‘STARBUCKS WAS HELPING
MOM AND POP COFFEE HOUSES
t' 't Taylor Clark tells Mark Robertson that his book about Starbucks was not intended as an assault. That in itself has caused a storm in a coffee cup
ull fat? Half fat? Skinny"? A shot of eggnog syrup maybe? Since the coffee house
revolution of the l99()s. your morning ctip comes in an endless myriad of permutations. It wasn't always like this of course. there was a time PS ll’re Starbucks) that coffee came in a jar with a plastic lid which you necked down before it brought tears to your eyes. Coffee in Britain was so bad we needed tea. of all things. for some kind of liquid sustenance. Since then we've been well and truly Starbucked.
Contemporary coffee culture as we know it — coffee houses on every corner and shelling out pounds for a paper cup full of something that essentially costs pennies — didn't start with Starbucks. as Taylor Clark points out in his insightful. witty and considered Starbuckcrl. The Seattle chain just took it global. Which surely makes them an evil corporate empire. no? ‘I wrote a cover story for the Portland free sheet Willmerte Week/y after somebody tried. and failed. to throw fire bombs through the window of a new branch of Starbucks.‘ explains Clark. ‘The story asked if Starbucks was as bad as its detractors made it otit to be. I looked into it and found that they weren’t. The story attracted interest so I was contacted by some editors and we turned it into a book.‘
Clark not only portrays the inexorable rise of this multi-national from a giddy yet ambitious independent store to one of the world’s most recognisable consumer brands. but details the brand‘s uniqueness and insists that no one has managed to replicate their peculiar business model. ‘Companies
like Wal-Mart are famous for sucking the life out of
32 THE LIST 28 Feb-13 Mar 2008
BY CREATING INTEREST'
y
independent retail ey ery w here." says (‘lark 'l was pretty surprised. how'ey er. to lind that in the l'S. mom
and pop coffee houses were not being piit out of
business; in fact. Starbucks was helping them by creating a greater interest in the product.~
Clark has successfully struck a balance between factual exposition and a healthy sense of litimour to produce an eminently readable slice of contemporary folklore that's part social history lesson. part cultural study of addiction with a dash of real life adyenture. Steering away from the liaranguing stances of Naomi Klein or Michael Moore. he lays out the story. mary'elling at it in all its absurd glory and allowing the reader to formulate their own conclusions. 'lt would hay'e been easy to write a wry businessy sort of book but I feel one of the cardinal sins of writing is not entertaining peoplef says (‘lark 'l'ye read reviews from people who thought that I did a really poor job of making a case against Starbucks. but I w asn't making a case against them. I was just trying to tell this story and there are people who hay e been annoyed that I didn't giye away the secret behind Starbucks and tell them how they can apply it to their own company. There isn‘t one. and that w asn't what I was trying to do any w ay.‘
L'ltimately'. being a Starbucks customer is a personal choice based on finance. morals and taste. but he manages to show this without passing judgement on our consumerist urges. There‘s no bad guys or good guys in this business it would seem. just thirsty ones.
Starbucked is out now published by Sceptre.
www.list.co.uk/books 2:37; .5 .
E BEST BOOKS. comes &‘EVENTS
* Alex Gray Ono of the fresh range of Scottish more authors gets stuck into her books as she warms up for the publication of Pitch Black which features a footballer being stabbed to death in his own home. Musselburgh Library. Edinburgh, Thu 73 Mar. * Kathleen Turner With Send Yourself Poses. the star of such 803 movies as Romancing the Stone and Peggy Sue Got Married reveals all about her hectic showbiz life. Waterstone's. Edinburgh, Mon 10 Mar.
* Aye Write! Another excellent line-up for Glasgow's literary fans with the likes of Asne Seierstad. Will Self, Tony Benn and Hanif Kureishi showing up to display their bookish wares. See feature. page 16. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, Fri 7—Sat 75 Mai:
* Taylor Clark With Starbucked. Clark analyses our infatuation With caffeine culture. See preview. left. Sceptre.
* Anne Enright The current holder of the Booker Prize makes hay with her glory by publishing a fine set of short stories under the umbrella of Taking Pictures. See review. page 33. Jonathan Cape.
* Chris Ware The 18th issue of the ACME Novelty Library has the Jimmy Corrigan creator bringing us a one-legged art student living out a distinctly mundane existence. Still makes fun reading. though. See review, page 34. Chris Ware.
=l= Brian Andersen ln So Super Duper we meet Psyche. a gay superhero who wields a powerful ability in having empathy with others. It's not exactly spinning webs and Climbing buildings but there you go. See review. page 34. CBG Comics.