Starbucks is known around the world for its welcoming, easy-going atmosphere, comfortable furniture – and, of course, its coffee. A Starbucks coffee shop (they’re not cafés or bars) is somewhere you can go either with friends or on your own. You can chat, play games (they’ve usually got chess or Monopoly) or just chill out. It’s a great place to work or study as well: with ample plug points and a choice of dining room-sized tables, window seats or comfy corners with a sofa and coffee table, you can while away your time without feeling rushed or under any (social) pressure to drink up and leave. Freelancers of all kinds, as well as some inde arts professionals, practically live in Starbucks. And even if you work in the corporate world, a Starbucks coffee shop is the ideal location for the meetings you’d rather not have in the office (e.g. talking to a headhunter or briefing a journalist).
The baristas, as they are officially known, while not
perhaps demonstrating the same level of artistry associated with Milan’s
classic bars (and those of other Italian cities) are nonetheless passionate
about coffee: they will always be happy to talk you through the fair-trade
blends on offer or to give you advice on customising your drink with a variety
of shots and syrups.
Ultimately, however, Starbucks isn’t really about the
coffee; it’s more about the place – the shop’s location (usually city-centre or downtown), combined with its no-pressure
ambience and laid back feel are what they’re really about. Going to Starbucks
is part of the urban experience in cities from Seattle to San Francisco, London
to Lyons, and Mumbai to … er, well, not Milan (unfortunately)! Which leads us to the central
question, which has been rumbling on in discussions across the net and in
countless face-to-face chats over "American" coffees:
Why is there no
Starbucks in Italy?
I don’t know why; I don’t think anyone really does. Italians
are quick to point out that they already have their own tradition of
coffee-drinking in bars – and they certainly don’t need the Americans telling
them how to do it! But if you have ever spent more than 10 minutes in an
Italian bar without either having lunch or attending an informal social
occasion, you will soon feel self-conscious and out of place. (You will also be asked at increasingly regular intervals if want another coffee or something to eat.) Factor in your laptop,
a few books in front of you and just the fact of being on your own in public – and it soon adds up to an
invitation to be elsewhere as soon as you can. You will look sad or lonely to the people who enter the bar, the waiters will try
and cheer you up – or just assume that you are a tourist who knows no better.
Having spent many long hours in bars around Milan – often
writing, surfing the net or just engaged in unaccompanied meditation (why would
you want to do that… in public?!), I have reached the conclusion that we really
do need Starbucks in this city. At present, however, it doesn’t look like we’ll get
one. (There is the admirable Arnold Coffee, a kind of homage to Starbucks,
which proudly claims to offer 'the American coffee experience'. It’s close, but no Cohiba: sorry. Although it does have free wireless.)
So, I have decided to take the initiative – and to open the
world’s first “virtual Starbucks” on the uber-cool CircleMe - the “Made in Italy” social network where
you are what you like.
Virtual Starbucks, Milan has one main advantage over its
real-life equivalent: it won’t cost you a penny! (Starbucks legal department,
please note: this is not a commercial venture and nothing is being sold here.
In fact, we want you to come here asap so we can help you make money by buying your
delicious Frappuccinos, huge mugs of coffee loaded with cream and drizzled with
syrup – and your lovely cakes, muffins and granola bars.)
There is also another benefit of Virtual Starbucks, Milan:
since it doesn’t exist, it is not constrained by the physical limitations of
the space-time continuum: it’s always open and capacity is infinite (a key
factor when you are in one of the more popular branches of the physical Starbucks, looking
for a spare table – remember you can’t actually drink at the bar / counter).
Furthermore, the virtual Milanese outpost of the Starbucks empire plays host to
a fascinating and diverse range of clients, characters and events that would
otherwise be impossible in the real world: here you will find Bob Dylan rubbing
shoulders with Ludwig Wittgenstein; Audrey Hepburn talks style with Stella
McCartney – and even the Beatles are on hand to provide some live, in-store
music. (By the way, the carefully-selected soundtrack of the real-life Starbucks is as much a part of its success as anything else.)
But, most importantly, YOU are invited! There’s an
ultra-comfy online armchair waiting for you to sink into with your 100% cost-free Chai or Ethiopian Highlands special blend and zero-food-miles Rocky Road or blueberry muffin. Here you will
find ideas, arguments and links not only to all your favourite topics (which
you are more than welcome to bring in from your other CircleMe passions!) – but
you can also be part of The Conversation: the extended discussion and exchange
of ideas (in English) that is taking place all over Milan and beyond.
Virtual Starbucks, Milan is also a portal into another
dimension: this website! YouSquared – the parallel universe of CircleMe, where nothing is
quite what it seems – proudly brews Virtual Starbucks coffee, foments debate and stimulates the tastebuds of your imagination.
I hope you enjoy discovering new ideas and getting to know
people you wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to meet when you visit Virtual Starbucks, Milan on CircleMe. Spread the word! Share the virtual love! And wake up and smell the
(metaphysical) coffee. Enjoy!
