Starbucks didn’t exactly invent expensive coffee, but it certainly helped convince America that a cup of coffee could be a lifestyle accessory, a personality statement, and a small monthly subscription disguised as a beverage. By turning coffee shops into comfortable gathering places and transforming ordinary coffee into an endless parade of lattes, Frappuccinos, syrups, foams, and seasonal concoctions, Starbucks helped Americans get accustomed to paying dramatically more than the old-fashioned 25-cent cup of diner coffee. Somewhere along the way, five bucks for a cup stopped sounding outrageous and started sounding like a perfectly reasonable investment in caffeine, convenience, and the illusion that we have our lives together. Today, that humble quarter cup seems less like coffee history and more like evidence from an archaeological dig.
