Cuppys

Yesterday, Starbucks closed for retraining. Today is the day of truth, will consumers notice a considerable difference after spending 15min in line? The national broadcast of the closing has escalated the coffee giant to the likes of the OJ Simpson murder trial. What better way to get free marketing and advertisement?

Acting on reports of poorly made coffee drinks over the years, head barista Howard Schultz closed all 7100 stores and retrained his staff to pull a ’real shot’, froth milk correctly, and usher in a newer more friendlier Starbucks.

The details of any significant changes have yet to be reported. Where is the buzz on this? Is anyone reporting a celestial taste difference in the coffee?

The day after: Business as usual.

Blending, the process of roasting different beans with others, creates some of today’s most popular coffee concoctions. At Cuppy’s Coffee our roasters used hand picked beans from around the world and expertly blends and hand roasts them to give our customers a true Italian experience. The beans selected for our espresso come from around the globe such as South and Central America to Ethiopia. Crafted together the blend is what sets our coffee apart from the competition.

The countries of origin for our beans are constantly in the news and at Cuppy’s the following was picked up off the newswires. Follow the link at the bottom of the excerpt to read the entire story.

Pictures of famine and war once graced our minds when it came to Ethiopia. This African country, still has a long way to go in terms of being a self sufficient stabilized country. Coffee is one of Ethiopia’s major exports to countries around the world dependent upon the caffeinated plants. The beans from this region are highly sought after by many sources. But lately in the news flowers from Ethiopia are starting to have an impact on the economy accounting for 1% GDP. This begs to ask the question: Will flowers replace Ethiopia’s dominant export coffee in the near future?

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Pictures of emaciated children dying in their mothers’ arms during Ethiopia’s famine in 1985 cemented the country’s image as a barren land where nothing grows.

But just 30 minutes south of the capital, Addis Ababa, green hills and lush valleys abound, perfect for cultivating the country’s fastest growing export — flowers. (read the rest of the story)

 

Cuppy’s Coffee, Smoothies & More opened 5 new locations in January and its slated projections are to open several new locations in February 2008. This comes amidst the news that Starbucks is curbing new store growth and closing nearly 100 underperforming stores in its restructuring to get back to its former glory days. In news articles posted throughout the internet, head barista Howard Schultz’s plan is to revive a already saturated Starbuck philosphy of dominance in the specialty coffee arena. Competition from burger giant McDonalds and others played heavily in the declining stock value of the coffee Goliath.

People want an experience of wanting to belong to something special. Cuppy’s Coffee core values are geared to meet that need. Every owner goes thru an extensive training program learning the art of barista-ship. Cuppy’s Coffee just doesn’t serve coffee, it serves up an authentic espresso experience to its customers and it is this experience that continues to grow the company and brand.

As Starbucks scales back, look for Cuppy’s Coffee, Smoothies & More to fill a void left by the coffee goliath’s wake of world coffee dominance. Being the biggest and baddest necessarily doesn’t mean you’re the best. Howard Schultz’s realization of this fact may have come a little to late to regain its respect as a community coffee house.

The Wall Street Journal covered McDonalds’ plans to bring baristas and coffee bars to its 14,000 locations. Writer Wendy Bounds made an interesting observation that McDonalds will compete with Starbucks, but not necessarily the smaller shops.

Starbucks has truly created the coffee industry and made it possible for smaller chains like Cuppy’s Coffee to even exist. It is interesting, however to see how Starbucks has become more like McDonalds in that they have streamlined their processes. Because Starbucks is a public company its decisions are driven by profits. Smaller, locally owned chains like Cuppy’s Coffee can still focus on what the customers want. This means hand-pulling each espresso shot and staying true to the Italian barista-customer experience. I would not call McDonalds move into the coffee market as the saving grace for smaller shops, but I do not think they will not be able to provide what the smaller coffee shops can.

While the smaller shops gain customer loyalty through authenticity and by offering a sense of community, to some customers a cup of coffee is still just that, a cup of coffee. If McDonalds is offering gourmet coffee too, it is just one more option for consumers and it all boils down to location and convenience.