At the very first glance it might seem that Starbucks Been There Delhi is the mug for the same city as we’ve seen within the YAH collection: New Delhi. Make no mistake, these are two different entities. New Delhi is an administrative district within the borders of Delhi. In other words, it’s a city within another city.
Delhi is one of the oldest cities in the world and has always been a dominant trading and commercial center in northern India.… Read more
Starbucks Been There Mumbai is the mug for the second-largest city in India. It is the financial, commercial, and entertainment center of the country. The official name of the city was Bombay till 1995.
The front of the mug is occupied by Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. It was built in 1888 from Bori Bunder railway station under the new name: Victoria Terminus. It is now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its High Victorian Gothic style of architecture.
The back of the mug shows the Gateway of India which is an arch built between 1913 and 1924 to commemorate the arrival of King-Emperor George V and Queen-Empress Mary in Mumbai.… Read more
Starbucks Been There Bengaluru is the mug for the “IT capital of India” thanks to its role as a hub for major IT companies both from India and abroad and a home for many IT professionals in the country. The front of the mug showcases the skyline of the city and also a picture of Lal Bagh Botanical Garden which is more than 200 years old.
… Read more
Starbucks Been There – Hyderabad is yet another mug from India that has been released as a batch recently. The name of the city can literally be translated as “Lion City”, where Haydar means ‘lion’ and ābād goes for ‘city’. There are different theories about the origin of the name. One of them suggests it was named after Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib, also known as Haydar (since he was brave as a lion in battles). Another nickname, “City of Pearl”, it got from being the main pearl trading center in India.… Read more
Starbucks Been There – India is one of the five mugs from BT series released for this country recently. As a reminder, there were only two YAHs from India: New Delhi and Mumbai.
This new mug is designed using the blue palette (my favorite) and showcases certain landmarks which India is known for: from architecture and animals to Bollywood and dancing.
Dance has always been a major part of the religious and cultural life in India. It dates back to ancient times and is believed to originate from dances and rituals of the Vedic period (circa 1500 – 500 BC).… Read more
Starbucks Been There – Guatemala is a mug for the most populous country in Central America. The territory of modern Guatemala is considered the historical center of the Mayan civilization, hence the pyramid-shaped structure that you can see on the left of the front of the mug. This is Tikal Temple I (a.k.a. the Temple of the Great Jaguar) located in Tikal, one of the largest cities and archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Mesoamerica. This funerary temple is built over the tomb of Jasaw Chan K’awiil I who ruled AD 682–734
… Read more
Starbucks Been There – El Salvador is a mug for the smallest country in Central America. One of the elements on the front of the mug is Pupusa. This is a national Salvadoran dish which is essentially a thick corn tortilla stuffed with the filling of your choice, which usually includes beef, beans, cheese, or pork. Pupusas are often served with curtido, a fermented cabbage relish, which usually includes carrots, onions, spices, and garlic. This authentic food is so popular that it even has its own festival – Festival Nacional De La Pupusa, which is held in November.… Read more
Starbucks Been There Ornament – Macau accompanies the bigger mug. And again, we’re seeing a similar pattern to what happened with the previous collection. Back in 2016, Macao YAH was released along with the ornament, same for Hong Kong. However, when the time came for the remaining ornaments from China, there was only one released – Puer. Hopefully, Starbucks has different plans for Been There Ornaments from this country.… Read more
Starbucks Been There – Macau marks another milestone for this collection. It seems that Starbucks is rolling out BT mugs in a similar fashion to what it used to with YAH. Just as a reminder, YAH Macau was released back in 2016, it was then accompanied by Hong Kong. These two cities, as you probably know, are two special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China. It took Starbucks another three years to release YAHs for Mainland China.… Read more
Like I’ve mentioned in my previous post, here is the second mug from the recent U.S. release: Starbucks Been There – The Florida Keys. It is a mug for the 120 miles long chain of islands that begins at the tip of Florida and ends just 90 miles to the North from Cuba. The Keys are divided into five regions: Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine, and Lower Keys and Key West. The great part of the keys is that you can get there by car.… Read more
