As I watched, I had a revelation: Starbucks had missed the point, completely missed it... The connection
to the people who loved coffee did not have to take place only in their homes, where they
ground and brewed whole-bean coffee. What we had to do was unlock the romance and mystery
of coffee, firsthand, in coffee bars. The Italians understood the personal relationship that people
could have to coffee, its social aspect. Starbucks sold great coffee beans, but we didn’t serve coffee
by the cup. We treated coffee as produce, something to be bagged and sent home with the groceries.
We stayed one big step away from the heart and soul of what coffee has meant throughout
the centuries.