It is a quaint, vague notion. It is a sneaking suspicion that is strangely unexplainable. The whole idea is ludicrous, really. But if you've ever set foot in a Starbucks store, you understand completely.
Quite frankly, there is simply something sexy about Starbucks.
There's nothing more alluring than that boy/girl standing apathetically in the store, sipping from a freshly brewed mocha peppermint chai vanilla strawberry concoction. There's also that boy/girl studying in the corner ever so cooly for some exam. He/she wraps his/her hands around the cup. Kinky.
People (and students in particular) do have their choice of coffeeshops. There's always that corner cafe, but the gruff fourty-something-year-old-man-who-should-have-something-better-to-do-with-his-life is always there. The one who believes the image of him+coffee might shave off five years or so? Right. He's there.
There's also the fast-food chain store which serendipitously sells an iced drink suspiciously similar to the Frappaccino but is named "Ice Storm" to avoid confusion. Few people actually buy their caffeinated drinks from such a place, and the people who do are the ones who don't check their hair in the morning.
But in the end, the appeal afforded to the consumers of such stores just can't compare with the sleekness of a Starbucks customer.
Starbucks is a gathering place, the ideal rendezvous point. Friends gossip at a far table, a couple in line comes precariously to a break-up, and an awkward college interview takes place in as low-key a spot as possible. Yes, people use Starbucks for both business and personal affairs. It's not quite monopolistic in the economic sense, but few other stores have been deified to Starbuck's position as the place for meetings and meetups.
Starbucks is in vogue, to say the least.
People who hate coffee drink Starbuck's. Why? Because everyone else is doing it. Duh.
Starbucks, you rule. Seriously.
i haven't seen any starbucks ADs ever in my life. i heard before that the only starbucks ad is: word of mouth. which does prove that it is really popular. they dont need marketing, or ads, or gimmicks.
;however, i also heard that starbucks coffee and dunkin donuts coffee are practically the same. it's just how they are portrayed.. DD with its pink and orage scheme which psychologically connote sweet and cheap, whilst SB utilizes the color GREEN like money, and has all those earthly symbols to show richness.
since the rich upper-class were the first consumers of SB, i will assume that it now caters to the youth because we are starting a subconscious protest against the norms? maybe, i deno, just throwing it all out there.
Starbucks is completely overrated.
Agreed.
My point was that it is popular- too much so.
i totally agree with everything you said
and yess...its awesome and its sexy. haha..and too popular. dang the ceo or whatever of starbucks must be swimming in money right this second. HAH! anywhooo chyeaa. truetrue.
I love coffee, don't get me wrong. But people who spend five bucks on a cup of coffee need to give thier money to a worthy cause. Like my non-existant college fund. :)
personally...starbucks sucks...their drinks arnt really that great, and I can get a way better coffee from somewhere else....and sexy? oooooook.....
I would rather stir coke(cocaine) into my morning tea than give my money to Starbucks and their bean water/flavored syrup virus of a franchise.
Res ipsa loquitur.
memor mori, mahalo.
I agree with you. Starbucks is popular because of how we perceive it: if you drink Starbucks coffee, you are "cool" and whatnot because everyone else who drinks it looks cool. Its popularity is not due to the taste and quality of its products as much as it is about the "Starbucks image."
I'm not sure what it is about starbucks but I would agree that at times it can be very sexy. Walking down the hall at school, when I see someone with a Starbucks cup, they have something that the person without one doesn't. Strange how that works. And I admit, they are completely delicious.
Not only is starbucks a place of gathering, but somehow, when one finds their own personal starbucks she goes to all of the time, there is a sense of comfort in going there as well. Also, when you go to a different country, there is usually always a strabucks, so if you're feeling homesick for America, home is on the corner at a starbucks.
occasionally, a hot guy works behind the counter too! the best combination: a delicious drink and a sexy guy that serves you
"Love knows nothing of rank or riverbank"
What entertains me even more than the writing of this blog, and the time i spent reading, and now even the time i'm spending writing, and close to being hypocritical... i find it even more so ammusing that there are more posts about the idea of starbucks being over rated than any other post i've seen! Very commical, but you did write it very well! so brownie, i mean starbuck points to you! :)
*Chels*
There *is* something different about Starbucks, isn't there?
I have to admit that I love their mochas, but that's it. They intentionally burn their coffee beans so they can last on the shelf longer. You can taste it in the coffee, too. It's incredibly bitter.
