One of my favorite store managers, Rachel of the Fourth and Union Starbucks, was selected to go to India to help Starbucks train new partners and open new stores. What an opportunity of a lifetime! She was there for about six weeks, busily training new partners about all things Starbuckian, and taking in the sights.
When she returned to Seattle (about two weeks ago), she brought back a five-pound bullet of whole bean espresso. It’s the espresso that would be found in your beverage if you ordered a latte in a Starbucks in Mumbai. As it turns out, import tariffs in India can make it cost prohibitive for a business to import tremendous merchandise (such as coffee), and the Southern part of India already is an established coffee growing region. Starbucks has partnered with Tata Coffee, a local business, for an espresso roast for this market.
Today, we did a quick coffee tasting of the Starbucks India Espresso Roast. It’s definitely a little lighter roast profile than Starbucks espresso roast. I took a picture of the two whole bean espresso roasts side by side, and you can see that the Starbucks coffee is a little darker. I know I totally enjoyed seeing the two side by side! The Starbucks India whole bean had a really wonderful spicy aroma to it, and when made as a French press, it was fairly bright, and a little acidic. It doesn’t have the deep caramelization of Starbucks Espresso Roast. I definitely enjoyed from the press. It’s still pretty full-bodied, but it’s an approachable, bright coffee. Check out the pics from today’s (March 29, 2013) coffee tasting:
I learned some interesting things about Starbucks India today. Did you know that signs are in both English and Hindi? They only have a small selection of Starbucks coffee at this time, and currently sell House Blend, Veranda, Italian Roast, Kenya, decaf Komodo Dragon, and Sumatra. This was something that Rachel mentioned to me, and I found the list of their available coffees on the Starbucks India website.
Last but not least, the Starbucks India icon mugs are beautiful!
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How cool!!
Thanks Melody!
-Wes
I would love to get the opportunity to help train in a new market. :D. This tasting sounds fabulous, so cool that you got the opportunity!
Nice to see how the new SB stores are in India from a partner’s perspective and to hear about the coffee.
WOW! How nice of her to share. I do see the difference. I bet she had a blast in India. Does she have a blog or anything? She probably has lots of great pics!
this is a great post, melody! thank you so much to you and rachel for sharing this experience with us!
What a great experience to have! Did Rachel share any insights into the different roast level? Is it a matter of taste preferences for the Indian market, or is it a matter of the beans and the roast level that the beans can endure?
Wow, it would be awesome if they release it as a regional coffee (assuming the beans are from the area)
Sorry I haven’t commented sooner. I have been meaning to reply to a number of comments! I think this whole idea of having alternate espresso roasts is one that we will see more and more of. Great comment Devin!
In my Twitter stream, I just saw that Starbucks Ireland (and I assume Starbucks UK too) just launched Guatemala Antigua as their espresso roast. And it was in the news a long time ago (like about 18 months ago?) that Starbucks France offers customers a choice of Espresso Roast (traditional Starbucks Esp Roast) or a blonde roast shot. Have to run, but this is a topic I probably will write about again. I am hoping to get enough info from someone in the UK/Ireland to put together a blog post on that. (If you’re reading this and in a Starbucks market offering Guatemala Antigua as an espresso shot, please write me – Melody @StarbucksMelody dot com
we have a rotating espresso blend in one of our decaf mastrena hoppers, so i have pretty much tried all of our core line-up as espresso. surprisingly, i LOVE veranda shots, they are so light and smooth and they pack a punch! i tried guatemala, and i really hated it. tribute makes a decent shot, but i am still hopelessly addicted to christmas espresso blend shots.
melody, do you remember espresso regalo? i wouldn’t mind seeing that blend making a comeback 🙂
hello partners…..myself atul barista in india ……..when ever i ask from my senior about their training…..they only replied that racheal was the fabolous trainer of all time…..i.wish to meet racheal one.day….one thing which i want to tell each partner that only creativity can makes ur coffee tasting outstanding bcoz creativity has reality and reality always works…….so b creative while doing coffee tasting….if any coffee enthuziasist wants to do coffee tasting wid me …u r most welcome in my.coffee tasting at watsapp …so join me….m sending my mobile number below.
atul anand
partner
india-dehli
+919953338552