[mytailorisrich]

Milkshakes per se are a bit out of fashion but nowadays the fashion is "coffee shops" like Starbucks that are similar if more coffee-based.

[thomc]

Agree, coffee shops are the modern version. Only 25 years ago as a student in Manchester pubs were everywhere, and we often used to go to the pub at lunch time. Went back there recently and all the pubs we used to frequent were gone, replaced by coffee shops and people with laptops and smart phones :)

[bluGill]

Coffee shops have been around for centuries. How popular they are varies as fads come and go, but they have been there.

[mytailorisrich]

Yes, but coffee shops a la Starbucks are a relatively recent thing, and they sell "coffee" that looks more like a milkshake than a cup of coffee...

[thaumasiotes]

> Milkshakes per se are a bit out of fashion but nowadays the fashion is "coffee shops" like Starbucks

Milkshakes are one of the most popular things Starbucks sells.

Though for unfathomable reasons they insist on adding coffee to almost all of them, as if that were the reason people buy milkshakes.

[mytailorisrich]

Yeah they are not milkshakes they are coffee! ;)

[thaumasiotes]

They appear to offer "creme frappuccinos" in a section of the menu that in at least some Starbucks is labeled "non-coffee". I can't actually tell whether those frappuccinos are also coffee, or not. The official ingredients are things like "Frappuccino Chips" and "Mocha Sauce", preventing you from knowing what's in them.

[nemo44x]

Starbucks has pivoted from coffee shop to desert beverages, pretty much. They still will sell you a coffee but they feature a variety of desert drinks.