A transparent and open macchiato, please

Starbucks makes a great deal of their social and environmental concerns, with words such as "organic", "Fair Trade", "sustainability" and "community" peppering the promotional messages within their shops.

I was having an espresso macchiato yesterday evening with a friend, and, assuming that I'd been served the non-organic, unfair trade brew because I hadn't expressed a preference otherwise, wondered aloud to her just how easy it would be to buy an organic, Fair Trade version of the same to drink there.

You can't.

The friendly barrista was happy to explain to me what was what: bags of ground organic and Fair Trade coffees were for sale; the coffee of the day, which is served in filter coffee only, is sometimes Fair Trade (it was that day); it is possible to order organic coffee to drink in, but it's not advertised on the board and they have to make it in a caffetiere.

"Uh...so how many people would normally order organic coffee in a day?"

"None."

Manipulative brand messages, don't you love them? I've been going to Starbucks—occasionally—for years, for the convenience and comfy furniture if not the coffee's quality. I always buy organic, Fair Trade ground coffee at the supermarket, and yet at Starbucks, somehow the combination of reassuring brand messages mentioning the right keywords and a lack of obvious corresponding options on the menu (and plethora of others) had allowed me to fudge the issue in my mind.

I have a coffee to relax, to indulge, even. I don't want to have to turn investigative agent to do the right thing at the same time. I want to be given clear information and choices, to be guided effortlessly. I want the brand to serve me, not merely its own self-image.

But so long as we buy into the whole brand monolith way of ensconcing us in lullingly feelgood messages and images, an orange-lit "home from home" that is really no-one's home, I can't see that happening. I want to be able to put my own sign up on the wall, next to the soft-focus images of happily-toiling coffee growers saying "Thanks for the comfy chairs and friendly service. But how about making it a bit easier to buy organic and Fair Trade coffee here?".