If you want some good coffee, hope that there's an It's A Grind close to where you live. They're like Starbucks, only better. On every single level.
Sexier, too.
TxY
You see, though people believe there is a Starbucks EVERYWHERE, where I live there is none. So I wouldn't know. But I have had the coffee sold in convenience stores, the bottled fraps, and they are very good.
You see, I'm a coffee addict, and I believe any good coffee cafe is a place you should hang out. I can think of at least two good cafes where I live.
In that way, I believe Starbucks is overrated. Any cafe can be your "coffee home". You just need to find your center.
I totally agree with your comments. Living in the Pacific Northwest, it is not rare to find a Starbuck's on every city block. They are tucked into corners of department stores, malls, and college campuses.
Starbucks has become sort of a part of how we identify with a city. It's a place to hang out with freinds, work on the laptop, and study. I too have had one of those "awkward college interviews" in no other than--you guessed it--a Starbucks.
What dissapoints me about our Starbucks fetish is that the coffee shop has turned into a huge corporation that is putting small independent cafes virtually out of business. Ironically, Starbucks patrons are usually the young, environmentally-conscious types (students, etc.).
I say make your brew at home--or go down to the little mom-and-pop place down the corner. Coffe is coffee, but our environment and economy deserve our over-caffeinated attention.
In the meantime, I'll take one extra-large-no-whipping-cream cup of environmental responsibility with some help for small businesses on the side, to go please.
Allison
You are considered cool if you have a starbucks cup in your hand. it is completeky overeated and dunkin donuts us giving them a run for there money.
Starbucks might be on every corner, but it is one of the best companies to work for. I don't drink coffee or anything else they have there and rather spend my money elsewhere. or put it like someone said in my "Non-existing college fund."
Is it me or does it seem a little beatnick? Everyone is cool there. Everyone is hushed in their corner and no matter who you are, as long as you score one of those plush chairs you are cool. No matter your age or if your alone. You are not a loser. You are a winner. How does Starbucks create such an ambiance.
Yes, Starbucks is sexy, we get it. And just like a guy spends all his money on a sexy girl, we waste our money on our sexy little cup of Starbucks. And the sad part is, for our five bucks, it only lasts for at most an hour, then sways us back to the store to get another one. It is a drug, and it takes all our money like a drug too
Hahhah! Starbucks pimps out its whores for too much, too short, and not good enough. (At least, that's what I got from you)
Personally, I prefer CC's Coffee over Starbucks. Especially their Creme Brule Late
You make an excellent point; Starbucks has an endearing quality to it- drinking coffee makes you "cool".
I mean, we even created a thread to talk about it. That's power, baby.
Although I can proudly say that I am one non-coffee drinker who does not buy into the allure of Starbucks; I can appreciate its seduction without participating in it.
"Perhaps it is better to wake up after all, even to suffer, rather than to remain a dupe to illusions all one's life."-Kate Chopin
man....i live literally down the street from a starbucks and i know exactly what you mean about it being popular....and its also really sad when you know where you are by the direction of the nearest starbucks....by the way....you are a damn good writer....woooooooow! =)
-kookykrys
Of course its sexy. Why else would we pay 3.55 for something that USED TO cost 65 cents?
Because Starbucks is SMEXY....
airports
hotels
vacant beaches
starbucks
libraries at night
boats (seamen?)
elevators
...
thrift stores
bus stops
post office
DMV
[end of list]
Michael Allen Yarbrough (PBUH)
This article amused me. Thank you. :)
I am not one of those "fashionable non-conformists" who hate something just because it's popular. I go to Starbucks every now and then, but I I'm not crazy about their products; for a few cents more, I can get much better coffee and/or tea at another place.
I don't drink coffee. It stains your teeth and if you dont brush after drinking...ewwwww bad breath.
You totally articulated exactly how I feel about that place. You're right, it seems absolutely ridiculous, but at the same time, every word you say is just so true.
I have horrible eye sight however, I have been given the ability to point out that wonderful starbucks logo from afar. I dont' know what it is but when I see a starbucks, the grin glides across my face. I have never been given poor service at a starbucks and I have been to PLENTY.. all over.
Also being a music lover, I do love a lot of the music that Sbux markets. Hear my clearly, I also support my local coffeeshops but sometimes there are those days where I crave my extra hot, hot chocolate. They make the best!
JM