Addiction

When I was in college, there was this place called "Starbucks" that opened across the street. People would go there to study, hang out, and drink coffee. As a freshman, I didn't get it. I stayed away. It did not look like a place in which I would fit. By my sophomore year, I was walking across the street with the rest of the lemmings. I would always order the same thing, a Grande Caramel Apple Cider, as I did not like coffee. (Yes, you read that correctly, I did not like coffee. Now stop laughing.) By my junior year, I was drinking an occasional Caramel Macchiato, but I would always need to add sugar. By my last semester of my senior year, I was stopping in at the mini-Starbucks in the food court on my way to class about twice a week for my Caramel Macchiato sans sugar (even after my dining dollars ran out). This morning, I went to the Starbucks in the basement of my building. When it was my turn, the Barista automatically punched the keys on the register, I handed her the $2.10 in my hand, and she pointed to where my Grande House with a shot of caramel was all ready and waiting for me. No words were exchanged.

According to Annual Reports, Starbucks had 1,886 stores in 1998. At Fiscal Year End 2005, there were 10,241.