A Place I Love a Latte

Tonight I attended a coffee tasting at Starbucks (which is why I'm still wide awake at 11). We sampled three Latin American coffees. Judy, the very-perky barista, instructed us in proper coffee-tasting technique: sniff, slurp, identify, describe and pair. Pairing involved tasting a pastry which enhanced the flavor of the coffee. (My theory is that these coffee tastings are a ploy to hook people on pastries.) Judy mentioned that the first Starbucks opened in Pike Place Market in Seattle in 1971 (seven years before I was born, my destiny was brought forth). I've been to the market but not the Starbucks there.

When I got home, I found this definition of Starbucks at Wikipedia:

"Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is a large multinational chain of coffee shops, often serving pastries, with a reputation in the US as a center for socializing, particularly among students and young urban professionals. The corporate headquarters are in Seattle, Washington. The company was named after Starbuck, a character in Moby-Dick, and its mascot is a stylized cartoon Siren.

According to the company's fact sheet, as of April 2005, Starbucks had 5,630 company-operated outlets worldwide: 4,593 of them in the 50 United States and Washington, DC and 1,037 in other countries and U.S. territories. In addition, the company has 3,851 joint-venture and licensed outlets, 2,158 of them in the 50 United States and Washington, DC and 1,693 in other countries and U.S. territories."

That's a lot of lattes! For some time I have been aware of the ubiquitous nature of the 'bucks. I once conducted my own little experiment. I was driving home from Denver, and I guessed that I could take any exit and arrive at a Starbucks within two minutes. I exited at the next off ramp, and, as I predicted, I spotted the familiar Siren in less than 45 seconds.

What would the world be like without Starbucks? What would Christianity be without Starbucks? (Do you know a pastor or youth pastor who doesn't spend half his life in that place?) And I won't even go into the possibility of world domination.... Remember — sniff, slurp, identify, describe and pair!