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Starbucks VIA

Posted by Hung Nguyen on April 23, 2009 at 4:13am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-schultz/staying-real-in-an-instan_b_167381.htmlShouldn’t Starbucks be more concerned with disrupting and reinventing their core retail business and not the instant coffee category? this question is from "brand autopsy".why starbucks? if people wants to chase a global dream, we should study from them. I respect them because they have build a coffee empire within short time. if you google "starbucks", millions sites talk about them. Amazing.Is anyone try it?why is espresso a magic? why does someone say " this is my espresso"? perfect bean selection, perfect grinding, perfect dosing, perfect tamping, perfect watching. it is my brew, my espresso.VIA, instant coffee, 98% is water. who dare to say "my coffee"?Johnmoore from "brand autopsy" tasted VIA and had some comments as belowProcess:Used high-quality, filtered waterUsed electric kettle to heat the water to 200-degreesAdded the hot water and stirredAROMA:Semi-sweet dry cocoa smellDull, cardboard-like aromas as it coolsFLAVOR:one-dimensional flavor -- roastylacks the caramel sweetness I expect with Italian RoastBODY:surprisingly medium-to-full bodiedas it cools a bit, it has adequate mouthfeelFINISH:slight acidic noteslingering Starbucks "roastiness"VERDICT:Rich flavor for instant coffee. Dull flavor for brewed coffee. Tastes like a milder dimensions imitation Italian Roast. I prefer the real thing and not an imitation.

Temple 1 - *$ 0

Posted by Benza Lance on July 6, 2008 at 11:35am

That's right.This past holiday weekend saw the closing of a Starbucks right around the corner from us at Temple. We've heard reports this is in part of their 600 shop closings, but lets face the fact: Temple is the reason. Superior drinks, service, and levels of barista hotness. The Green Goddess aint got shit on us.

Starbucks' Slutty Mermaid Making Waves

Posted by Matt Milletto on May 9, 2008 at 11:00am

Looks like the change by Starbucks to revisit their old logo is making some waves, I remember this same issue being a big part of why they changed in the first place. Crazy to me that anyone would find the logo offensive. Link to article on Motherjones ...

What does Starbucks have in store now??

Posted by Matt Milletto on April 7, 2008 at 5:12am

As some of you may have already seen, Starbucks has plans for tomorrow. With Howard back at the reigns it seems he is pushing to bring the original ideals of the very first Starbucks stores back. As you can see on their website they are promoting a big change tomorrow, 04.08.08. Thru a couple sources, I have read online that they will be implementing their original logo and original brown color scheme on some in-house print materials and cups. Have also heard they are planning on including the roast dates on coffee and I imagine espresso whole bean. Another release I have heard is in the works is their "Pike Place Roast" which I imagine is a new house blend of sorts? Supposedly, with this "new" coffee they also plan to implement a shorter (30 minute) holding time for their brewed coffee. The other day here in Portland, I walked by a Starbucks in a busy neighborhood here in Portland and was a bit shocked to see this sign on each of the doors:

This is at a location that is a block away from coffee bars including Peet's, Caffe D'Arte and numerous Stumptown accounts. Are they serious? They have their two super automatic machines pulling the "best" espresso in Portland? So what does all this mean? Obviously, we are seeing a recognition from Howard, that the quality based independent retailer is major competition. For years indy coffee houses have been raising the bar with education, quality coffee, and consumer awareness. Another aspect they are planning on focusing heavily on is customer loyalty. With substantial offers to card holders, the big green also sees the huge value in developing regular customers, like us independents try so hard to do. This is all in addition to their purchase of the Clover, which I have heard is being called "fresh pressed" coffee in a couple cafes in Seattle, and can be ordered in ceramic cups, while the coffees being explained in detail to order. I plan on following what goes on tomorrow, the next week, month, etc. very closely. As this industry becomes more and more competitive, it will be so key for all of us to have our finger on the pulse of where we are headed. Many of us are already doing many things right, but to succeed in many markets, everything must be perfect. I am interested in hearing what others think about how this will effect the short and long term future of the industry. Can Starbucks really reposition themselves as the "neighborhood" coffee bar, which is quality driven? - Matt

A Robot Barista? Starbucks to install selve serve coffee bars

Posted by Matt Milletto on June 3, 2008 at 8:08am

After all their latest pushes to express their passion for quality coffee and espresso, Starbucks now is launching a self serve coffee kiosk, without baristas!? This reminds me of the DVD rental kiosks now littering large supermarkets. Will consumers really want a machine to serve their flavored lattes? The supermarket employees are the ones to refill beans and milk it says, and one can only wonder about the "training" they will receive. Will be interesting to see how these fly with the consumer. - Matt Link to Full Article (Bizjournals) Starbucks Corp. is experimenting with selling espresso drinks from a machine, sans barista. The company, through its Seattle's Best Coffee label, has teamed up with Coinstar Inc. and a small Bellevue company, Concordia Coffee Co. Inc., on automated, self-serve espresso kiosks in grocery stores in eight states. The idea is to "bring coffee to places where you wouldn't or couldn't put a full-service espresso bar," said Tom Ehlers, general manager and vice president of Seattle's Best Coffee.

Starbucks to try its hand at social networking

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 24, 2008 at 12:43pm

At least I had Howard beat on this idea :) ... ... "Schultz isn't stopping there. He also wants customers to push back to the company using MyStarbucksIdea.com. In other words, the coffeehouse's own social networking site. Schultz wants to empower his customers to help shape the future direction of the coffeehouse he founded. This is more than a blog or a forum -- customers can discuss ideas, argue about them, post new ideas, vote on ideas and form more opinions on improving the Starbucks experience. Well, I though this was exactly what Schultz was busy doing these days? Is he really interested in what every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks?" Link to full article

Farewell to Stumptown Clover Coffee

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 26, 2008 at 5:00am

An article in the Oregonian today about how Stumptown will stop using Clovers to brew coffee in their retail stores by Friday. "We've never purchased parts or service from Starbucks in the past, and we're not going to start now," said Matt Lounsbury, Stumptown's director of operations, who said the company's two stores with Clovers would stop using them by Friday.

Really need some help finding a plantation!

Posted by Bel Townsend on February 27, 2008 at 1:37pm

Hi all,I am doing my PhD research about the global coffee industry, and for part of my project, I need to visit a plantation. I am doing some comparison work - comparing a small-scale, organic, very high quality and ethically sound plantation with (I hope) a big commercial plantation that supplies coffee to the UK and likes of Caffe Nero or Starbucks. Ideally, I would like this to be in Central America, for purely practical reasons.Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've not had too much of a problem finding a smaller plantation (and big thanks to those of you on here that have contacted me about this!!) but I need help finding a big one. I've tried contacting Caffe Nero and Starbucks for help, and the sheer scale of this industry has meant that the buyers from these companies actually do not know exactly where the plantations are based. Which leaves me with a problem!Does anyone on here know of the plantations supplying the bigger UK chains? Do any of the farmers on BX supply to them? I'd really really appreciate any help you can give with this - contact details even better!cheers!Bel

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