Among the long line of jobs for which I was highly overqualified (but I had a great time), I was a barista at Starbucks for a year or so. Back then, we memorized beverages by cup placement, and arm muscles were highly toned after a few months at the helm of the espresso machines.
The beverages, like the Norse siren that accompanies each cup, have become legendary. As have the Starbucks ceramics.
I find a whole lot of Starbucks merch at thrift stores.
A mug with Starbucks branding that I typically purchase for 50 cents generally sells for a whole lot more than a cup of Starbucks coffee.
I like those odds.
The thrift store folks have meted out what's valuable, for the most part. But Starbucks merch flies under the radar. What looks like an ordinary coffee cup has huge value for the coffee-crazy Starbucks lover.
It's not just the Starbucks ceramics that cause a stir, although the city-specific mugs have a special cache. Certain travel mugs are highly valued. As are certain Starbucks gift cards.
Like Cabbage Patch dolls and Beanie Babies, completely spent Starbucks gift cards hold huge value to some folks, simply based on the image on the card.
Who knew?
A simple cup of outrageously overpriced coffee means so much more to some people.
Back in the day, we should have accumulated those bits of memorabilia, when making a cup of Starbucks required nothing more than cup placement and a flip of the wrist.
The clarion call of those very loud sounds of sirens seemed so muted back then.
Actually a friend of mine used to steal the pre-sold Starbucks gift cards at the counter because she collected them. No idea why.
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