Starbucks Press Release; New “Pike Place” Coffee

ppr_a.jpgDear Partners,

Next week we will experience one of the most significant moments in the history of our company.  After much anticipation, we will introduce our new coffee, Pike Place Roast, which we will serve everyday in our U.S. company-operated stores.  In my opinion and that of several others who have tasted this incredible coffee, Pike Place Roast is truly one of the best coffees we have offered our customers in our 37-year history and it will reinvent brewed coffee.  It is so good that when we discussed names, it felt only right that it should be named after our home in Pike Place Market.  We would never have considered naming the coffee after Pike Place unless it achieved all of our expectations in the cup…and it did that and more.  And the original logo acknowledges our pride in our past and embraces our heritage as the world’s leading purveyor of specialty coffee.

 

As you know through various internal conversations about Pike Place Roast, it is a unique blend of the highest quality, sustainably grown beans.  It is our first coffee to carry the new mark that symbolizes Starbucks renewed commitment, with Conservational International (CI), to support farmers, workers and their communities and help ensure that our coffee is responsibly grown and ethically traded.  Pike Place Roast features Starbucks signature bold flavor with a smoother finish and showcases our 37 years of coffee roasting experience, knowledge and passion.  Starbucks master coffee blenders and roasters have “done us proud.”  And I would like to thank the following coffee and roasting technology partners for their dedication to creating a superb blend, with a flavor profile that reflects input from customers and baristas:  Andrew Linnemann, Anthony Carroll, Geory Kurtzhals, Leslie Wolford, Dave Wickberg, Brad Anderson and Brian Hayes. In addition, I would like to recognize Katie Simons, Mindy Sagez and the other members of the Beverage team, who also helped to launch Pike Place Roast.

 

That said, please know that words can’t really express just how pleased we are with this wonderful coffee.  The proof of its excellence is not in my words, marketing or hype … the proof is in the cup. It truly represents the best of who we are!  I ask that you do everything you can to sample and put a cup of Pike Place Roast in the hands of every customer you encounter next week.  I encourage all U.S. partners in company-operated stores to have a conversation about this exceptional coffee as well as our new quality standards for freshness, hand-scooping, and smaller brewed coffee batches with no more than 30-minute hold times. Pike Place Roast takes us one step closer to achieving our goal of transforming the in-store experience by restoring the connection our customers have with our coffee. 

 

Pike Place Roast also gives us another opportunity to celebrate our history and heritage that takes us “back to the future.”  We are so very proud of what we have achieved, so let’s talk about it!  And we will be doing just that across the U.S. next week, with major coast-to-coast celebrations beginning in New York City and ending in Seattle. This is such an exciting and important time for the company, and I can’t say enough about how proud I am of what we have accomplished with the introduction of this outstanding coffee.

 

Although Pike Place Roast will not be available in our international markets at this time, they will migrate to 30-minute hold times for brewed coffee in the coming months, while a longer-term brewed program is being determined.  U.S. licensed stores and Canadian locations will freshly brew House Blend every 30 minutes and will be introducing Pike Place Roast within the year.  However, I am happy to tell you that our international, licensed store and Canadian partners are anxious to join our brewed coffee reinvention and share our enthusiasm for Pike Place Roast.  They also recognize that it exemplifies everything that we are experts in:  buying, blending and roasting the highest quality arabica beans in the world, as well as providing an excellent experience for all of our customers.

 

So I will close now by extending my gratitude to you, once again, for all that you do on behalf of Starbucks and invite you to raise a cup of Pike Place Roast in a coffee toast to the future success of our great company.

 

Onward,

 

Howard

April 4, 2008 | Filed Under News | Leave a Comment 

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