A Cup A Day Could Keep The Doctor Away...

"Other recent studies have linked moderate coffee drinking — the equivalent of three or four 5-ounce cups of coffee a day or a single venti-size Starbucks — with more specific advantages: a reduction in the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, basal cell carcinoma (the most common skin cancer), prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence..."

Click the link below to check out this health related article on coffee!

(Link Below)

  NY Times - This Is Your Brain on Coffee

(Thanks To Mark Ormsbee for the Article!)

-Jordan

Liquid Gold...

On Tuesday, June 10, 2013, Mark Ormsbee (Licensed Starbucks District Manager/Coffee Master) & Stacey Carpenito (Licensed Starbucks Brand Champion/Coffee Master) toured locations for HMSHost on the New Jersey Turnpike in the NJ Mid-Region.  Alongside Mark & Stacey were Tuan Tran & Henry Klien (Starbucks National Executive Account Representatives) as well as Krista Kondravy & Shari Eaton (Starbucks Regional Directors).

The tour started at Richard Stockton Travel Plaza where the group met up to discuss the days agenda and wake up to a coffee tasting fascillitated by Jordan Alejandro.  The coffee picked for this special occasion was the rare Panama Geisha Auromar, only the third time Starbucks has ever carried this varietal.  Only 790 reserve bags were available on the Starbucks website and they sold out in hours.  The Geisha varietal originated in the small town of Gesha, Ethiopia and was spread across eastern Africa into Kenya.  The varietal made it's way into Latin America succesfully growing in Costa Rica and later in Guatemala.  Only in the last 50 years, the discovery of the Volcan Baru region in Panama was the perfect place for the Geisha varietal to strive and reach the pinnacle of it's flavor potential.  The complexity in the cup opened the eyes of our Starbucks visitors at Richard Stockton that tuesday morning.  Distinct flavors of mango and papaya with a bergamot finish as the coffee cooled down, the aroma was extremely unique and like no other coffee we have tasted through out our coffee journeys.  Starbucks warned us not to pair this coffee and simply "enjoy alone", it also noted that the coffee is extremely complex and changes flavor profiles as it cools down, pay attention to how the coffee develops with every sip.  The group was very appreciative over the coffee tasting that was hosted for them and it was our way of showing a warm welcome to our Starbucks & HMSHost team.

The rest of the tour went exceptionally well, and the team was very pleased to see the locations operating to their fullest potential.

Thanks to Mark & Stacey!

Special Thanks to Tuan, Krista, Shari, & Henry!

-Jordan

The Philosophy Of the Roast...

On May 21st, the Coffee Master Journey team took a trip to York, Pennsylvania to visit the Starbucks Roasting Plant.  After our visit, we now understand the technicality that goes into the transportation of our products and the roasting process.  Getting to see the operation first hand was eye opening to all of us future Coffee Masters, and being able to walk in a room with 10,000,000 pounds of coffee was unbelievable.  A special thanks to Mark Ormsbee (Licensed District Manager/Coffee Master) and Allyson Kern (York Roasting Plant) for coordinating the tour for our team and William Brent for giving us an unforgettable tour of the York Roasting Plant.

The York Roasting Plant was built in 1995 with the addition of the Green Bean Warehouse in 2001.  Producing 50 blends of coffee including Seattle's best, the York Roasting Plant roasts 2 million pounds of coffee a week, while processing 65,000 order picks/day on average.

The magnitude of this room was incredible.  Burlap sacks were stacked far above our heads and went on in rows as far as the eyes could see.  It was such an experience to walk through the isles of the green coffee room, reading the bags labeled from all their origins, and touching the green coffee that fell from the bags.

The operation at the plant was extremely impressive.  Knowing they ship to 2,500 locations really opened our mind to the complexity of their function and how much precision goes into their work everyday.

(Left-Right: Manfred, Mike, Stacey)

(Mark Ormsbee: Starbucks District Manager/Coffee Master)

(Mike Penna: Company Operated Starbucks Store Manager/Coffee Master in NYC)

(Left-Right: Manny, Stacey, Mike)

(Left-Right: Jordan, Maykol, Roberto)

(Stacey Carpenito: Licensed Starbucks Brand Champion/Coffee Master)

(Summer 2 Promo Coffee: Kati Kati Blend)

(Pictures inside York Roasting Plant)

(Left-Right: Manfred, Roberto, Mike, Stacey, Jordan, Jay, Julie, Maykol)

We had an incredible day at the York Roasting Plant and plan to share our stories with our teams when we return.  The experience was unforgettable and we thank the Staff at the York Roasting Plant greatly for allowing us to tour their facility.

Thanks to Stacey, Jay, and Mike for providing transportation for everyone to the plant.

Special thanks to Mark Ormsbee & Allyson Kern for organizing our trip.

Special thanks to William Brent for being our tour guide for the day, your knowledge was very impressive and we greatly appreciate the time you took to teach us about the operations of the plant and to answer all of our questions.  

Thanks to all for creating a day we will never forget!

Our next class will be in July due to scheduling conflicts, we will have a conference call on June 13th at 12pm to discuss our projects from May.  Please email pictures of your posters or attach any videos or power point presentations to all that are involved in our Coffee Master Journey Class.

Activity: Find 3 interesting facts about the other Starbucks Roasting Plants (Kent Wa, Minden NV, Colombia SC, Augusta GA) and post them in a comment! 

-Jordan