[dingaling]

> Nope, pretty sure it's coffee.

The stated goal of Starbucks is to provide the 'third space':

He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition back to the United States. A place for conversation and a sense of community. A third place between work and home.

The coffee is a mechanism for achieving that ( by making money ).

I don't use Starbucks because I don't like their coffee, but I understand what they're doing.