There’s a secret Starbucks in Sochi, Russia, but no plain coffee

A Dumb Starbucks in Los Angeles, and now a secret Starbucks in Sochi, Russia.

NBC has set up its own personal Starbucks kiosk on its media grounds.

But this Starbucks isn’t just another outlet of the Seattle-based coffee giant. The 15 baristas, who were hired from Starbucks locations around Russia, aren’t serving plain black coffee. The limited menu includes only specialty espresso and chai drinks.

McDonald’s, which serves as an official Olympic sponsor, and as sole designated coffee provider to the games, has set up McCafé outlets in the area.

Starbucks isn’t an official sponsor. Normally a company that is not an Olympic sponsor cannot set up shop at the games. But the private 24-hour kiosk isn’t technically breaking any rules.

According to International Olympic Committee representative Rachel Rominger, the kiosk can remain operational as long as it isn’t publicized, or suggests any affiliation with the Olympics. The NBC Starbucks is not available to the public, and is intended only for the roughly 2,500 NBC employees at the Olympic media center.

And this isn’t the first time NBC has brought its beloved Starbucks to the Olympics. The network has set up a kiosk at every Olympic Games since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

There is currently no official Starbucks in Sochi, but plans are in the works to open one next year.

Want more quirky food news? Follow me on Twitter: @Jenn_Harris_

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