Assignment 8

After rereading this essay, I have found many sources that Ruzich uses, and then takes their information and portrays it throughout the rest of her essay. On page 431 she references Pendergrast and Wild, as they mention how the global coffee industry is the second most valuable trading commodity, next to oil. She then continues to remind the reader throughout how large of a commodity coffee is, and how valued it is in today’s society.

The second source I found, located on page 432 resonated with me, because it was a source from Schwartz wrote, saying how successful the Starbucks corporation has been, and at the time his article was printed, Starbucks was opening three or four stores a day. This exemplified to me that as stated in the previous source, that coffee is a highly important commodity in today’s society. 

Located on page 435 was a source by Yang and Schwartz. Which talked about how Starbucks attempts to link coffee with fine wine, and that coffee is the last acceptable addiction in society. Which again linked with the previous two sources talking about how coffee is so highly looked upon.

My last source, by Shultz, which is found on page 436, talks about how Starbucks uses the social experience and rituals commonly found in Italian Cafés and British pubs to bring a feeling of belonging and connections. Linked with the previous sources, all of these ideas and facts tie in together to make the true Starbucks experience, which Ruzich then uses to bring her point on how Starbucks is purely an advertising campaign. By looking at these sources, I have seen how cleverly Ruzich has tied all of her sources together, but then was also able to make a legitimate argument on her views of the coffee industry, and more importantly the Starbucks empire.