfast places, and two sandwich shops that have dessert coffee that stacks up as well, so I'm told.
You could buy the small mansion that sits on the hill overlooking a forested residential area there for the cost of a small townhouse anywhere else. Lovely town, lovely people in it. Impovershed as all hell. There's still great options besides "Yeah I think Earl put a new pot on sometime today, let me check".
Out on the highway, exits, and rest stops thereabouts, there's even franchise alternatives to Starbucks. Dunkin Doughnuts are goddamn everywhere. Tim Hortons, at least up in the northern US. East coast from roughly New York down to Virginia (don't quote me on the specific bounds) there's Wawa gas stations, where if they have the sandwich counter they have dessert drinks. Pretty sure there's other gas station chains that are stepping up too, I just don't travel like I used to, especially since the pandemic. Dunkincs my go to "I don't know the area and don't have time" choice. Much more limited menu options, but I feel it holds up.
Look, you're more than allowed to have your own fucking tastes and preferences, or maybe you're literally addicted to Starbuck's infamously pumped up caffeine levels. Just please don't pretend like Starbucks is the only option for a good dessert coffee drink.
Oh no, you support a notably horrible corporation and like their products! Welcome to the party. The overwhelming amount of people, even the most socially and human rights concious, are far from perfect in that regard. Everyone has to make their own choices about the battles they fight and where they expend their effort.
Tim Horton's coffee is total garbage though