Starbucks is constantly in the news! I think there will be many, many things to write about soon but here’s a roundup of a few current Starbucks news stories that caught my eye:
Is Latte Art Coming Soon To A Starbucks Near You? That’s question asked by the well-known coffee blog, Sprudge.com. I would have to say “yes”! I’ve said for a long time that Starbucks partners want to do latte art. About a year ago, I wrote an article just casually mentioning partners who I knew who enjoyed latte art. This is a subject where for years, I’ve listened to partners tell me that they enjoy latte art and want to get better at it. Months ago, I heard that Starbucks was going to start encouraging latte art in their stores. I’d say that Sprudge.com got it right! Partners, want me to feature your latte art? Email photos my way. Tell me a little bit about the pictures you send too and/or information about yourself. What store are you at? When did you create the latte art? How long have you been a partner? Do you like the shift towards doing latte art at Starbucks?
Consumer Reports singles out Starbucks House Blend as the best tasting pre-ground coffee in your grocery stores. This Today Show news story puts a spotlight on Starbucks House Blend as your tastiest pre-ground grocery store coffee offering. I knew I always loved House Blend! 🙂 StarbucksStore.com says that this coffee has been around since the very beginning: 1971. Very old Starbucks Coffee Master training materials would describe House Blend as follows: “Starbucks signature blend and our most popular coffee. With a little tartness and toasted nut flavor, this is a straightforward, balanced, simply wonderful coffee.” And House Blend was described as “Mild and Bright.”
Starbucks Donates Nearly $2 Million from Teavana Oprah Chai Sales to Benefit Young Leaders. I was pretty sure that all the many iced Oprah Chai beverages that I had on hot Seattle summer days were adding up to something good. Click through to read more on the Starbucks donation.
I’m sure I’ll have many more Starbucks news announcements very, very soon. Stay tuned!
10 Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Socialize
..If am not mistaken doing Latte art was first started in the market of China (Starbucks China) .. Barista do it as their passion on their craft and then when they received positive results from their customers they do start doing it as a part of the standard preparation for every Latte they serve.. Here in Philippines barista was first certified in a “Ristretto Bianco” when we launched this drink and then after we started certifying all barista about the Latte Art finish and they have to do it in every cup of Latte and then now in all the Starbucks Reserve stores in Ph they are required to finish the Latte with “Rosette” ..
-Arc Soleria/8159/GCM/SS
@Arc – Thank you for your comment. Though I think the first story of latte art at Starbucks really goes back to the early 1990s when all they served was espresso, americanos, and coffee. 🙂
I really enjoy seeing the pics of latte art and wish there were more partners doing it. I am somewhat skeptical that this will move forward only because of late I see partners rushing around more than usual and fear they would not have the time to do the latte art. I hope I am wrong.
I’m (sadly) agreeing with @purple1. There are SO many very inexperienced partners in so many stores…..I can’t see them having the interest or the time for this..maybe the interest but not the time. Like any busy, understaffed situation, I can often just see the anxiety building in a partners face as the drinks pile up and they’re barely, very barely, experienced.
Of course, I also see some great stores, great partners with more experience, therefore time but what I wrote above is more the norm . The turn-over rate has been crazy lately.
gravatars gone?
@Denise – First off….. I agree with what both you and purple1 have said. They are too busy to keep up with the condiment stations and the customer areas (including bathrooms).
Experience??? The revolving door at the PR store just continues to pick up speed. There are new faces almost everyday, and I can’t keep up with the names anymore. Talk to the few remaining senior partners, and they will tell you most (not all) of the new partners look at the job as just a paycheck! That is just the attitude today. Even if a newer partner has a passion, there is little time in a shift to express it. Then they burn out rather quickly and move on…….. That has been my experience.
Interesting, however there would have to be a lot of changes to make Latte Art possible.
For instance, it takes much more time and technique. In most stores, there is definitely not enough time to spend on each drink to get right. Also, the technique is not just in how you pour, but also in how you steam the milk. They would have to be retrained to steam milk in a way that would make latte art possible.
Secondly, Starbucks current steaming pitchers are much too big to create great micro-foam for latte art. I’m not saying it’s impossible in them, but even the skilled barista with lots of latte art experience would have a hard time with those steaming pitchers.
My home market in the Nordics is a fairly new one, yet ever since I started a bit over two years ago latte art has been a focus point. As a new barista, a required finish to a latte is first a dot, adter which you move on to a heart and a rosetta (especially for the ristretto bianco).
I agree it certainly is something partners are appassionate about and I wish we had more time for practice. However, when one focuses on their work and steam the milk properly, latte art is possible while sequencing one beverage at a time. Even at peak hours and even with the regular Starbucks pitchers.
What are the core coffees blended in the house blend coffee? All i know is it was a Latin American blend of coffees.
hi! I want to learn about house blend coffee but I do not know where to find it.