Part II: The Symbolism of Starbucks

             Coffee has become a staple, or even so much as a symbolic representation, of the fast paced, never-ceasing American culture. Both children and adults alike have come to depend on the daily ritual of coffee drinking, so much so, that the Huffington post states that “Americans drink upwards of 400 million cups of coffee per day” (Erdos, 2011: 1).  In conducting interviews with various students around campus, we found that most people feel better prepared for the day when they have a coffee in hand; but what is it that makes this coffee most often of the Starbucks-brand?

The Starbucks Coffee Corporation is marked by a certain use of symbolism, one so strong that no longer is the brand name even included on their signature cups.  Instead, a simple mermaid graphic in the iconic Starbucks white and green is the only indication of the brand on nearly all products.  Many people refer to the Starbucks brand as a “designer coffee,” due to the widely this widely recognized logo placed on all of their products.  Again we inquired: are consumers more motivated to purchase a Starbucks coffee versus a competitor’s product simply because of this reputation?  In other words, we wished to analyze whether or not there exists certain esteem in toting around a Starbucks cup with the iconic logo.  Most people responded to our surveys regarding the symbol by replying that “they had never really thought about it before,” but after some thought, most admitted that there was a sort of normalcy associated with the popular brand, and purchasing from the company is just “something that they do.”

The Iconic Starbucks Coffee Cup

            Through the method of surveying, we found that a relationship exists between the consistency of the beverage quality and symbolic interactionism that generates loyalty in Starbucks customers.  Symbolic interactionism is a term used to describe objects that are given meaning via social interactions. Starbucks is a symbol of preparation and consistency, and with that, it supplies somewhat of a “placebo-effect” where merely holding the coffee in an 8 AM class or early work meeting gives customers a feeling of attentiveness and readiness.  When parents ritualize their daily Starbucks purchase, their children witness the action and internalize the belief that this is a certain aspect of adulthood.  In this way, parents socialize their children to become future loyal customers and subculture members.

            In order to test our speculations, we conducted a blind taste test in order to study if consumers purchase Starbucks coffee for its quality of taste or for its massive popularity.  Samples of coffee from Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and Café Medici were poured into unmarked paper cups. Each study subject tasted all three samples and rated which coffee they preferred. The results were produced as follows:

            From the graph, it became apparent that Starbucks was, in fact, the most preferred coffee out of the three samples. Next, we asked our subjects if they knew which sample contained the Starbucks coffee to determine if subjects chose Starbucks simply because they recognized its signature taste and were biased towards it.

            6 out of the 15 participants, or 40%, correctly identified the Starbucks sample while the remaining 60% of subjects failed to identify the brand. Although this is a preliminary study, data suggests that subjects truly chose Starbucks on the quality of its taste rather than for its status.  This, therefore, unveils that though symbolism may still play an influential role in perpetuation of the Starbucks subculture, it is not the sole reason for its popularity.

Here are some photos from the taste test experiment: