Arizona Coffee

Ever hear of the Java Log? Me either. Apparently it is a log made of ground coffee and apparently it works really well in the fireplace. It was invented by a a guy who was tired of using chemical logs in his fireplace and one night he tried to burn some coffee grinds. It worked so well he decide to experiment and came up with a product. Now they are in stores nationwide. More info at www.java-log.com and if you’re really interested you can read a little bit about how they are made at Whole Latte Love. Then if you are interested you can see this page which is the branding company that designed the logo.

Coffee Plantation at 24th St.

Josh reports from his blog that Howard Schultz just stopped by the store at 24th St and Camelback earlier today. That has got to be quite the kick. I bet it’s really hard for him to get a decent cup of coffee.

I received an email from Steve today from Steve’s Espresso and they’re hosting an event on Friday, December 2nd you might want to know about. They’ll have a complimentary pastry buffet and art show. Starts at 6 pm (goes until 10 o’clock) and Steve says it’s guaranteed to be fun. I’m planning to be there (towards 6 pm) so if you are there be sure to say hello.

I have never been to Italy so I won’t comment on the coffee they serve. For that, I am linking you to this article that helps explain how to order coffee in Italy and what and when to order it.

If you’ve ever read the book by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz called Pour Your Heart Into It you’d know that Schultz originally opened Starbucks as a shop that sold beans. Only after a trip to Italy did the concept of selling prepared drinks strike him. Amazing how such simple business decisions have huge implications. Imagine if he had never thought to sell anything more than beans. I highly recommend this book for its great story, simple business ideas, and great information about the coffee business.

Related: Italian Language Lessons: Caffè Talk

Common Ground Coffee Shop at Shea Blvd. and the 101 has dancing on Sunday afternoons and chess in the mornings (9 am to noon). Just thought you’d like to know.

Hello folks, here’s a quick link to an interview with Anne Saunders, the Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Starbucks. She answers a few questions about how Starbucks goes about marketing.

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee.” – Abraham Lincoln

Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

What the purpose is of The Red Cup I don’t know. It’s a Starbucks run site which means that it’s about coffee. The site is really random in that it has very little content. There’s a short blurb that says you can expect something new every day.

In a side note, I really think what Starbucks does by adding the red cup to their line is really cool. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

US News & World Report has an interview and article out about America’s Leaders and Schultz of Starbucks fame comes in on the list.

Here’s a short excerpt:

“You don’t start out by saying, ‘I’m going to create the world’s largest coffee company.’ You start with a sensibility that says, ‘I’m going to create a different kind of company,’ ” explains Schultz in his latte-colored office. “And you have to follow the path of doing the right thing by making decisions that are true to your mission and cause. You refer to your heart, conscience, and memory.”

You also keep innovating if you want to keep leading. As Charles Smith, a management consultant, says: “Exceptional leaders cultivate the Merlin-like habit of acting in the present moment as ambassadors of a radically different future, in order to imbue their organizations with a breakthrough vision of what it is possible to achieve.”

Schultz is still showing his team what’s possible to achieve. Take Starbucks’s new music business, for example. By producing CD s and distributing them in its stores, the coffee chain is transforming how music is discovered and delivered to consumers. “We didn’t have a music business several years ago, and now we have 65 people on that team,” marvels Schultz, who received a personal visit from the British rock band Coldplay several months ago. “Customers have given us license to be in music,” he adds. “Can we still preserve our core business without diluting the integrity of the coffee experience and community in our stores?”

There’s little question that Schultz’s other recent innovation–buying a water company and contributing a nickel from every bottle sold to organizations who get clean water to children around the world–reinforces Starbucks’s image of integrity. “This effort says a lot to our people and customers,” explains Schultz. “It speaks to the heart of our company.”

The most interesting aspect of the article was that Starbucks is currently opening 5 new stores a day. Amazing numbers, but not really when you consider they have 90,000 employees. If every Starbucks employee had just one drink a day on the house at an estimated value of 50 cents — it costs Starbucks $45,000 a day just to provide drinks to their staff.

Photo from USNews.com

The young clerk’s responsibilities included bringing the judge a hot cup of coffee at the start of every day.

Each morning the judge was enraged that the coffee cup arrived two-thirds full. The clerk explained that he had to rush to get the coffee delivered while it was still hot, which caused him to spill much of it along the way.

None of the judge’s yelling and insults produced a full cup of coffee, until he finally threatened to cut the clerk’s pay by one-third if he continued to produce one-third less than the judge wanted.

The next morning he was greeted with a cup of coffee that was full to the brim, and the next morning and the morning after that.

The judge couldn’t resist gloating over his success and smugly complimented the clerk on his new technique.

“Oh, there’s not much to it,” admitted the clerk happily, “I take some coffee in my mouth right outside the coffee room, and spit it back in when I get outside your office.”