It’s your chance to defend your city as Intelligentsia’s founder unwittingly sparks a national debate about which city has done the most for coffee culture.

Calling all American coffee drinkers! Think you know which US region serves up the best coffee culture? Now’s your chance to put it to a vote.

Slashfood.com is currently hosting a poll to find out which US region has the best coffee culture. This means atmosphere, quality, and overall devotion to expanding on the wonderful world of the bean.

Slashfood got the idea to poll their readers after reading a profile about Intelligentsia’s David Latourell. The Chicago-based brand has recently expanded to include a location in Venice Beach and Latourell expounded upon the difference between that location and Intelligentsia’s Windy City home.

While Latourell said he credits Chicago with moving coffee culture along to keep pace with food culture, and says that San Francisco has done a good job of keeping up the coffee “scene”, he says the Venice Bean location is undeniably laid back and approachable, encouraging all types of coffee lovers to darken its door.

So what do you think? Does LA have the right idea with their laid back, sunny approach to coffee? Do you agree that San Francisco is keeping up with the Jones’s by maintaining coffee as a scene? Does the Northwest, with Portland and Seattle being the symbolic home to coffee in the US, keep it real? Or maybe you love New York’s coffee culture instead.

Whichever city you choose, be sure and weigh in at Slashfood’s website. When I checked it out yesterday, there was already a slugfest going on between some caffeinated Midwesterners and an opinionated bunch from out West.

Which city did I choose? Let’s put it this way — until my fair city of Pittsburgh makes the list for something culinary besides our giant sandwiches, I’ll plead the fifth.

Not so secret Starbucks

Since we talked on Friday about Starbucks’ effort to open a Seattle area coffee shop under a new name that will sell alcoholic beverages, the story has literally been everywhere. I saw it on MSN, Examiner.com, on finance websites. I even had friends talking about it on Facebook.

The saturation of this story is both a testament to the fact that nothing is a secret in our media-fueled world and that the ubiquitous Green Mermaid can’t seem to make any new marketing moves without the world knowing about it before they’re made.

I’ve made it clear on this blog that I’m no fan of Starbucks, but I have to say I feel a little bad for them right now. The secret they thought would propel their business into a new arena is out and it will change the way customers view that new location from day one. In that respect, I’d venture to say that the brand has ceased to be relevant – the old tricks don’t work anymore and the new ones get sold out before they even have a chance to debut.

But I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this subject. Would you try this new café knowing it’s really a Starbucks in disguise or are you — like I’m feeling so many people might be — over it before it’s really begun?

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