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In the winter of 2006, I stood in a Starbucks coffeehouse in Santa Barbara, California, and held in my hand a package of Guatemala Antigua coffee. At that time, I was a graduate student enrolled in a seminar titled ‘Sociology of Knowledge’, for which I had just read Edward Said’s classic text, Orientalism (Said, 1978). Looking at the package, and taking in the images and text that adorned it, I realized that I held a contemporary travel narrative, quite similar to those Said had deconstructed in his book. With an artistic rendering of a Guatemalan woman in traditional dress, a map of coffee growing regions around the world, and a description of the terroir in which the coffee had been cultivated, Starbucks offered its customers a glimpse into the life of the coffee producer. Additionally, the package presented a snapshot of the relations of global capitalism. A side panel read: