"Coffee is the common man's gold, and like gold, it brings to every man the feeling of luxury and nobility." - Sheik Abd-al-Kadir, "In Praise of Coffee," 1587.
When you splurge on $4 coffee at Starbucks, it better not be an ordinary cup of joe.
For many, it's not: It's a $4 respite from the office, a $4 getaway from the kiddie carpool, a happy little $4 nook of jazzy tunes, plush chairs and tasteful decor for catching up with friends over steamy mochaccinos.
Such is the winning formula at Starbucks, a company whose allure is such that Baltimore's mayor is practically begging them to erect their green awnings on every other city block.
But now that Starbucks has gotten us comfortable paying $4 for a cup of coffee, it has upped the stakes again: Star- bucks thinks we'll actually pay $35 for a pound of coffee beans.
And guess what? They're right.
Dubbed the Black Apron Exclusives, the new label of coffees started making limited appearances in various U.S. and Canadian stores at the end of April. Every couple of months, you can "cherish" a new flavor of Starbucks coffees "so precious and unparalleled that to miss them once could mean you'll never experience them again."
The gourmet beans, sold by the pound and half-pound, are going fast, even here in allegedly Starbucks-poor Baltimore.
"It sounds crazy, doesn't it?" says James B. Twitchell, an advertising expert and author of Lead Us into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism." "It is not irrational. It just looks that way. What Starbucks sells, as even they gleefully admit, is not coffee, but the `Third Place.' It's not work. It's not home. It's that special, quiet space.
"With that `Third Place' comes luxury and indulgence," Twitchell says. "It's the democratization of luxury."
No wonder the prospect of landing more Starbucks outlets has public officials swooning.
Desirable image
At a recent retail industry conference in Las Vegas, Mayor Martin O'Malley was among the numerous officials lining up to woo Starbucks Corp.
For them, Starbucks is about more than just filling up empty office space. Starbucks brings with it validation that an area is attractive for investment. Better yet, it brings with it a desirable image of the kind of people who drink its coffee - those who are affluent, literary and discerning.
