Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: roasting plant, coffee experience, coffee cherries, Fair Trade, Howard Schultz, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's a double shot of skepticism in this account of Starbucks' ascendancy as a permanent fixture in the global landscape written by Clark, a Portland-based journalist, who's been mulling over Starbucks ever since the coffeehouse chain opened three branches in his small Oregon hometown. His coverage begins with a Seattle trio who set out to emulate the high-quality coffee of the California-based Peet's chain, before Howard Schultz took over the company and laid plans for its massive expansion. While Clark grudgingly admires Starbucks' ability to repackage coffee as beverage entertainment for a hyperprosperous society in search of emotional soothing, there's a lot he doesn't like about the company. He's convinced that Starbucks diminishes the world's diversity by ruthlessly outmaneuvering local competition on a global scale, and dubs the baristas' work as a textbook McJob. Even the quality of the coffee, he says, has gone downhill. Though Clark loses some of his focus by trying to rope in so many arguments against Starbucks, overall, his dubious perspective on one of the modern world's most ubiquitous icons is just frothy enough to prove entertaining. (Nov. 5)
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Product Description

STARBUCKED will be the first book to explore the incredible rise of the Starbucks Corporation and the caffeine-crazy culture that fueled its success. Part Fast Food Nation, part Bobos in Paradise, STARBUCKED combines investigative heft with witty cultural observation in telling the story of how the coffeehouse movement changed our everyday lives, from our evolving neighborhoods and workplaces to the ways we shop, socialize, and self-medicate.


In STARBUCKED, Taylor Clark provides an objective, meticulously reported look at the volatile issues like gentrification and fair trade that distress activists and coffee zealots alike. Through a cast of characters that includes coffee-wild hippies, business sharks, slackers, Hollywood trendsetters and more, STARBUCKED explores how America transformed into a nation of coffee gourmets in only a few years, how Starbucks manipulates psyches and social habits to snare loyal customers, and why many of the things we think we know about the coffee commodity chain are false.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (November 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031601348X
• ISBN-13: 978-0316013482
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #293,157 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I think even Howard would agree: a balanced look at the giant, January 21, 2008

By	Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"Starbucked" is a tremendous piece of journalism. It strikes just the right balance - serious but with a sharp sense of humor (it had me laughing outright in many places because Taylor Clark is wickedly funny), and neither pro- nor anti-Starbucks. Given Clark's street cred with alt-weekly Willamette Week, some might expect something bordering on a screed. But, as other writers point out here, it is a balanced, nuanced and simply finely researched piece of work. Most notably, Clark scores an interview with Howard Schultz. I think even Schultz (though he occasionally suffers, as co-workers note, from believing his own PR) would, however begrudgingly, admit that his company gets more than a fair shake from the author.

For example, Clark puts to rest the fallacy that - like Wal-Mart - Starbucks puts Mom and Pop stores out of business. [Actually, sales in those stores rise when Starbucks drops anchor near-by.] He also notes of Schultz's genuineness on the issues of health insurance and stock options, noting that Schultz offered these to even part-time workers "as a matter of principle...[He] has always taken his employers' welfare seriously." Nothing in Clark's research refutes that statement. It's stated and accepted here as a fact. He also clarifies that Starbucks bears little responsibility for the drop in coffee bean prices, noting that the "Big Four" (Nestle, P&G, Philip Morris, Massimo Zanetti - owner of the Hills Bros. and MJB brands) "provide 60% of America's coffee supply" and roil the market by cutting their product with the low-quality, highly available robusta plant (incrementally substituting it for the Arabica that Starbucks and others use).

Taylor Clark's excellent book reminds me Charles Fishman's equally compelling and balanced look at Wal-Mart (The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy). These are two works I can highly recommend without reservation.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Research, Balanced Reporting, Outstanding Writing, November 28, 2007

By	Robert R. Mendenhall "Bob" (Keene, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Clark's research, reporting, and writing are superb. You'll learn a number of things about Starbucks, coffees from around the world, and coffee drinks of all ilks that you never knew before. If you're looking for a book bashing Starbucks this is NOT it. It is, however, one of the most fair and balanced books I've read on any subject on which there is at least some disagreement. Clark will have you thinking critically about both sides of many issues, including the company's treatment of employees, coffee and your health, even cultural imperialism. This is a VERY interesting read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 5-star cup of coffee, November 19, 2007

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali

Starbucked is divided into two parts. The first part describes the rise of Starbucks. Clark briefly summarizes coffee drinking practices outside the United States and moves to Prescott's work on coffee at MIT in the 1920s. From there Clark outlines the changes in American coffee consumption. The main focus of the first part is rightly on Starbucks - especially after Howard Schultz took over the company, making it into the coffee juggernaut it has become.

The second part focuses on the criticisms that are levied against Starbucks. Clark divides these into five main categories, which he lists as [pg. 145]:

* Killing the character of neighborhoods and employing predatory tactics to take out locally owned coffeehouses.

* Causing the suffering of millions of Third World coffee farmers by paying unfair prices for beans.

* Peddling a product that is harmful to our health (and our delicate palates).

* Exploiting its employees and crushing their attempts to unionize.

* Homogenizing the planet and destroying cultural diversity by saturating the world with its stores.

It is in this section that one would find the most contentious parts of the book. While Clark does address all of the categories above, and draws upon all the major criticisms leveled against Starbucks, to some readers he may come across as being pro-Starbucks. Other readers would contend that Clark is merely mapping the fault lines of the debate. Whatever the reader's stand, most would agree that Clark has outlined both sides of the debate. It was instructive for me to read the epilogue, titled "The Last Drop." It recounts Clark's personal encounter with Starbucks as it entered his home town and probably influenced his ambivalence towards the company.

Starbucked does not purport to be a management book or a book on how to create a culture (as some books on Starbucks are). This book outlines its rise from a historical perspective and reports both sides of the ethical transgressions that Starbucks has been accused of. The journalistic writing style is crisp and flows well. Overall, it is well researched and well written.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended for those who are passionate about Starbucks.