Introduction
I will be looking at the cultures that exist inside coffee shops. In particular, I will be contrasting the culture that exists within chain coffee shops, such as Starbucks, with those present in smaller independently owned shops. When getting coffee, I usually go to Starbucks because it is convenient. However, I know a few individuals who would rather support small locally owned shops. Additionally, whenever I have actually gone to an independently owned shop, I never actually stayed in the shop while drinking. Therefore, I thought it would be an interesting experience to spend time in both a chain shop and an independent shop.
When I envision the type of people who frequent independent shops, quirky is the word that comes to
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They may be more likely to be willing to sit in closer proximity to each other than patrons in Starbucks. I anticipate that Starbucks patrons came to the shop with a plan, and are much less likely to deviate from that plan than individuals in the local shop. Therefore, they may be less receptive to unexpected social interaction. In both establishments, I will be paying close attention to the social behaviors of the customers.
Cultural Background Research
Throughout history, coffee has played an important role in cultures all around the world. The café society, which developed in England and France between 1680 and 1730, served as cultural exchange by bringing together poets, musicians and artists (Lyons, 2005). To this day, writers and graphic designers can be seen working in coffee shops across the county. Additionally, coffee shops have long been considered a place for intellectual and political discussion ( Blank & Vooren, 2007). Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that during the specialty coffee boom of the 1970’s, company’s like Starbuck’s began to expand into neighborhoods close to museums, colleges, and art galleries ( Lyons, 2005). In short, coffee shops have a long history of attracting intellectual and creative individuals.
Coffee shops fall into the category of “third places”. These are places that people go to escape the stresses of home life and work (Blank &
It is a true pleasure for me to write this letter of recommendation for Magaly Resendez, whom I have had the opportunity of teaching for the past two years. She was in my World History class as a sophomore and is currently in my U.S. History class as a junior.
My observations of human behavior were made at Starbucks on Grand avenue, New York near Elmhurst. I chose this location due to the high customer traffic that it sees. Since it is a popular coffee shop, the customer base cuts across different multicultural sector of the population. There is a lot of variety in the backgrounds and personalities of the people visiting the shop. This quality makes any patterns that are recognized more representative of the general public.
Starbucks- Starbucks is known for selling their premium coffee and tea products. Another thing that they do well is sell a comfortable environment. It’s a good place for people to hang out and socialize with friends and family. However they do not have
For my ethnographic report, I chose to study Starbucks located in the NJIT campus center in Newark, New Jersey. The purpose of this study was to identify the behaviors and possible needs of the people in the area that enter this establishment, and possibly all coffee shops located in a school campus. I conducted my ethnography research from 1:45 PM to 3:45 on Wednesday, February 5, 2017. It was slightly snowing that day, which is a variable that I took into consideration. I was sitting on the last seat of the corner, the opposite way from the cash register facing the entrance of the coffee shop. During the two hours that I spend at the coffee shop only 5 people walked in which I found unusual because people tend to grab a cup of coffee whenever the weather is unpleasant. Perhaps on snowing days people don’t tend to visit the campus center as much they go directly to class from their dorm or house.
Patrons like myself stood in line scanning the café for empty tables and available seats. The arrangement of the tables in this area allowed for more seating flexibility and appeared to lower social boundaries between customers while encouraging interaction between members of cliques and individual patrons. Armed with my laptop and cappuccino, my observations occurred from an empty table in the center of the café.
I chose to do the Starbucks Ethnography over all of the other options because Starbucks currently plays a large role in the social behaviors of today’s society. It has grown significantly from when it was first founded and is currently dominating the coffee market worldwide. Starbucks has become a social and cultural phenomenon because, “...it is at once a globalized consumer institution and a local place in which the mundane daily activities of sipping coffee, writing in journals, and conversing with friends are practiced” (Dickinson 7). Since I am in the age group that Starbucks is particularly trendy with (young adults), I already have some expectations for what the results of the ethnography will be. I have also lived in Orange County for my entire life, so I had some context as to which race would be more prevalent to the Starbucks I had gone to. I wish to explore the symbolic anthropology, which, “...focuses on understanding cultures by discovering and analyzing the symbols that are most important to their members” (Nanda 35). Understanding the symbolism behind coffee and Starbucks is important since it has multiple meanings and has become deeply ingrained within our culture.
