I'm sitting in Union Square which, for those of you who are not familiar with NYC, is a little bit like "everything-you-can-find-in-the-city-concentrated-in-just-a-few-square-meters" sort of place... Around the square you can find to name a few: a make-up shop, a whole food shop, a shoe shop, an acting academy, a pet shop, a few clothing shops and lots more,,, basically, if you never wanted to move anywhere once you got here this would be the place to place your tent in and just enjoy!
In the middle of the square there is a park, all around there are very often market stalls selling foods and all sorts of other things and then, of course, there are 3 Starbucks... And I mean, THREE!
I'm sitting in one of them and I thought, being in the land of USA, I had to write about such a staple!
I got to know Starbucks in Europe, funny enough... But it's only after I started to travel over to the US that I realised the mass phenomenon that this "coffee shop" chain represents... And I did have to put coffee shop in inverted commas because Starbucks is so much more than that!
Coffees are indeed sold but that's just the background of the full operation, what I would call the "bucks"... ah but the "Star" is something else!!!
The "Star" is the people meeting in here, to chat about happiness and disappointment over a warm drink, the people who come in to warm up in a freezing day and those who come in to escape the boiling heat of a mid-summer afternoon...
In the middle of the square there is a park, all around there are very often market stalls selling foods and all sorts of other things and then, of course, there are 3 Starbucks... And I mean, THREE!
I'm sitting in one of them and I thought, being in the land of USA, I had to write about such a staple!
I got to know Starbucks in Europe, funny enough... But it's only after I started to travel over to the US that I realised the mass phenomenon that this "coffee shop" chain represents... And I did have to put coffee shop in inverted commas because Starbucks is so much more than that!
Coffees are indeed sold but that's just the background of the full operation, what I would call the "bucks"... ah but the "Star" is something else!!!
The "Star" is the people meeting in here, to chat about happiness and disappointment over a warm drink, the people who come in to warm up in a freezing day and those who come in to escape the boiling heat of a mid-summer afternoon...
The Star is also the opportunity one has to use free Internet...
"Well, what's the big deal?" You may think... Many other places offer that as well...
Ah yes, but there is a Starbucks pretty much at every corner of every street... It's like a faithful friend you know you can rely on wherever you go. And that of course mean every little corner of the world... how convenient!
And then there's the food... The dozens of different sizes, flavours, colours, calories, shapes and funny name ones... Watching your line? If you get the reduced-fat-double-cinnamon- little-swirl you are only getting about 200 calories compared with the amazing chocolate-vanilla-envy-pound-cake that will bill you about 350 of them...
And it's all written down for you, so you don't blame them for getting fat... you know, like they do with McDonalds!!!
And if you go on the Starbuck's website you have the whole specification of every single ingredient, percentage, weight, and anything else you can think of for every single drink they offer.
"Well, what's the big deal?" You may think... Many other places offer that as well...
Ah yes, but there is a Starbucks pretty much at every corner of every street... It's like a faithful friend you know you can rely on wherever you go. And that of course mean every little corner of the world... how convenient!
And then there's the food... The dozens of different sizes, flavours, colours, calories, shapes and funny name ones... Watching your line? If you get the reduced-fat-double-cinnamon- little-swirl you are only getting about 200 calories compared with the amazing chocolate-vanilla-envy-pound-cake that will bill you about 350 of them...
And it's all written down for you, so you don't blame them for getting fat... you know, like they do with McDonalds!!!
And if you go on the Starbuck's website you have the whole specification of every single ingredient, percentage, weight, and anything else you can think of for every single drink they offer.
I tried the Dark Cherry Mocha today for the first time... Maybe if I had gone to the website and realised the amount of calories and fat it carries I wouldn't have bought it but, after all, one must try everything in life and so I did!
I do understand the big fuss over the drink... it does things to you (like my friend Ben says!)
namely it warms your thoughts, it transports you into a cherry blossom garden, it embraces you with this sweet but not too potent fragrance and then the coffee aroma hits you and you realise that the little smile building up on your lips really is a gift of Starbucks...
I do understand the big fuss over the drink... it does things to you (like my friend Ben says!)
namely it warms your thoughts, it transports you into a cherry blossom garden, it embraces you with this sweet but not too potent fragrance and then the coffee aroma hits you and you realise that the little smile building up on your lips really is a gift of Starbucks...
Maybe I'm a bit biased in my opinion... There are many excellent coffee shops (much much better than any Starbucks!) with home baked goodies and not mass produced like here...But come on, let's be honest, at least the green round sign symbol of this big giant, always guarantees what you'll be getting and that's a place to relax, have a great chat with friends, offer you comfy seats, and maybe, just maybe, bring you somewhere else like it did with me...
5 comments:
Great to see a post from you again Dona, and another one below that I have not read yet, but shortly will. Starbucks food eh? Never tried it. May have to give it a go (although I am more of a Cafe Costa and Coffee Republic chap, myself). Take care. (You managing to paramedicate at the Monaco Grand Prix again this year?)
Hey Andrew!
Yes, when I go to NY I always manage to write a lot more than here in the UK... Can't wait for exams to be over to let my wild "pen" free again for summer... You'll see loads of posts than!
Unfortunately Monaco this year is not on the cards... Exams come too close to that weekend and I can't afford not to revise properly.
Oh well, I'll go some other time... Not like I'm short of excitement in my life anyway... hehe... Hope all is great for you too xxx
Dear Dona,
do you make any money for advertising for Starbucks or do you make for free?
I looked at the dark cherry mocha and I went to eat a large piece of chocolate egg!!!
Have a nice trip back,
Papinho
LOL dad... No I don't get paid but now that you mention it I may ask for an incentive ;-)
xxx
I tried it today in Toronto. It's fabulous! I was alone but, because of your Ode, I felt you were sitting across the table. Don't forget to collect your advertising fee. Every penny counts!
Post a Comment