Page 111 - REVISTA_USIL_CUSCO

THE UGLY FAMILIAR TASTE

Starbucks is arguably the biggest controversial culprit of this method of blending and burning cheap

coffee beans. People who discover the magic of single-origin coffee struggle to return the coffee shop that is

readily available. But we still have the original Starbucks (shown below) to thank for one thing: Instant coffee

used to be the norm in the

United States. Companies

like Starbucks broke that

cycle with their beans,

blends, and espressos in an

effort to bring something

more authentic and to a

higher quality standard.

Figure 2. Original Starbucks (Marshall, 2015)
The company came out of recognizing a market in the 1960’s and 70’s that was looking for authenticity. The

opened with a passion and goal to provide “good” coffee (Simon, 26-28). As it grew, was sold, and exploded

across the globe, quality dropped dramatically despite the marketing that claimed they still provided the best

coffee. Jerry Baldwin had been afraid of this ever since he was forced to sell the company. In the end, he was

right. Starbucks originally worked to appeal to the upper class, placing themselves next to courthouses,

outside of high-end business buildings, anything and everything to appear “posh” in order to first gain a

market that would pay their high prices. Their intent was to later to draw in another market that wanted that

swagger that was holding a Starbucks’ coffee cup (Simon, 29-35). With that fame and size came low quality

beans and blends: rancid and burned. It might not be good, but at least they provide an expected and familiar

taste. Along with the rise of Starbucks, other coffee companies decided to go along with the burned bean taste

111