List of City Mugs - Starbucks City Mug Collector

I knew I would find it. This website is actually a list of many of the early City Mugs issued. This is a great list to start with, as there are many of the other regional mugs listed that I have not found elsewhere, even on Starbucks.com. The list includes Asia, Middle East, Europe, North America, Central & South America, and more. Check it out. Very impressive. Wonder why Starbucks can't seem to create this type of resource. This collection by Oli (I believe he is operating from Japan email StarbucksCityMugs@yahoo.co.jp) starts in "94. He is asking for help so if you know of a mug that he does not have listed please let him know. He also says that the city mug images can be used for your auctions, blogs, etc just as long as you provide a link. Thanks Oli!

Starbucks City Mug Collection

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, collectibles, city, mugs, merchandise, collecting

Fan Websites for Starbucks Commercials

I found this interesting - there are two websites dedicated to the Starbucks DoubleShot Espresson commercial characters Hank and Glen. I have not joined them but heck if you are a big fan of either one of these characters than this might be worth checking out.

Starbucks Hank DoubelShot Espresso Commercial Fan Site - http://untold.beautiful-beast.net/hank/

Starbucks Glen DoubleShot Espresso Commercial Fan Site - http://supervisor.cute-poison.net/

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, commercial, Hank, Glen, DoubleShot, Espresso, advertising

Starbucks Commercial - Hank - Double Shot Espresso

Starbucks Commercial - Hank

Another great commercial from YouTube. It is for Double Shot Espresso drink and features a guy named Hank with his own cheering section. These Double Shot Espresso commercials make me laugh.

Starbucks Commercial - Glen - Survivor

Starbucks Commercial - Glen w/ Survivor "Eye of the Tiger"

Great commercial from YouTube. It features a guy named Glen drinking Starbucks Double Shot Espresso Drink while the group Survivor follows him around singing "Eye of the Tiger".

Hear Music - Music of Starbucks

I love Stabucks music - Hear Music - and I was excited to find that they have their own web site dedicated to the Hear Music Program. The site is pretty cool and worth checking out if you enjoy the Hear Music offerings. There is also a section on the Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouses. At present there are only 3 in the country - San Antonio, TX, Santa Monica, CA and South Beach, FL. They also have Hear Music Media Bars in Austin, TX and Seattle, WA; and Hear Music Store in Berkeley, CA. If you did not know that they had these stores then you should visit the site and take a tour of them. You can also order cds from the Hear Music offerings. Starbucks has really developed its Hear Music program due to its growing popularity. The company continues to be creative and raise the bar on the coffeehouse experience.

www.HearMusic.com

HEAR MUSIC BACKGROUND

Hear Music is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept. Hear Music began as a catalog company in Massachusetts in 1990 before being purchased by Starbucks in 1999.

The Hear Music brand currently has three components: the music that each location plays and accompanying XM radio channel (XM 75); in-store CD sales, including Starbucks exclusives; and specially-branded retail stores (which opened shortly after the catalog was formed).

Currently, Starbucks is one of the top 40 music-oriented retailers and has flourished selling music. Its biggest success was Ray Charles' Grammy winning "Genius Loves Company," where 2.86 million records were sold in total; 25% of those were sold at Starbucks locations.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, hear, music

Possible Future Collectible...Armstead Maupin Quote

In 2005, Starbucks began a new campaign entitled "The Way I See It" - they were printing quotations from famous people on all their paper cups. One quote from Armstead Maupin was found to be controversial by some groups. Below is the quote taken from the Starbucks cup:

The Way I See It #43: My only regret about being gay was that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people that I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don't make that mistake yourself. Life's too damn short.Â? Armstead Maupin, Author of the Tales of the City series and the novel The Night Listener.

Although the other cups displayed a wide range of ideas, critics singled out this quotation for allegedly promoting homosexuality. The Starbucks at Baylor University removed cups featuring it after complaints from a staff member. Starbucks, however, has no plan to pull the cup from the program. Once the news story made it to the local stations and papers, I noticed tons of people at my local store asking for the cup. In fact it might be the only Starbucks Cup (paper) that has been banned from several Starbucks stores.

Starbucks has a section on the website dedicated to "The Way I See It" - check it out if you want to read more about the authors and quotes. http://www.starbucks.com/retail/thewayiseeit_default.asp

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, collectibles, mugs

Moose Bearista Bear -

On the website that I just blogged about

http://www.aloha-lani.com - I just saw a bearista bear that I had never seen before a Moose Bearista Bear. I wonder if this was a bearista created for the Canadian market. I have followed the bearista bears since they started and have never seen this one even on ebay. Pretty cool.

Worth checking to see if this is available in some Canadian stores - or maybe even in Wisconsin or Minnesota. Any know?

