I thought it would be fun to take a look at the recipe book that Starbucks produced (in partnership with Sunset Books) in 1996. The book was called Pleasures of Summer, and came in a hardbound edition, and was sold in Starbucks stores. This was actually the second of two books produced in partnership with Sunset Books. The first one was a 1994 book called Passion For Coffee.
I believe that it is still possible to order these books through Amazon.com. If you do that, pretty please, use the Amazon.com widget in the right-hand column of this blog for this order, or any other order. My little blog could use your support! (Click through the widget and then search by “Starbucks Pleasures.”)
The Pleasures of Summer book has a large number of recipes in, and I’ve only included photos of a few pages below. I love the incredible care that has been taken to write about whole bean coffees. Notice that even the borders of the pages are ornately designed. Here’s an example of that!
The book’s forward was written by Dave Olsen, who is often referred to as the “co-founder” of Starbucks. Dave Olsen is credited as the Starbucks partner who came up with the perfect blend of beans that formed Espresso Roast, and unchanged, is still used in Starbucks stores everywhere. From the official Starbucks blogs, there is a must-read article that tells a little bit about the story of Espresso Roast:
Espresso Roast, Crafted for Excellence.
I categorized this article under “Starbucks history lessons” which is one of my favorite categories as it skims moments in time of Starbucks of yesteryear. While I understand that Starbucks will never be the same as it was in the 1990s again, I think there is a certain value in reflecting on your own brand’s history, and considering that in deciding the where the brand is going in the future. That was a fairly verbose way to say that history is important! This is a high quality book. I hope you like it too. Please make my day and leave me a little comment too. 🙂
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What a great book! I have become a Coffee Master and this book goes way beyond what I learned. I will have to buy this book after my next pay day, thanks for the post.
Hi Nathan! I think you will love this book. It is mostly recipes, but the coffee sections are very cool. There is a section on Starbucks “Mexico Alutra” coffee. I don’t recall that one – Wouldn’t it be fun to see that back as a Reserve coffee?
Wow. Being a Starbucks barista, this one hits deep. Awesome book! Really cool :] Kind of want to get it.
To find the book on Amazon you need to search for “Starbucks Pleasures“, if you only use the title Pleasures of Summer you get a lot of other stuff and only one listing of the book (@ more than $58).
Very nice history lesson. It is sort of sad to see what was produced way back when and what is on the shelves now. Maybe they need to go back to some of these items!
Now that I see this book and its cover, I do remember seeing it in the stores back then. What a huge huge difference from then til now!
Love the 1st page with my beloved Ethiopia Yergacheffe on it. (I long for it…….)
Not only can we not bring Starbucks back to the 90’s I have problems bringing anything to the past. I’m too involved with the present and future. My only relationship with the past are memories and they are distorted by emotion. The plasma screen was removed from the wall of my local Starbucks. Does anyone know who took it and why? I suspect its on the store maager’s living room wall.
@Adel – The LCD screens are removed usually when a store has, or is about to, go through a major remodel. Starbucks simply is no longer supporting them. There is a little more info here – http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2012/02/18/the-lcd-screen-at-starbucks/
Sorry this is short! I have to run.
Beautiful book! I love recipe books. Looked on Amazon and saw them for as little as $1.99 plus shipping. Might have to get that one and I will be sure to use the link, Melody.
wow! what a blast from the past! i can’t believe that I still remember the what the display looked like. I think that was the same year that we had a whole gazebo summer line-up of cups, pitchers, etc. or maybe that was ’95. So, now my memory is gone…lol
@Suzanne C – Thank you! If you click through the link and buy something else, that is great too. I appreciate the support!
@Kim D – It’s amazing the merch that Starbucks used to have. I bet a Gazexbo Blend pitcher would be very collectible now! I might have to try and find one on ebay.
Starbucks has become my favorite place to hang out. I see other people like to hang out at my local Starbucks but i am now afraid that they are planning to renovate the store. What will i do?
Adel, Starbucks schedules a store for a “major” renovation roughly every ten years. Is your local store about ten years old? When a store gets a “major” remodel, a few things happen. If there was an LCD screen in it, that will be pulled out. There are a couple of new looks that the stores may get. Usually, Starbucks tries to find some locally sourced wood for the espresso bar. Walls get big coffee-emphasis photographs. The very old velvety soft seating gets pulled out in favor of something easier to clean. A store gets re-assessed (or might get re-assessed) whether it would be a good candidate for a Clover. Old logos get pulled down, and new logos go up.
This store is a good example of well done, major remodel:
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2011/07/05/bellingham-washington-gets-a-starbucks-clover-brewer/
And this one is was a nice re-model – It’s a small store, so very little comfy seating:
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2011/08/29/featured-clover-starbucks-fountain-valley-california/
Hope that helps!