I love coffee and have regularly used coffee shops no matter where I am. I have even been known to nip into one when on holiday abroad, though not very often.

Starbucks is an American coffee brand that started with its first shop in 1971 in Seattle and can now be found worldwide in most European cities and towns. The main feel of starbucks is the same wherever in the world you are.

There is the instantly recognisable Starbucks sign/logo, the subduded lighting, the sofas and the normal chairs and tables usually covered in a green leatherette to match the green in the starbucks logo.

Starbucks is obviously a coffee shop but they do do other drinks for non-coffee lovers for example hot chocolate, tea, and cold drinks. They also do a range of sandwiches, paninis and cakes which are lovely but they do have a "nice" price tag to them.

As a coffee shop there is virtually every concievable mixture that you can have from normal coffee, to lattes with syrups, mochas, espressos to their signature blend frappacinos (which are cold and do contain ice so be warned!!). The price for these does vary and also varies depending on what size you have, Tall, Grande or Venti. You can choose to have them full fat, skinny, with cream basically anyway you want.

Starbucks has recently joined forces with the fairtrade group so you can have a sense that you are contributing something to the coffee growers as well as a large corporation.

I have always found the staff very helpful and always seem to be laughing and joking both amongst themselves and their customers. They all wear the same uniform wherever you go in the world, white shirt with a green apron.

Starbucks isn't just a coffee shop anymore though it has become a brand and you can buy the coffees and syrups to take home. You can also sit at home drinking out of your own Starbucks mug or drink one the go with a Starbucks thermal mug. They even sell their own branded coffee machines and small perculators and yes they all have the price tag to go along with them.

There are some issues with Starbucks as you would expect sometimes the queues are extensive and this can mean that you are stood around waiting for a while for you coffee.

For some people the sheer choice is overwhelming my partner spends ages staring at the menu trying to decide what to have each time I take him in with me and for those who struggle to make a decision this could be a bit problematic.

Though the biggest issue for me and I find this with other corporations as well, is the sameness. Other than different faces you know exactly what to expect when you walk through the door of any starbucks you know what the decor is like, you know if its busy your going to have to wait, you know the extensive choice of drinks.

Having said all that I won't stop using Starbucks as I do like their coffees and all I do is pop in and get one to go before heading on my way, it would just be nice to go in to one and find something different for a change, hence why only the 3/5 stars. Maybe one day I'll find one offering something different and then the rating will go up.