A Quaint Cafe?

I heard it said recently that Starbucks offers an addictive experience. That struck my interest because, while coffee is not a forbidden addiction, it becomes the method by which an invigorating experience is handed out. Which brings up the question; has coffee truly become a subculture in American society or is it just another product of a well marketed company, like McDonald’s, that is fast becoming one of the many faces on the American billboard of consumer products? When Howard Schultz came back from Italy in the late 80’s, he brought with him the experience of a café culture. Many countries have them—breezy, open aired café’s, where customers stand around high top tables and linger over lattes, cappuccinos and macchiatos. This experience was the spring board for his attempt at creating this type of neighborhood café out of Starbucks, with an American twist of course, market the hell out of it and see where you can take it. Can you market a culture? Apparently you can. In the last decade or so Starbucks’ have sprung up everywhere nationally and world wide. But has it lost some of its quaint, neighborhood appeal by being such a large corporately owned coffee producer?