At Starbucks, the man behind the curtain is gnarled and cheap

[elfs]

Corporatized Cafe Artist In A Box

The cafe blackboard artist is one of those things that exists in the popular imagination as a kind of icon: the barista or cafe owner who, every so often, takes out his colored chalks and draws a wonderful illustration on the blackboard where he also describes his common wares and daily specials.

Sadly, I found yesterday that Starbucks, which has routinized coffee, has also given us pasteurized processed cafe-artist product. The seemingly hand-drawn chalkboard illustrations found at your corner Starbucks are paint-by-numbers stencils with guidelines that make it absolutely impossible to create anything other than the official pictures that the corporate office approved.

I really shouldn't be nonplused about this. This is the company at which the return of the original CEO, Howard Schultz, was heralded with much fanfare. Schultz gave a speech where he complained that Starbucks had lost its soul. The tight, flavor-preserving vacuum packaging robbed the cafe of its roast coffee smell. Robobarista machines that made it impossible to make a bad cup of coffee also made it impossible for any cup to be distinctive and interesting. Starbucks sells caffeine in a beige room full of comforting music.

Howard Schultz's innovation to "restore Starbuck's soul?" Instant coffee. Like the Instant Artist, it's just not real enough.

Comments

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure about the reliance of a robobarista.

I admit to spending too much money at Fivebux on a regular basis*, but from this, i can attest that on the same machine, in the same store, one person will reliably produce a latte` that is delicately flavored and perfectly balanced, and another person can make me a drink that tastes like the beans were roasted by an inexpertly wielded hand-held blowtorch.

*I have rationalized this by claiming that an outlay of $4 a day is supporting the economy. This is my story, and i'm sticking to it.**

**at least until a better one comes along.

[heofmanynames.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of my first trip to the PNW in '92. Lost my coffee cherry, for sure: EVERYBODY sold coffee - hairdressers, accountants, dog groomers, every place of business had a neon sign that announced: ESPRESSO.

A glorious mystery tour of which I'd never seen the like - and my coffe life has never been the same (I remember hearing a variation on the same travel story from a friend...but it was Key West, not Seattle - and it wasn't coffee...).

The only Starbuck's, though, was the one @ Seatac Airport...and it was the worst coffee I had the whole 10 days I was there.

[trinsf.livejournal.com]

I am a bad woman, because I am happy with my local Starbucks. The baristas are kids who live in my neighborhood. The store itself is a gathering place, even when it's closed -- there are outdoor seating shelves used by local musicians and kids. They remember my complicated drink and do a good job of feigning interest in my daily life.

There are 7 or 8 coffee stands in one 3 block stretch in my downtown, including two SBux (one at each end), including 5 independent shops. They all seem to be packed all the time.

paint by the numbers

[(Anonymous)]

why are you so gullible? do you really believe that those stencils are going to be used if there is a halfway decent artist in the store? they are just an aid to some of us who can not draw!

[gromm.livejournal.com]

Uh dude, I happen to have known a couple people who were employed as artists for coffee shops and other such establishments around here. And not starbucks. And about 10 years ago.

It's an urban myth that you've got yourself caught up in.