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, bearista, bear, collectibles, merchandise, moose

A Site with Tons of Starbucks Collectibles

http://www.aloha-lani.com

While searching for those hard to find Starbucks collectibles, magnets, mugs, finger puppets, bearista bears - I found this web site that has a ton of unusual merchandise for sale. I will say that it is pretty expensive and I have not purchased anything from this site as of yet. Guess I am still holding out on finding it on ebay or better yet trading up with someone. The site can be viewed in English or Japanese so just be sure to click on the Starbucks Bearista Bear image and then select the English language button. The cool thing about this web site is that they have a lot of merchandise from Asia, including the Dragon Bearista. I have find the starbucks collectibles from Asia to be some of my favorites because they are so unusual. Definitely worth checking out to at least see some of the bearista bear offerings and collectibles from Asia - it will give you an idea of stuff to look for.

Below is an image from one of the HTF Asia Dragon Bearista Bears that Aloha-lani.com has available for sale.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, collecting, bearista, bears, collecting, city, mugs, dragon

Starbucks City Mugs Collector

Starbucks City Mug Collection

I came across this fantastic website from a serious Starbucks City Mug collector - Mike is his name. He has acquired quite an amazing collection, worth checking out. He updates it pretty regularly. His quest for new mugs is neverending....

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, city, mugs, collectibles, collecting

Old Vintage Starbucks Siren Logo

I came across this great image of the original, vintage starbucks siren/mermaid logo. The image is hard to find and I thought it was worth posting it on the blog for all those who have not seen it before. Merchandise with this old logo is rare, in high demand, and should be scooped up any time you get the chance.

The siren (sometimes referred to as a mermaid, but is more likely to be a melusine since it has two tails) in the Starbucks logo changed over the years, to avoid giving offense. In the first version she had naked breasts and a fully visible double fish tail. In the second, streamlined version, the breasts were covered by hair, but the navel was still visible, and the fish tail was cropped slightly. In the current version, the navel is not visible, and only vestiges remain of the fish tails. It also went from a brown and white logo to what we now know as Starbucks Green. The original logo may still be seen on the Starbucks store in Seattle's Pike Place Market.

technorati tags:starbucks, city, mugs, collectibles, coffee, collecting

Coffee Taste Matcher Tool

Thought I would share this pretty cool tool - after answering 7 questions about your current coffee drinking preference, you will get a list of recommended coffees to enjoy. I have used it several times and found it useful.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee

2004 Halloween Series - Skeleton Bearistas

I was fortune to get all three of the Skeleton Bears they were part of a Los Dias De Los Muertos (Days of the Dead) promotion that they did in the fall. I thought that was one of the most creative ones they have done to date. It took visits to 5 different Starbuck stores in my region but I got them Fuchsia, Orange and Black. The best thing about these is the the skeleton outline glows in the dark.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, bearista, bear, collectible, halloween

Starbucks Barkista Dog - What happened?

Starbucks® Collectibles - Assorted Collectibles

One of my favorite Starbucks collectibles is a plush dog named Barkista. He was issued in 2003 and came complete with a cardboard dog house. I thought this was going to be the first in a line of Barkista Dogs. I thought that maybe this was going to be a new line similiar to the Bearista Bears, but since that 2003 issue, no other Barkista's have been issued - aside from the Oversized Barkista (it did not come with a dog house). I am curious as to how many of these dogs were made and sold.

Here is a picture of my Starbucks Barkista - it is still attached in the original dog house.

And here is a picture of the Oversized Barkista - I only ever saw one of these in the stores where I live. I am wishing now that I had purchased it because I don't think many of these were made and the Barkista is a rare find all around.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, bearista, bear, barkista, collectibles

Send a Starbucks Bearista Bear E-card

Starbucks® Collectibles - Starbucks Bearista Bears

One of my favorite features on the StarbucksCollectibles.com website is that you can send a bearista bear e-card. It allows you to select from images of all the bearista bears issued to date.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, bearista, bear, collectibles

Official Starbucks Collectibles.com

http://www.starbuckscollectibles.com/

Well in case you were not aware of this official site - here it is. It is not as informative as I hoped it would be - but at least the company is officially recognizing the popularity of it's collectibles. While this web site does not have all the past offerings and it does not include the international offerings or the starbucks card collection, it does offer a complete inventory of Starbucks Bearista Bears. I am hoping that they will add more content and more pictures.

A Caffeine Warning Label?

An interesting article on coffee stores in Taiwan - the county's health dept. has concerns over the level of caffeine that folks are consuming in coffee drinks. As a result they are asking Starbucks and other coffee shops to issue caffeine alert fliers be issued. Perhaps the culture is not used to consuming high levels of caffeine...

Coffee chains to lift the lid on caffeine Independent Online,?South Africa?- 9 hours ago ... The US chain, Starbucks Coffee, which is among Taiwan's largest chains with 173 stores, began preparing caffeine-alert fliers in mid-June. ...

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, caffeine

Early preview for Holiday Merchandise Line-up

So Starbucks did hire the former Disney executive - Janet Parks. And that can only mean good things for Starbucks merchandise, specifically collectibles. According to the Press Release, Parks, is putting new merchandise on the same promotional calendar as the beverage line-up. This means introducing new products every 6 to 8 weeks. In addition, the release stated that the holiday line-up will include a glittery snow globe, at least 3 kinds of Christmas ornaments, a reusable advent calendar and a dessert plate as well as a new winter bearista bear.

