Remember when a cup of coffee was a commodity, a 50ยข mug of joe that came in three flavors: black, with sugar and with cream? That was before 1985, when Howard Schultz opened his first Seattle coffeehouse--later named Starbucks--and taught caffeine-craving consumers from Birmingham to Bangkok that what they really wanted was a $4 venti extra-hot triple-shot latte, easy on the foam. With 7,500 shops in 34 countries--plus supermarket sales--ringing up revenue north of $4 billion a year, Starbucks has become a global iconic consumer brand, as well as the place millions of people hang out, read, listen to music, take...
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