Could this be the pool table in River City? The gateway drug to the hard stuff? The first real threat to Diet Coke dominance in Utah?
Starbucks Coffee last month introduced a sweet, creamy, icy libation called the "Vanilla Creme Frappuccino." Not exactly news to send the stock market spiraling, but the odd thing is this concoction contains no coffee. "Coffee-free indulgence," built on the roasted ground seeds of the coffee berry fruit, effuses the global conglomerate.
It must play in Utah because some Salt Lake Valley locations have had such demand for the blended milk and vanilla smoothie they have a hard time keeping the ingredients in stock.
"It's been crazy," said a green-aproned barista at one of the chain's licensed locations inside a Sandy supermarket. "I just had a woman come in and order six of them."
Starbucks corporate officials are quick to discount any conspiracy theories that this new product line is merely a sugar-coated siren to lure in those who subscribe to the no-coffee health code of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"We are very respectful of people who choose not to drink coffee or tea and this beverage just offers us another opportunity to showcase the depth and breadth of what the Starbucks experience is," said Bridget Barrett in Denver, marketing manager for Utah, Wyoming and Colorado Starbucks.
"One of the tenets that Starbucks was founded on is that we are not in the coffee business, we are in the people business."
Then why isn't the company named Starbucks People instead of Starbucks Coffee? If it was, it would be easier to swallow the company line that this new drink is not merely a glorified milkshake but actually a fashion statement. For proof, Starbucks dispatched nationally recognized trend analyst Tom Julian to point out that the new milk-based drink is -- shock! -- white.
"White is classic and simple but also hot and trendy," said Julian, of the creative services company Fallon Worldwide. "This pristine color palette has become part of the minimal home decor craze, the stylized beauty world and the artist food craze."
Uh-huh. Customers at Starbucks' Fort Union retail store last week got a taste of the artist food craze, when Barrett helped host "tastings" of the new Vanilla Creme Frappuccino. She paired the drink (which costs about the same as a six-pack of Diet Coke) with some of the chain's baked blueberry crunch bars, much the way a sommelier at a fine restaurant would suggest a light-bodied Oregon pinot noir to complement the seared tuna with wilted spinach.
She said the Starbucks-owned retail stores in Utah have not experienced any shortages of the new Vanilla Creme Frappuccino, although some of the firm's licensed partners, such as Albertson's or Barnes & Noble, perhaps underestimated demand.
"This drink is popular all across the U.S. with both coffee and noncoffee drinkers," she said. "It's a great compliment to our menu."
Still, the drink may present a dilemma for a few Utah residents who worry that someone might spot them ducking into a Starbucks and get the wrong idea. For them, entering a coffee shop, even if it is just to get a sip of coffee-free indulgence, is akin to going into a state liquor store to pick up the free boxes that are perfect for moving. Just too risky.
Of course, there is always the drive-through. In Denver, the company is testing Starbucks Express, a system that allows customers to order and pre-pay for their drink online so it will be waiting at the drive-up window when they arrive.
But already there are signs that the innocent Vanilla Creme Frappuccino may be up to no good.
"A lot of our regular customers look at those drinks and say, 'No coffee? What's the point?' " said a clerk at a Salt Lake City Starbucks. "But we also have people who order them and have us add a shot [of espresso] or two."