Next to Caffeine Goodness in Seattle!

Click on the orange link below to read the Seattle Examiner review of the Victrola Beacon Hill coffee shop.

Victrola Beacon Hill

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Photo: flickr (litlnemo)

When authors go wild...

Just yesterday we told you about an author who lashed out at a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review. Now it turns out that mega-author Alice Hoffman, whose latest book we will not mention or picture here, has blown a couple of gaskets. As reported by USA Today: "Author Alice Hoffman is getting media attention - not so much because of her 21st novel... but because of her behavior. Hoffman, incensed by a review of her novel that ran in The Boston Globe on Sunday sent out Twitter posts calling reviewer Roberta Silman 'a moron'... She also lashed out at a blogger who was moderating a Barnes & Noble discussion of the book. Hoffman apologized in both cases."

Whew! Maybe we should hold off on the bold coffee for now and just serve decaf, at least to certain prominent writers.

Even on the East Coast you can sample a fine cup of Peet's coffee!

Just click on the orange link below to see how you can sample what is arguably the West Coast's finest coffee in the New York City area.

Craving Peet's Coffee in New York? Then Book a Flight Out of JFK || Jaunted

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Photo: flickr

Bold coffee as a digestive health issue...

Some of us have expressed our online frustrations over Starbucks' failure to have a bold coffee option available after the noon hour. It might seem like we're being picky, but the truth is we are far from alone in our complaints - see the chart above (click on the chart to see a larger version) - and for some coffee drinkers, the blend served is important to digestive health. Yesterday I was in Java City, a Starbucks competitor with shops all over the U.S. and in Asia, and one of their baristas explained to me that bold coffee has not only less acid but much less caffeine than the lighter brews. Most people will assume that just the opposite is true, that dark or bold equals heavy and strong...

You can do some quick research of your own. Using a search engine like Google, enter terms like Crohn's disease coffee caffeine; or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) coffee caffeine; or Colitis caffeine coffee. You'll find that for persons with these digestive conditions, minimizing their caffeine intake is important. Bold brewed coffee helps in this respect, and every little bit helps.

So, here's a kudos to Java City and Peet's, two of the coffee companies that make a point of offering at least one bold coffee blend choice whenever their shops' doors are open! As for Starbucks, we're still waiting - and waiting and waiting and waiting - for them to get with the program.

Note: The chart above represents issues raised at My Starbucks Idea. As of early November 2008, over 17,000 respondents had expressed their desire - their idea in action, if you will - to have "Bold Coffee (Served) All Day."

If Seattle's Best can do this, why can't Starbucks?

Yesterday afternoon I visited my local Borders Books. On the positive side, my store is no longer running its "please don't ask us for a bag" campaign. I bought a music CD and was, nevertheless, asked if I wanted a bag. I said yes and was given a full size bag to go. (The bag was subsequently used when Munchy's litter box was cleaned.)

The counter signs discouraging customers from asking for a bag have also been either removed or covered up. See, the customer is always right!

We're posting the link, below, to our earlier write-up about Borders when we were not so pleased with the chain.

But while I was at Borders, I went to the Seattle's Best coffee counter and ordered a bold coffee. Even though it was mid-afternoon, this was no problem. The bold coffee served by Seattle's Best is about an 85% scale version of Peet's Major Dickason bold. But then something is far better than nothing.

This, then, begs the question... If Seattle's Best, which is fully owned by Starbucks of Seattle, can serve its customers bold coffee whenever they're open why can't Starbucks?

http://tinyurl.com/re8kov

Photos: flickr (bottom photo of Seattle's Best in the Ginza, Tokyo, by cloganese)

Days of Future Passed for Starbucks...

Back in 2007, Loews Hotels Chairman and CEO Jonathan M. Tisch wrote a book entitled Chocolates on the Pillow Aren't Enough; which, by the way, has just been re-released in paperback. This 256-page book ended with 9 pages dealing specifically with Starbucks (Starbucks and the Tricky Art of Brand Extension). A lot of what Tisch said in these nine pages seemed to foretell the 'Bucks' current troubled existence.

