Been There – Jamaica

Starbucks Been There – Jamaica introduces the switch from Icon to Been There series for “the land of wood and water.” As per the company’s Facebook page, this mug is available for purchase in all stores right now. As soon as we get better pics, we will go over the details of the design. So far, it seems they’ve added the famous motto of the island – “no problem”. I guess it is supposed to symbolize the philosophy of life or a part of Jamaican culture, which is a big topic of its own.

2021/06/15 update:
Big thanks to the reader of Starbucks-Mugs.com for providing pictures of all sides of the mug.

We can now see the palm tree or the “Tree of Life” (that’s how Jamaicans call it) to the left of the title of the mug. It is understanding that the palm depicted is a “Jamaican Tall” coconut tree. It used to be the main breed of coconut tree in Jamaica however it was almost fully wiped out from the island by the yellowing disease in 1966. Thanks to efforts from the Coconut Industry Board of Jamaica the new species like the Malayan Dwarf and the Maypan Hybrid were introduced to replace Jamaican Tall.
Even though coconuts are not native to Jamaica and the Caribbean in general (these were brought to the region in the 16th century), they can now be found in many traditional recipes. Almost all parts of the tree can be used in some way on another: coconut water for drinks, coconut ‘meat’ which is high in fat and calories while moderate in carbs and protein. The fronds (the palm leaves) can be used as roofing material or in woven baskets and hats. Even the shells can be used to make utensils or jewellery.

The other symbol of Jamaica that can be seen in the design of the mug is the ackee, a.k.a. ankye, achee or akee. It is a fruit from the soapberry family (similar to the lychee). Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and despite having a reputation of being poisonous it is considered a delicacy when ripe and cooked properly.