Starbucks to up non-coffee merchandise
Posted: Sunday, July 09, 2006

New York

Starbucks -- home of the $4 cup of coffee and white chocolate mocha frappuccinos -- is on a mission to boost sales of glittery snow globes and other noncoffee items.

Merchandise sales -- which Starbucks says have hovered at about four per cent of total sales in recent years, down from a high of eight per cent in 1998 -- have been a tricky area for the company, but one on which it remains focused.

Even as company planners sip this summer's new concoctions, such as pomegranate and tangerine frappuccinos, they are already looking toward the winter holiday season for a jolt in sales from tchotchkes, ornaments and gifts.

To get the job done, the coffee company has made Janet Parks its new vice-president in charge of merchandise.

Parks, who previously worked in a 'global creative role' at Disney for 12 years, was hired by Starbucks about a year and a half ago, and was given permission to do more hiring.

About 90 per cent of her team is new, Parks said, and the company has put merchandise on its beverage team's faster promotional calendar -- which introduces new products every six to eight weeks.

The winter holiday season is key to Parks' master plan for the noncoffee pipeline.

The holiday line-up will feature a glittery snow globe on a gold-colored base, at least three kinds of Christmas ornaments, a reusable Advent calendar that turns into a miniature chest of drawers at the end of the season and a dessert plate reading 'Cookies for Santa.'

Also on offer: plush 'Bearista Bears' wrapped up for winter -- a reference to the 'baristas' behind Starbucks counters.

Parks sees holiday merchandise as a way to 'extend the cafe experience,' she said, reaching past customers' kitchens and into their living rooms with gift offerings that have only a slight connection to coffee -- or none at all.Reuters

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, collectibles, merchandise, gear

Starbucks & Disney?

Some good news for Starbucks Collectibles. According to this article from The Motley Fool - Starbucks has made an offer to hire a former Disney executive for their vice president of merchandising. Hmmm - that is a clear move that Starbucks will be looking at developing an even greater line of non-coffee merchandise. And my guess would be that it will be more collectibles, after all Disney is the king of collectible merchandise.

http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06071013.htm

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, collectibles, merchandise

A Quick Starbucks Drink Guide

Thought this was a good article - gives a quick overview of all the different drink options on the starbucks menu. I worked for the company for many years, so folks should find this guide useful - and an opportunity to explore options without feeling rushed or embarrased to not knowing what the drinks mean.

Starbucks: A guide AZ Central.com,?AZ?- 23 hours ago When it comes to ordering a drink at Starbucks, it's easier than it seems. No, really. ... Live it, love it and you, too, will soon be speaking Starbucks. ...

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, menu, drink, guide

A little Starbucks Satire

Andy Borowitz: Starbucks to Occupy Lebanon - YubaNet (satire)

A little starbucks satire - claiming that Starbucks has committed to serve as a peace keeping buffer in the middle east.

Andy Borowitz: Starbucks to Occupy Lebanon YubaNet (satire),?CA?- 9 hours ago ... between Israel and Lebanon, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that she has received a firm commitment from the coffee chain Starbucks to serve as ...

technorati tags:Starbucks, coffee

The Coffee Was Hot!?!?!?!?!

Ok - so this article has nothing to do with collectibles but I could not resist. There is some women who is suing Starbucks because the coffee was too hot. Yes imagine that - I guess she never read the warning on the cup that states the beverage is hot. What's next, will someone sue the ice cream man because the ice cream was too cold?  Just obsurd.

Lawsuit: Starbucks Coffee Was Too Hot CBS2 Chicago, IL - Jul 19, 2006 (CBS) CHICAGO Starbucks may pride itself on serving its coffee hot, but a woman from the western suburbs has filed a lawsuit saying her drink was too hot. ...

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, lawsuit

The Little Engine that Could - Reading Campaign

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/record-setting-reading-campaign-kicks

Starbucks has always been dedicated to literacy and they operate some of the best reading campaigns nationally. This year it is no different. Starbucks has paired up with Jumstart's Read for the Record campaign to produce and promote Custom Limited Edition of "The Little Engine That Could". It will be available at Starbucks US Stores. I just picked up my copy for my nephew.

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, reading

Summer Drink Line Up at Starbucks

Here is a list of new drinks being offered at Starbucks this summer -

• Banana Coconut Frappuccino
• Banana's & Creme Frappuccino
  
• Pomegranate Frappuccino
• Tangerine Frappuccino
  
• Iced Caf con Leche - based on the traditional Caf Cubano - a sweet iced coffee drink made with syrup, ice and whole milk.
  

Western Queens Gazette

Starbucks Gives Caf Con Leche Icy Twist For Summer Western Queens Gazette, NY - 6 hours ago ... cool and refreshing. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is chillin' up a traditional favorite by introducing Iced Caf con Leche. Perfect for ...

technorati tags:starbucks, coffee, summer, drinks