Let's look at a few brief excerpts showing what Tisch wrote and thought then about SBUX' soon-to-arrive-future (the final italicized comment is my own)...

You (can't) simply tack on new offerings to your exiting menu and assume they will delight customers. Goods and services that don't fit your organization's existing mission may confuse customers and end up weakening instead of enhancing your brand.

... it's obvious that there are limits to the number of Starbucks outlets... the world can support.

CEO (Howard) Schultz has always maintained that Starbucks is not about coffee.

(According to) Geoffrey Moore, a partner at the venture-capital firm of Mehr, Davidow... (he) calls the (Starbucks entry into) the music (selling) foray, "a very interesting experiment. If I was on (Starbucks) board of directors, I'd be more concerned that they not corrupt the brand... If Starbucks is just trying to monetize the traffic that comes through, this is a bad idea. At some point, the customers will start to feel abused.

As Starbucks has discovered, it's wise to expect... mistakes when exploring new customer offerings. Joe, Slate and book sales have all proved to be disappointing for Starbucks, while CD sales are struggling to take off.

Starbucks coffee shops have (been successful in) pulling customers off the street for a brief break (for coffee). Can the same formula be applied to the very different market for music CDs? Don't assume that the delivery system you've honed for one product... will automatically work for another.

In the end, it is the customers who will decide whether expanding Starbucks into a music business is "not inconsistent" [to use Schultz' words] with the company's... brand image. What will they decide? Stay tuned. - 30 -

Today, I've decided to head to Peet's Coffee for a bold one!

Coming up next...

We'll look at what a big business CEO wrote in 2007 about the future of Starbucks' business model. Very interesting...

A BIG Brewer Goes Small...

Anheuser-Busch (A-B) seems to have learned from the local, premium, craft brewers. And the company has, at least in part, adopted the philosophy that if you can't beat them, join them. Which explains why although Redhook Ale Brewery of Seattle, Washington remains independent, its products are distributed far and wide by Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated. It is perhaps the lessons learned from this type of cooperation that has prompted A-B, under the Michelob label, to come out with some new premium-type (small label) beers. We'll look at two of them here...

Amber Bock

Dark like a rich, bold, coffee; makes promises... "This dark mahogany lager has a rich, nutty, aroma. An American Bock-style lager brewed with three unique malts including roasted and caramel specialty malts." Ah, but the promises are not kept, as this dark beer is pretty much tasteless.

Summary: Looks good, tastes like nothing. 5.2% ABV. Not a challenge to Gordon Biersch's fine Marzen lager.

Original Lager

"First brewed in 1896 as the beer for beer connoisseurs. It was available only in draught form and only at select locations, including The Michelob Tavern in St. Louis. ...(an) exceptional Munich-style lager." Multiple hops combined with two-row barley malt.

On first taste, I thought of a great lager that was only sold nationally (or at least on the west coast) for a short period of time, Coors Extra Gold lager.

Summary: This is simply a very good lager - light, snappy, tart and almost Heineken-lemony. A perfect beer for a summer barbeque whether on Memorial Day or any other sunny day. 5.0% ABV

And Here's Another...

Here's another Starbucks Bearista, which reminds us to remind you... Don't forget to visit us at our Twitter site:

http://twitter.com/troybear07

A bold coffee for everyone, on the house!


Photo: flickr (Jepster)

Next: Bob Dylan warms our lives.

Yes - There Really Are Bearistas at Starbucks!

This is a Starbucks Bearista imported from Portland, Oregon... far, far, far away. Let's hope he's ready to brew up a pot of bold coffee! Ethiopian, Sumatra, French Roast?

Is the planet shaking...?

Is the planet shaking, or have I just had too much bold coffee?

Isn't this a nice graphic? It reminds me of something, I just can't quite remember exactly what it is.

A fun coffee blog for caffeine fiends (and bold coffee lovers)...

Mackenzie Shieck of the online newspaper, Seattle Post Intelligencer, has a fun blog that deals with her experiences as a former bearista for a major chain of coffee shops... Let's see: Seattle, coffee, bearistas...

