Starbucks raising U.S. prices…

All I need… another reason not to get my coffee at Starbucks…

I believe in supporting the local ‘Mom & Pop’ coffee shops. The coffee is just as good (if not better), I get a better price, and most importantly, my hard-earned $3.75 stays in my community, supporting the people I live with, work with, and pay taxes with.

Now, I’m not saying that Starbucks makes bad coffee. Au Contraire. However, I believe that when an organization gets too big, any organization, it looses touch with the local people in the community, no matter how well-intentioned they want to be.

That being said, be prepared to pay more for that Iced Venti Caramel Macchiato, as this story from Reuters explains…

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp will raise U.S. prices on coffee, lattes and other drinks by an average of 9 cents a cup next week to help offset soaring costs for milk and other commodities, a spokesman said on Monday.

The widely anticipated move marks Starbucks’ second price increase in less than a year and comes a month after the coffee shop chain’s chief financial officer warned it would be “very challenging” for Starbucks to meet the high end of its 2007 earnings forecast, in part because of rising dairy prices.