Starbucks Takapuna — Restaurant in Devonport-Takapuna

It started innocently enough, just a weekend visit to Starbucks. A small ritual. A quiet nod to caffeinated civility.

Now? It’s a full-blown dependency, emotionally and possibly contractually binding.

The team at this location doesn’t just know our regular order, they’ve fine-tuned it to a degree that suggests my wife may have co-authored the training manual. Milk temperature, foam density, the microsecond pause before adding syrup. It’s all executed with the precision of a NASA launch sequence.

We’ve tried to go elsewhere. Once. A tragic detour involving a questionable flat white and baristas who looked at us like we’d asked for bespoke tax advice. My wife took one sip, sighed, and said: “It’s not them.”

And she was right.

Other coffee shops now feel like fleeting flings, shallow and unsatisfying. The loyalty we feel to our Starbucks baristas is profound enough that when I hand over cash at another café, I lower my voice, as if I’m committing emotional fraud.

There’s a warmth here, not just in the lattes, but in the way they greet you like a returning war hero, even if you were just there yesterday. It’s unsettling in the best way.

So yes, I suppose I’m in a committed relationship with this Starbucks. And honestly? I...

Not sure what was going on with the coffee machine today – maybe I was just unlucky? Unfortunately, this was one of the worst flat whites I’ve ever had at Starbucks, and I usually enjoy their coffee. It was almost undrinkable. The flavor was off, with an overwhelming bitterness and a strange aftertaste that lingered unpleasantly.

The milk didn’t seem properly steamed, and the texture lacked that smooth, creamy consistency you expect from a good flat white. Instead, it was thin, almost like the milk and coffee weren’t well combined. The balance between the espresso and milk was way off, leaving it far too harsh. I know Starbucks can do much better, which made this experience especially disappointing.

To make matters worse, the staff seemed rushed, and the coffee came out a bit sloppy. It felt like the focus on quality just wasn’t there today. I hope this was a one-off. But after today, I’d hesitate to order coffee from here again without a bit more confidence in their...

Great food and drinks but only 2 staff on and we had a group of people with us. I tried to get help with my Starbucks APP so I could order and pay for food and drinks.We were told online my Starbucks App and the additional card we had could be activated in store but the staff member didn't know how to activate it so I said this seems too difficult and the staff member agreed. Everyone paid for themselves but I think we would have ordered more if my Starbucks APP had been activated by the staff member. I was disappointed as I thought it would have been a great way to order for everyone and pay for all the orders. Quite disappointed as it was my husband's graduation day and we took family and friends there...