Tags · Business



After years of reporting the average price it pays for coffee, Starbucks decided not to report that figure in its 2009 global responsibility report released today. In 2008, it paid an average of $1.49 a pound, up from $1.43 in 2007, $1.42 in 2006, $1.28 in 2005, and $1.20 in 2004, 2003 and 2002. Spokeswoman Deb Trevino said the company is focused instead on 13 goals in the report.


Starbucks met many of its global responsibility goals, but fell short with recycling. Only 399 of its 7,529 company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada offer recycling for customers. Only 1.5 percent of its drinks were served in reusable mugs or tumblers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. And it faces challenges in the various communities it serves, which do not all offer recycling.

Read the full article, “Starbucks stops reporting price it pays for coffee beans, but releases other numbers“. Posted 4/19/10.


Share/Bookmark Subscribe

Are You Using Knock-Off K-Cup Technology?

Friday, December 18th, 2009

The single-serving coffee maker has to rank fairly high on the list of office engineering marvels. After all, who doesn’t feel better knowing that a cup of Joe is just 30 seconds away when they’re working late on a project? It might be a little watery, but it works in a pinch.


According to lawsuit recently filed at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, however, one particularly well known purveyor of single-serving technology is having trouble getting their innovations recognized by the government. Reading, Mass.-based Keurig, Inc. filed suit on Dec. 11 against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, claiming officials there had wrongly rejected a patent application on the company’s K-Cup coffee filter cartridges.

Read the full article, “A Fight Brews Over Coffee Making Technology “. Posted 12/18/09.


Share/Bookmark Subscribe

Tanzania Officials: Drink More Coffee

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Tanzanians should double the amount of coffee they drink in the next five years to help domestic growers, a senior official said on Monday.

Read the full TheCitizen article, Drink more coffee: official. Posted 12/16/09.


I sure don’t need anyone to tell me to drink more coffee! I could go have a cup now, but I don’t think it would help Tanzania any. That and the fact that it’s 11:50 PM.


Share/Bookmark Subscribe


DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Tanzania wants to boost domestic coffee consumption, replace old tree varieties and keep farmers informed about world price movements in a bid to end longstanding stagnation in the sector.


“Coffee in this country has stagnated,” Adolph Kumburu, chief executive of the Tanzania Coffee Board, told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Monday from the northern town of Arusha, which is hosting a two-day coffee conference.


Read the full article, “Tanzania wants to wake up stagnant coffee sector,” posted by Reuters Africa on December 1, 2009.


Share/Bookmark Subscribe

Starbucks VIA Doing Better Than Expected

Friday, November 13th, 2009

“PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -(Dow Jones)- Starbucks Corp.’s (SBUX) Via instant coffee has outperformed expectations in the seven weeks since it was introduced in the U.S., the coffee shop chain’s chief executive, Howard Schultz, said Thursday.


Starbucks began making Via available in September in all its cafes in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in other locations, such as hotels and bookstores. The company created Via, which sells for $2.95 for a pack of three, in an attempt to reach consumers who aren’t inclined to splurge on a regular coffee purchase.”


Read the full article, “Starbucks CEO: Via Instant Coffee Besting Expectations“, at CNNMoney.com.


Share/Bookmark Subscribe