Confession: I’ve sort of developed a Starbucks habit.
As a former barista at a beloved independent (now defunct), I once swore up and down that Starbucks was the enemy. I refused to order anything, out of principle, when my family stopped there on our way out of town. I turned my nose up at all their products (I still don’t love their teas), and I was basically quite pompous and self-righteous about the whole thing.
This began to change when I lived in Oxford. My housemate Lizzie worked at Starbucks, and would occasionally phone down to the house on her long shifts, begging one of us to come up and see her. I’d hop on my green bike, glad for a break from schoolwork, and pedal and pant my way up steep Headington Hill, then breeze up a few blocks to her Starbucks and order a peppermint hot chocolate or a chai latte. Sometimes I perched at a table across from the register, so she could talk to me; sometimes I’d make myself less conspicuous, curling up in a soft green chair and reading or writing, and Lizzie would toss me a remark or two as she wiped tables nearby. I still spent more time and money at my other beloved Oxford cafes, but I didn’t mind Starbucks quite so much any more.
There are a couple of great indie cafes near my current workplace – I love Thinking Cup and Boston Common Coffee House, and I make frequent visits for lunch or other treats. But there’s a Starbucks right in my building, and on mornings when I’ve had too little sleep and not enough caffeine, or when the temperature in my office is colder than the rainy day outside, or when I just need a treat to warm me and cheer me, I head downstairs and order a tall chai latte. I watch the baristas joke with each other and chat with their customers; I sneak glances at my fellow customers, observe what they’re wearing and reading, wonder about their lives. And then I walk back up to my office with a warm cup of creamy chai goodness.
I’m still a staunch supporter of all things indie, and I’ll keep buying books at the Booksmith and yarn at the Windsor Button and produce at the farmer’s market. But I’m shelving my pride and admitting that, as far as chai lattes and convenience are concerned, there’s also room for Starbucks in my life.
Nooooo! Support the small local coffee/tea shops, always!
Weirdly I won’t do Starbucks as they are evil, but will happily use Cafe Nero or Costa Coffee despite them being chains as well. The problem with independants is that they often do hot chocolate very badly, or at least don’t pretend to do it well unlike the others.
As for coffee – no thanks. Not when there is proper tea (with milk) available. Not something you get in the USA of course !
Phil, that’s why I usually brew my own tea at home! 🙂
I used to go to Caffe Nero in Oxford for the chai lattes – and because they had a cafe in Blackwells Bookshop.
I was always a supporter of local coffee shops until I moved to Chile and found that the concept really doesn’t exist here. There are other types of cafes, but if I want to sit and read for a while, write, or just daydream, Starbucks is my best option by far. I’ve resigned myself to it and even consider it an exciting treat when I get to go. Oh, how changing country changes everything..
I am an equal opportunity chai lover: I do not discriminate. You should try the chai lattes at Cafe Crema in Harvard Square, near Bertucci’s. I think you’d love them.
You may enjoy reading “Onward” by Howard Schulz, the Starbucks CEO. He talks about how in recent years, he and his staff have worked towards restoring the “Starbucks experience” – that magic of watching your drink be made, talking to other customers, imagining their lives. It is a bit wonky and corporate, but insightful nonetheless.
I so wish we could have chai together again. Waving hello from ‘home’ in Greece.
[…] currently, though it’s not their fault). Starbucks on Charles St. has lovely views, yummy chai and cozy little tables, but it’s Starbucks, which always makes me feel like I’m […]
[…] feel-better tricks – copious cups of tea, small squares of dark chocolate, the occasional chai latte, bowls of homemade soup (this week it’s Tuscan sausage). The music of the Puppini Sisters, a […]
[…] overhead and dry ones crunching on the ground, indigo skies, fingers wrapped around mugs of tea, chai lattes, crisp breezes and sunny days. The sweet melancholy of the year’s turning, the “season […]
[…] balance when life goes off-kilter. My lists tend to include a mix of little treats (new books, chai lattes, hours with favorite movies or good friends) and old-fashioned nourishment (steaming bowls of soup, […]
[…] time with friends in the basement of our beloved church. I’ll make pumpkin bread and sip chai, and yes, I’ve started my Christmas shopping. I’ll celebrate Candletime, which seems […]
[…] and I don’t particularly care for Starbucks teas (my usual drink of choice there is a chai latte). But in early December, I was hankering for a peppermint hot chocolate, so I stopped in and […]