Lopez 1

Elisa Lopez
Professor Jackie Hymes
English 115, MoWe 11-12:15
13 October 2014
Word Count: 812
Refresh All Day
This Starbucks commercial begins with the words Ready, set, refresh. on screen
followed by an iced coffee and the time set at 8 am. As the day progresses, the time
lapses, and the drinks change from an iced coffee to a tea lemonade combination and then
an orange beverage. All drinks are supposed to provide a nice refreshed feeling regardless
of the time of day. In the background you can see the sun moving positions and the light
changing to mimic the day going on. The drinks start full and as the sun is moving the
cups start to deplete. At the end the words All Day. All Summer. finish off the
commercial. Starbucks is promoting their refreshers with this commercial.
Since I visit Starbucks frequently for my very own Peach Green Tea Lemonade I
decided it would be ideal to sit and observe there. I went to Starbucks back in my
hometown of Carson to just casually sit and see what people were buying and see how
many chose tea instead of coffee or vice versa and to see who purchased a refresher. I
love coffee but I find I get a little jittery when I drink too much of it so I try to drink teas
more often. I sat in Starbucks for about four hours, planning to spend around an hour
observing and the rest of the time doing some homework. Although once I started
observing it was hard to stop so I would consider my observation time to be the whole
time I was there. I went in and ordered my tea and overheard the girl behind me saying

Lopez 2
oh that sounds good! I was already excited to see what the rest of my time there would
be like. I would consider myself somewhat of a people watcher. Whenever Im in a
location for a period of time I like to observe other people and their habits. I thought this
assignment would be fun given I do this pretty often. I made sure I sat in a place where I
could not only hear what people were ordering but also physically see what it was. The
first observation I made was of an older couple came in and what I assumed to be the
husband ordered plain black coffee as his wife, assumed, made a face of disgust and
ordered a chai tea latte. I cringe a little when I see someone drink black coffee. Especially
from Starbucks because I feel like their coffee is stronger than many others Ive tasted.
They sat there and met up with some friends that ordered coffee as well. This man drank
two venti black coffees. I couldnt believe my eyes, he hadnt put creamer or milk or
sugar. I find black coffee to taste very bitter but he drank his coffee with no issue. I saw a
majority of people order blended drinks and then the occasional businessmen and women
order iced coffee. Here and there people would come in ordering teas. Some looked so
appealing I was ready to try out every single one that caught my eye. It was neat to see
very specific orders, double shot of espresso, skim milk, and extra foam. I think because I
went later in the day less people were likely to order a cold tea over a warm latte or
something of that sort. Then for about 20 minutes it was like one after the other strictly
tea over ice was being ordered. Then a friend came into Starbucks and he sat down for a
little while with me. I told him what I was doing and he was really interested and stayed
for a while. He ordered iced coffee but added a lot of milk. He told me he liked the taste
of coffee but in moderation. Weird enough I then saw my sister come in. She too did not
know I was there nor what I was doing. She said while in college she had to do similar

Lopez 3
people watching assignments. Unlike me she isnt really into observing other peoples
habits so she found assignments like things a little odd. She currently is student teaching
and getting her credentials so she lives on coffee. She is one of those people who can
drink her coffee black with no problem. She said she drank black coffee not for the taste
but the extra boost it gave her to make it through long school days. However that day she
said she felt like tea would be best so she ordered a green tea latte. From looking inside
Starbucks you would assume most of the people had ordered coffee by the cups they had
but when you looked over to the drive thru drinks a lot were teas and refreshers. I had
almost forgotten to observe what people in the drive thru were ordering. Being that I was
there so long I ended up ordering coffee after my tea. Both drinks were equally enjoyable
and satisfying in different ways. Before I left I asked the barista which type of drinks he
thought were ordered more coffee or tea. His response was that in the mornings he
noticed people would tend to order tea and at night coffee. However he said that the
people with the suits are strictly coffee folks. Regardless of the time of day it was
always coffee except for his regular that refused to drink coffee but loved Starbucks.
The barista said this guy who worked in the property management building across the
street only ordered a chai tea latte. He found the regular coffee to have too much caffeine
and although the black tea contains caffeine it was just the right amount for him.

Lopez 4

Works Cited
Starbucks. Advertisement. Find Refreshment All Day, All Summer at Starbucks June
2013