I set out to find a place to begin my observations, not knowing what to fully expect, what I may find. So I decided to look around at what is close to my home that isn’t a place I frequent or have even visited at all. Then it came to me, the Starbucks that is only about a mile away is a perfect place for me to observe subjects that I would consider different from myself, seeing as how I consider such obscene prices for coffee ridiculous. Starbucks is a very popular chain of coffee vendors that describe their product as more about quality than what Americans are used to in typical coffee joints.
Though coffee houses throughout Europe have a self-explanatory function of meeting point, discussion area and recreational facility, this concept has only recently been explored in North America, and is gaining in popularity and social recognition as we speak, and is only expected to increase over the course of the next few years.
Joshua Davenport owned a coffee bar/bistro in the small town of Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania situated on the Delaware River. He wanted to bring the old world elegance to his rural community, a place where neighbors could meet and converse over espresso drinks prepared by an expert barista. The shops name is called “Espressivo” that attracted many young people, especially the college students at the nearby campus, and older
This case assignment discusses the history of Starbuck’s accomplishments as they entered the American coffee culture heritage. In 1983, The chairman and CEO Howard Schultz traveled to Italy and had a dream to carry the Italy coffeehouse ritual back to the United States. Schultz was focused on creating an environment meeting company that makes good coffee but also be a social experiment. Starbucks today opened more than 19,000 stores functioning in 62 countries. Starbucks has numerous rewards that globalization has offered and they have significantly benefited from it, while in the coffee industry. Starbucks has a wide-range in marketing strategies to benefit the customers. During the different obstacles that Starbucks has encountered, they must stay reliable in quality and uphold to adjust to different customer values.
The ambiances at each bar were different and the energy was electrifying. It was in this setting that he realized that creating an atmosphere and bonding with customers around a cup of coffee was monumental in improving his business. Coffee would be only the automobile for a place where people want to stay for a while, a place-like-home, and office. These variables will become the differentiating factor for Starbucks.
Middle childhood is the period of life that occurs between the ages 7 and 11. During these times of children lives they are in school and are making many different friends, and their cognitive and physical skills are enhancing. On the other hand, middle childhood period normally introduce individuals into new sets of challenges; not only for the child but for the parents as well. After middle childhood comes the adolescence stage, this period of life children face drastic changes. This stage can range from as early as 8 years old to 18. This essay will describe changes that occur during middle childhood and
I’d like to start this letter off by thanking you for this scholarship. Without it, my chances of going to Texas Tech would have been much smaller. I currently live in Dexter, Michigan. I moved to Michigan from Austin, Texas about 5 years ago and have longed to be back in Texas ever since. I have two older brothers who are both attending college and a younger brother who is a freshman in high school. My parents are both from Vietnam and only my dad has attended college and has a job since my mother has a hearing disability and no education. I chose to attend Texas Tech University because I've heard that it is a very good school from friends who are currently attending TTU and after looking into the school and its programs, I found it to be
For some people Starbucks is a part of their morning rituals for others it is just a coffee shop for their Frappuccino’s. However, for some Starbucks is much more, those who work at Starbucks are members of their own subculture. A subculture is a group within society that shares the same values and interests. The people who work at Starbucks are made up by baristas, the entry level employee, shift supervisors, and managers. This team of employees’ works together closely to provide customers with the best experience and produce possible. Through working so intimately with one’s coworkers creates the aspects of a subculture. Without them Starbucks as a company and per store would not be able to run as efficiently as they do today. Starbucks
The demand for coffee shops is born from the increased number of individuals seeking coffee brewed outside of the home. This creates a larger market for coffee shops. An increased amount of people are starting their mornings off by purchasing breakfast and a cup of coffee away from home (Tuttle 2014), more people are enjoying gourmet coffee (NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends 2015 Infographic), and younger generations are demanding more coffee and coffee drinks from coffee shops (Tuttle 2014, S&D Coffee and Tea inc. 2014, Statista 2015). Coffee shops must compete with at home coffee, work place coffee, and teas for the caffeinated beverage markets (LN 2015). Demand for coffee within different markets varies, and provides competition for coffee shops. Single cup coffee makers, increasingly qualitative instant coffees, and gourmet beans are all sources of competition that could satisfy the demand for coffee. However, coffee shops are becoming more ingrained in social