Studying Starbucks

by Nicole Weston, Posted Apr 20th 2006 @ 8:01AM

I hate to be the one to break this to lifestyle reporters everywhere, but whining about the names of the drinks and the options at Starbucks is old. Very old. We've been there, we know what the names are and we have a great deal of pity that you find the option to have non-fat, low-fat or whole milk in your coffee to be "dizzying." They have medications to treat that sort of thing, you know.

If you want to cover something interesting, why don't you take a look at what cultural and social anthropologists (or historians masquerading as such) are studying when they visit Starbucks. Bryant Simon, a professor at Temple University, observes the patrons who visit Starbucks instead of the coffee shop's menu. He has done research at hundreds of Starbucks in six countries, looking at behaviors of the modern coffee consumer and learning about "cafe culture" in an age of globalization. He believes that Starbucks help fill "some kind of deep desire for connection with other people" without actually having to interact with them. The coffee shops, Simon says, are "selling comfort," letting people be anonymous together in an atmosphere that doesn't vary much from place to place; predictability is actually a somewhat rare virtue in a rapidly moving and changing world. And the effect spreads beyond America's borders, as patrons in other countries often exhibit similar behaviors and look for the same comforting things.

His paper, his "opus," will be titled Consuming Starbucks and will reach publication in 2008.

[Photo by Sarah Gilbert]

Source

Filed Under: Science, Drink Recipes, Coffee Shops
Tags: anthropology, coffee, coffee culture, culture, historian, professor, research, school, starbucks, study, temple, university

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-20-2006 @11:58AM Rita said... There was an article similar to this on Coffeegeek.com, http://coffeegeek.com/opinions/cafestage/10-19-2005, that talked a bit about the desire to be alone without actually having to be alone, and how people use that idea to justify spending $4 on a cup of coffee. I thought it was interesting, and I am looking forward to reading this study.
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4-20-2006 @4:30PM Vanessa said... that's really interesting because it's been a minor personal theory of mine. i've noticed how friends that live by themselves or people who will spend a day by themselves will often go to coffee shops. they might interact with people, but part of the point is submersing yourself into a situation where the people surrounding you might not be adverse to you speaking to them or additionally just having company moving around you regardless of who they are. beats sitting at home alone right?
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5-05-2006 @2:05AM scarlett said... this prof must be the laziest guy in town. his big research paper isn't news at all. it's the basis of CEO Howard Shultz's book about how and why he started the coffee company as well as the main topic in all his global speeches about Starbucks. the prof should give the money back to students -- or at least buy everyone coffee.
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