Gosh, do you think she could possibly be talking about her days at Starbucks?

Here's the link to her blog, It's Just the Caffeine Talking:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/caffeinetalking/

Photo of a Starbucks in Portland, OR: flickr (cafemama). Sure I could have used a pic of a Starbucks in Seattle, but that would have been too predictable, don't ya think?

How to Search This Blog... (or any blogspot site)

Friends have asked me how to search for particular articles - such as book or music reviews - within this blog. I had no idea until about a week ago when a fellow blogger explained it to me.

In the upper left corner of this sample blog page, you'll see a blank white rectangular box. This is where you can enter a search term phrase or keywords such as: bob dylan, dave mason, small faces, jenny dalton, green day, great central government, munchy, peet's, starbucks, bold coffee or some other topic and then click on Search Blog (earlier Search This Blog). The multiple results for these topics will then appear as one long web page. Pretty cool.

I feel like I should keep writing except there is nothing more to say, it's as simple as this.

McDonald's Begins Its Shelling of Starbucks...

Thanks to Jolene for finding this and posting it on her blog site. I hope she doesn't mind this co-post, as this intriguing article - click on the orange link below to read it - should be published just about everywhere.

A few quick notes... I disagree with the columnist's conclusion here; I do believe that $100 million in advertising by the Golden Arches will hurt the Bucks. Also, I think they should have called their new shops McCoffee.

I further feel it's worth mentioning that Starbucks was once far ahead of its second and third-tier competitors - like Peets and Sacramento-based Java City - but it has now been caught and surpassed in terms of the "total customer experience." (That experience should include excellent service.) Perhaps more importantly, these competitors are now providing what many see as a better product, a better cup of bold coffee.

Note that Peets, for example, does not compete with the Bucks on price. A small cup of Peets coffee costs 15 cents more than it does at S-B. For those serious coffee drinkers who think they're getting a better brew for just three nickels, its a very small price to pay.

Selling coffee becomes diacritical for McDonald's - Los Angeles Times

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Photo: flickr (turtlemom4bacon)

Peet's Coffee Continues to Brew Up Tasty Profits...

This is an excerpt from a Barron's blog post of yesterday (April 29, 2009) by Bob O'Brien:

While Starbucks has been putting up double-digit sales declines in recent quarters, Peet's Coffee & Tea (PEET) has grown revenues. The results posted late Thursday showed that Peet's boosted sales nearly 8% in its March-ending first quarter, even though that growth wasn't quite as robust as Wall Street had been expecting. The company affirmed its profit-growth outlook for the year, suggesting that it could grow earnings as much as 25%.

This just isn't a taste issue, although true believers in the Peet's iconology are as adamant that their choice is the real deal as Starbucks' afficionados historically have been. Peet's has amped up its grocery-store footprint, making bags of beans, which consumers use in home kitchens, the engine of its growth.

Photo: flickr (jdong)

The CEO of Starbucks actually said this...

I found this quote from Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks online: "Our customers are not turning away from Starbucks because they're unhappy or they have lost faith or they don't like the experience... They just do not have the disposable income to come as often as they once did. They're either not coming as often, or cutting out the occasion - having coffee in the office, having coffee at home."

OK, now if he actually believes this, I'll offer to buy him a cup of bold coffee at Peet's.

Photo: flickr (~maitexu~)

The bitter truth about Starbucks...

Every now and then I go to one of the Starbucks-sponsored comment sites - like My Starbucks Idea or Ideas In Action - and post my latest critique of the company; and I'm far from alone in this. As we push one way, its natural that on occasion a young Bucks staff member or bearista pushes back. That's fine but I don't think they quite understand who "we" - me, Melody, Jolene and so many others - are...

So let me try to explain this here. We're the old flame, the one who first thought you were the best person (company) in the world until you let us down. Then we left or thought about leaving... but we haven't, actually.

We were your first and most loyal fans. We were with you when Starbucks was not "cool." We remained with you, in your cooler-than-cool state, when we had to wait the equivalent of two work breaks in line. We were still there when you became un-cool again. But, finally, enough became enough.

