Starbucks' baristas are notorious for getting creative with names. But who can blame them? Long lines, the morning rush, and the sweet, seductive smell of coffee would mess with anyone's spelling skills. However, one barista in Toronto is forgoing names altogether — and customers can't get enough. Instead of scribbling illegible names onto each paper cup, Jason Tocewicz is adding doodles, caricatures, and famous animated faces to each order.
Hello Giggles reports that his skills are so renowned, in fact, that customers are going out of their way to visit his particular branch. The site explains that Tocewicz started the artistic endeavour to get to know his customers. However, it's grown from getting chummy to a form of stress relief for the coffee-slinging artist, who says that he can finish a doodle in 10 to 30 seconds. That's often quicker than the time it takes to craft one of Starbucks' espresso beverages. If you want one of your own, you'll have to head to store 4308, which is the hashtag Tocewicz uses on some of his cartoon cups.
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While his Instagram shows off pretty elaborate designs inspired by comic books, Pokémon, animated features, and Mickey Mouse, he told Hello Giggles that those aren't the calibre of art that most customers get.
Considering he finishes each sketch in about 20 seconds, most caffeine-starved customers get a more rudimentary image like a happy sun with some inspirational words alongside it or Snoopy stretched out atop the Starbucks' siren. He's even given his coworkers the caricature treatment, doodling their visages on Starbucks' iconic cups.
Starbucks' cups can now add being a canvas for some seriously impressive Sharpie art to their already-impressive CV. A serendipitous name misspelling led to a Rogue One planet and a morning talk show host's viral photo. Not to mention a seasonal outfit change that garners headlines across the country. Not too shabby for a simple paper cup.