"Everything But the Coffee" casts a fresh eye on the worlds most famous coffee company, looking beyond baristas, movie cameos, and Paul McCartney CDs to understand what Starbucks can tell us about America. Bryant Simon visited hundreds of Starbucks around the world to ask, Why did Starbucks take hold so quickly with consumers? What did it seem to provide over and above a decent cup of coffee? Why at the moment of Starbucks profit-generating peak did the company lose its way, leaving observers baffled about how it might regain its customers and its cultural significance? "Everything But the Coffee" probes the companys psychological, emotional, political, and sociological power to discover how Starbucks explosive success and rapid deflation exemplify American culture at this historical moment. Most importantly, it shows that Starbucks speaks to a deeply felt American need for predictability and class standing, community and authenticity, revealing that Starbucks appeal lies not in the product it sells but in the easily consumed identity it offers.
Acknowledgments ix Introducing the Starbucks Moment 1 1. Real Coffee 21 2. Predictability the Individual Way 58 3. It Looks like a Third Place 82 4. Self-Gifting and Retail Therapy 122 5. Hear Music for Everyday Discoverers 149 6. Not-So-Green Cups 173 7. Sleeping Soundly in the Age of Globalization 201 Afterword 239 A Note on the Research 247 Notes 253 Selected Bibliography 279 Index 289