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What's on your cup?
Looking down at his early-afternoon latte, John Hogan felt the urge to bust a move in the middle of Market Square. After all, his coffee cup told him to.
Hogan, 47, isn't hearing voices. Rather, he has stumbled upon a bit of coffee-cup wisdom scrawled across the side of his latte, courtesy of Starbucks.
"I'm usually in so much of a hurry, but looking at this one, I couldn't agree with it more," said Hogan, an Atlanta businessman in Pittsburgh for a few days. "It says, 'There are many times when dancing is the most unsupportable, ridiculous, unexpected and necessary action. Life should be spent finding those moments and tap dancing through them.' You can't go wrong with that."
Since Starbucks launched "The Way I See It" campaign on its giant to-go cups in October 2004, 187 thoughts from celebrities, scholars and customers have been circulated around the coffee-indulging country. New ones were added this month.
"We think of the coffee house as a place to gather and talk, and what better way to start a conversation than by what's on your cup?" said Starbucks spokeswoman Christy Salcido. "We wanted to provoke an open and respectful sharing of ideas."
Coffee-cup wisdom has been around since the bean itself. There's the "I heart Grandma" mugs from elementary school Santa's Workshop, and Michael's "World's Best Boss" cup on "The Office." "The Way I See It" is just another incarnation, but with Starbucks massive commercial reach, it gets noticed.
But you can't always judge a java-junkie by their cup. At Coffee Tree Roasters in Shadyside, customers often come in looking for novelty mugs, ranging from the cheery animal cups to the dignified wood-grain mugs. Manager Kevin Holloway said coffee drinkers can find a mug to fit any taste, interest or personality.
"You have to read between the lines," Holloway said. "Sometimes, you get an inner glimpse at people. We get these quiet reserved people who come in here, and they buy the more risque or edgy mugs. It's definitely a conversation starter."
For avid coffee drinker Maggi Normile, those conversations often revolve around her Starbucks cups with quotes or images that give her a bit of inspiration. While drinking her Cafe Vanilla Frappacino, the self-described quote-a-holic loves to share the thought-provokers with her fellow java fanatics.
"Some of them make me laugh, and others make me think," said Normile, 30, of Moon. "but I really like that the cups feature inspirational quotes. We can all use some encouragement throughout the day, so it's nice to be able to read an inspiring quote while drinking your java."
pittsburghlive.com
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