We have our memories of the early days... Days of great service, great bold coffee, innovative products, and the knowledge that we would always receive the highest quality of products at our local Bucks shop. Sadly those days are gone, long gone and we're hurt.

(From a music lover's standpoint it's like watching Rod Stewart go from Gasoline Alley to "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?")

One poster - menty66 - added this in response to a Seattle newpaper article on recent moves by Starbucks: "For years sbux touted its cultural standing. Now it's slowly slipping down a stripper pole to McDonald's level."

Menty66 wrote that on February 4, 2009 and I've kept it because it rang so true.

OK, so we still think about you. We don't ignore you which means somewhere in our caffineated hearts and souls we hold out a glimmer of hope... It's not like the final time we shopped at Sears or Penney's, decided to never return and truly never thought of those places again.

So please try to actually listen to us, and not just say that you do. And hire bearistas that will do the same. And please, please, please, please brew us a bold coffee when we tell you we really and truly need it.

Why? 'Cause time is passing, none of us is getting any younger, and there's a guy out there named Peet who is offering some really good times!

The Daily Californian :: Original Peet's Site Reopens After Renovation

The original Peet's coffee shop has re-opened in North Berkeley! Click on the orange link below to read the article.

And don't we just love this quote from Berkeley resident and long-time customer Alice Feller: "Real Peet's customers don't drink Starbucks."

Bold coffee rules!

Next: The bitter truth about Starbucks...

Photo of Peet's, North Berkeley: Seattle Times

The Daily Californian :: Original Peet's Site Reopens After Renovation

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Wrong About Starbucks?

In a Motley Fool article posted on MSNBC on Monday, April 13th, Tim Beyers reconsidered some things he'd said in a pre-Christmas article. At that time he wrote that Starbucks had lost its appeal as a destination, "(as) a place for writers like me to sit, sip, get connected (wirelessly), and write." In his more recent article, Beyers took the stance that he was wrong about Starbucks as revealed in the full title of his article: I Was Wrong About Starbucks: Wi-Fi is worth paying for, after all.

Interesting, especially as the final words in the article were these:

You want to blame customers for your woes? Look in the mirror first, Starbucks.

Very clever. Good stuff, almost as good as the bold cup of coffee that I can't get in the afternoon at Starbucks. On to Peet's...

Note: Earlier this week I had a change in schedule so I made what is now a rare stop at a Starbucks for a late morning brew. I was the only person standing in line... Nevertheless, the bearista barely listened to my order for a tall (small) bold coffee with room for cream; she was busy talk, talk, talking to a co-worker. Before handing me my coffee, she walked away and grabbed an ink pen for some unknown reason... I was not charging my order.

When she did finally hand me my coffee it was filled to the rim - she clearly did not listen to my order - and with the current supply of bad lids, the coffee spilt all over my hands and my formerly-clean pair of pants. Great, and another reminder of why I almost never pop into a Bucks anymore.

Photo: flickr (chrisdejabet)

Home Brewing a Great Bold Cup of Coffee...

With the difficulties in securing a bold brewed cup of coffee at Starbucks, the time has come to resort to home remedies. For quite a while, Mrs. Bear has heard commercials on KGO radio for Don Francisco's Specialty Gourmet Coffee. This got us to thinking, so on a recent trip to the grocery store, I picked up a can of DF's bold French Roast ground coffee.

As noted on the DF can, this is not a blend of different beans - some of good quality, some less so - instead all of the beans used are of the same high quality. Based on a real-life taste test, this coffee may be double or triple-filtered. There's absolutely no bitter after taste and Mrs. Bear immediately noticed the absence of irritation in her stomach. (When I went back and tasted a competitor's bold ground, it tasted oily and more than a bit bitter.)

When you consider that the DF list price is $5.89 - currently $5.29 at my local grocery store - for a 12-ounce can that makes 80 to 90 single cups, this is extremely cost effective; especially when you think about what 80 or 90 cups would cost you at a Starbucks shop. As if you could get a cup of bold coffee at Bucks any time of the day or night.

So, Starbucks, is this what you want?