STARBUCKS TOUR AUSTRALIA 2006

I was so disappointed that there were very few Starbucks stores in Australia. I only got to visit five stores in Sydney and six stores in Melbourne. One of my most memorable Starbucks moment was in Starbucks Collin Street in Melbourne. It was a freezing July morning. It was about 7:30 a.m. and there was only one barista in the store. I ordered a Green Tea Latte.

"You mean a Green Tea Frappuccino?" The barista asked.

"It's too early for a frappuccino. A hot Green Tea Latte please," I said.

"It's not on our menu list," the barista said.

I checked the menu board .Green Tea Latte wasn't listed.

"You have green tea powder, right? Just put a spoonful in a cup of steamed milk," I said.

I requested the barista to add two pumps of hazelnut syrup. In Korea a tall Green Tea Latte costs about US$5 but the Aussie barista charged me only AUD$3.50 the price of a caffe latte.

STORE #1 STARBUCKS 6750 AYALA, MAKATI CITY, PHILIPPINES

It all started in 1997 when I visited the first Starbucks in 6750 Ayala, Makati City. I heard the coffee was good and expensive. I know most expensive things are good. The coffee must be good. Why would a lot of people spend that much on coffee if it wasnt. The baristas were friendly. I asked what's their bestseller. "Caramel Machiatto," the barista said. I trusted the barista and ordered. I sat on a plush red chair on the second floor next to the terrace overlooking the buzzing coffee drinkers below. I studied the interior of the cafe. I loved the light fixtures, the ceiling and the paintings on the wall. I had my first sip of my foamy Caramel Machiatto. It was actually good. I didn't feel so bad about the price. I started writing on my journal and wrote my first impression of Starbucks. I observed the people around me and got new character ideas for the many stories I've been working on at that time. My hand started to ache and my pen ran out of ink. I glanced at my watch and I was surprised it was already nine in the evening. The time on my receipt was 5:50 PM. I had been writing for more than three hours but it felt like only thirty minutes. I had never written that long in one sitting before. I was a university student in 1997 and I didn't have the budget to indulge but I visited Starbucks as often as I could. It was one place I could write creatively despite the noise of the coffee grinder, the frappuccino blender and loud coffee drinkers. It still is a mystery to me now how my creativity flows when I write at Starbucks.