The Great American Coffee and the Great American Novel: The Rest of theStory

Moby Dick is considered to be the great American novel.  I am biased since I have read this book more than any other single book sans the Bible.  Melville's Moby Dick is a story of American expansion with subtle reference to the people and the Island that fueled the Industrial Revolution (at least prior to the ability to unearth coal.  See my previous blog entry on Quakers and Nantucket).  

Central to the theme of Moby Dick is Capt. Ahab's relentless hunt for an albino bull sperm whale named Moby Dick.  However, Moby Dick was probably not an albino whale, and Melville's historical inspiration for Moby Dick was actually a real massive albino bull sperm whale that haunted the waters off the coast of Chile.

Off the coast of Chile is the Mocha Islands.  At the peak of American Nantucket and New Bedford whaling, a massive albino bull sperm whale tormented whale ships as they rounded Cape Horn.  There are historical
records of this particular whale charging and ramming ships.  This aggressive action is uncharacteristic for bull sperm whales, but this particular sea giant was especially territorial. Ship logs and whaling newsletters that circulated New Bedford had stories of this evasive whale tormenting and damaging ships.  It became commonplace for shipmates to call out as they rounded the horn, "Do you see the whale?"

What does the Great American Novel have to do with the great American coffee franchise Starbucks? It is relatively common knowledge that Starbucks derives its name from the first mate of Melville's whale ship the Pequod named Starbucks.  They originally wanted to name their coffee house the Pequod but settled on Starbucks instead.  By way of another historical reference, the "Starbucks" name is very important to the Quaker settling of Nantucket.  The Macys and the Starbucks were two families that built the American whaling empire.  

As for this giant albino sperm whale that tormented sailors off the Island of Mocha, well the name of this whale was Mocha Dick.  Melville certainly had a massive sperm whale in mind as he wrote Moby Dick.  Taking a little literary license, Melville changed Mocha to Moby.  This may complete the coffee connection with the dreaded American novel you had to read in high school. The next time you order a skinny mocha from Starbucks think of Moby Dick.   And as Paul Harvey would say, "And now you know the rest of the story."

Reference:
If you would like to fact check this blog, the existence of Mocha Dick is a well attested story.  Also, Starbucks corporation shares their own inspiration for their naming online.