i've often wondered what is the appeal of starbucks cafes, and i think i am beginning to get an idea why. i don't visit starbucks often. i don't know the politics of the 'situation,' and i think there are many from the mumblings about towns that i have heard. i'm not a coffee drinker, and for me their tea is tasteless. that said, no one can deny they are successful.
yesterday while waiting to meet s in front of starbucks, simply a meeting place, it being cold, i snuck inside to get warm, and thought why not have a nice warm cup of tea while at it. the christmas carols were piping through the sound system filling the cafe with christmas spirit. the lines were long with groups of families and friends getting their tonic of choice, from little boys getting hot chocolate with swirls and swirls of whip cream, to mom's grande mocha something or other.
i sat down with my green tea chai latte (with soy)... it does get pleasingly complicated doesn't it? ... and waited for s. taking off my jacket, pleased at the warm woolen sweater i had chosen for this chilly day, i wrapped my paws around my warm beverage. swarms of folks made their way in with the lines almost out the door. i wondered what is the appeal. less expensive and probably better coffee can be had elsewhere.
while i sat there getting toasty, singing along to the christmas carols quietly and looking forward to chatting with my friend, it dawned on me. starbucks isn't just a cup of coffee, it's an experience. a place where you meet with friends and family and indulge yourself in sinful pleasures like chocolate and whip cream and coffee and tea done up in a way grandma never has. not that it is better, it's just different...
yesterday while waiting to meet s in front of starbucks, simply a meeting place, it being cold, i snuck inside to get warm, and thought why not have a nice warm cup of tea while at it. the christmas carols were piping through the sound system filling the cafe with christmas spirit. the lines were long with groups of families and friends getting their tonic of choice, from little boys getting hot chocolate with swirls and swirls of whip cream, to mom's grande mocha something or other.
i sat down with my green tea chai latte (with soy)... it does get pleasingly complicated doesn't it? ... and waited for s. taking off my jacket, pleased at the warm woolen sweater i had chosen for this chilly day, i wrapped my paws around my warm beverage. swarms of folks made their way in with the lines almost out the door. i wondered what is the appeal. less expensive and probably better coffee can be had elsewhere.
while i sat there getting toasty, singing along to the christmas carols quietly and looking forward to chatting with my friend, it dawned on me. starbucks isn't just a cup of coffee, it's an experience. a place where you meet with friends and family and indulge yourself in sinful pleasures like chocolate and whip cream and coffee and tea done up in a way grandma never has. not that it is better, it's just different...
3 comments:
tal vez en ny o en los eeuu sea diferente, pero en españa los starbucks carecen de calidad y de personalidad, son caros, una especie de mcdonalds del café, establecimientos de "bebida basura", y lo que realmente compra y paga la gente es la marca, la imagen de marca. y, de momento, también la novedad, algo guay que viene de los eeuu. en taiwán, esto último es muy importante, porque su sociedad está mucho más abiertamente americanizada que la española, no sólo en el ámbito cultural o el del consumismo sino también en el de las simpatías políticas. además, allí, donde siempre se ha bebido té, el café ahora está de moda, con lo que los starbucks tienen un gran atractivo, son algo realmente nuevo y diferente si se lo compara con la mayoría de los establecimientos locales. sin embargo, yo tengo la misma impresión que en españa: son caros para lo que ofrecen, bebidas mediocres con nombres grandilocuentes que parecen extraídos de una novela de tolkien. en resumen: odio los starbucks, creo que es el último sitio en el que se me ocurriría meterme para desayunar o tomarme un té o un café.
En mi opinión los Starbucks no son, de per sé, malignos. No he estado en ninguno fuera de NY, donde los visité tres o cuatro veces. El té era bastante malo (no me gusta el café), pero había un batido super calórico de chocolate que estaba riquísimo. Lo que pasa con este tipo de establecimientos norteamericanos higiénicos-plastificados-políticamente correctos, es su capacidad de reproducirse como los hongos. He ahí el problema. Pequeños y diversos establecimientos que van cerrando (únicos, aunque no quiere decir que un bar de barrio tenga siempre encanto, suele tener personalidad propia), sustituido por el stándar (llámase Sturbucks, McDonalds, Ikea, H&M, o lo que sea). Lo que en principio podría ser una "experiencia Sturbucks", a base de la multiplicación, la estandarización y el marketing, acaba convirtiéndose en cartón piedra. Las posibilidades de tener experiencias diferentes allá donde vas van disminuyendo conforme van reproduciéndose los Sturbucks, centros comerciales, etc. y cerrando el café de la esquina y el cine de barrio. Es la globalización. Es el plastificado, es lo estandizarado. Y la fórmula funciona. Y la gente lo disfruta. Quizá porque nunca ha experimentado otra cosa. Quizá porque el bar de la esquina (o la mercería del barrio) hace tiempo que cerró y la gente ya ni se acuerda.
Lo malo es que, además de la homogenización, te den gato por liebre, y los precios sean super altos por una mala calidad. Ahí ya, acabásemos. Somos idiotas.
hola Jorge & Nuri! what a pleasure to have a chance to say hello to both of you at the same time. !que bonito!
i think you both have thoughtful and insightful comments. upon reading your comments they made me begin to wonder, with all the negatives associated with starbucks, why do people go there? it makes me wonder who are the people who go there and why?
i know that when me and Nuri were there it was a dreadfully hot day in ny, and it was a reprieve to step inside an air conditioned space and have a sugary sinful beverage.
off the point for a minute, i remember that i could not stand watching 'friends' on television. i thought it was silly and superficial. now that my friends are no longer near, or that i am far, i like watching it because it reminds me of being with 'friends.'
if we walk through the doors of starbucks, what are we looking for? a moment's reprieve, a sugar high, false dreams of a land and culture far away... the list goes on...
besos!
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