It was the case since forever ( ~15 years+ ). Starbucks is not a speciality coffee shop. There is nothing wrong with that. One has to acknowledge that high volume coffee shops have to rely on basically burned beans in order to be consistent with the taste.
Over roasted coffee averages the flavor across large harvests and sources, and they expect to dump a bunch of sugar in there anyway.
I've taken that approach and think it's sound advice.
I still remember my first starbucks visit as a 13 y.o. Sitting down, having a coffee, not knowing what caffeine was, and having the best conversation of my life.
The calories!
The next iteration might be whoever builds the Starbucks of boba tea.
You can order exactly as much sugar as you want for their drinks. If you order a Cappuccino with milk or a coffee or Americano, there isn't any sugar in any of the drinks.