![]() ![]() It roasted the initial batches of Green Apron Blend that were first tasted by partners, last October during the District Manager Leadership Experience and with in-store partner tastings across the United States and Canada.Īs a master roaster, Kirkland makes sure his plant’s systems are set up to be reliable and consistent, so each particular coffee tastes the same today as it will five years from now and tastes the same as what’s made at other Starbucks roasting plants around the world. It produces almost all the Frappuccino powder that’s used at Starbucks around the world and much of the Starbucks Blonde Espresso sent to stores. “By having something that's really well-rounded, it makes it really easy to brew, no matter what brewing method you choose.”Īugusta, which opened in 2012, is Starbucks newest roasting plant. Because of how we roasted it, we didn't generate quite as much acidity as we would have with other coffees. “It's much lighter than what we would normally run most Starbucks coffees to. “The roast profile we chose to run this coffee on is extremely fast,” Kirkland says. The overall profile is sweet, citrusy, fruity and nutty. “But now going through sensory (experience training) and really focusing in on these different attributes… My wife calls me a coffee snob.”Īt Augusta, Kirkland oversees the production of the Green Apron Blend, a 50/50 blend of coffees sourced from Latin America and Africa that – after it’s roasted light and fast – give it the aforementioned flavors. I couldn't taste the difference in any of it,” Kirkland says. “At that point in time, it was, coffee tastes like coffee. “Never in a million years,” he says, could he have imagined himself not only appreciating new coffees, but searching for subtle tasting notes of honeybell orange and graham cracker. Long before he was promoted to the role of master roaster at the Starbucks Augusta Roasting Plant in Georgia, Ryan Kirkland worked as a chemical operator, helping build an organic compound used for synthetic fibers. We really wanted to make sure that our partners voices were heard.” The Roaster and the coffee “My takeaway is when we are sharing this coffee and celebrating it, everyone can feel proud. ![]() “But threaded through were all these narratives about self-care, being a group that supported each other, not being left behind, diversity and inclusion.” “We offered up a bunch of questions: What’s your favorite coffee? How do you celebrate coffee? How do you like to drink coffee? What’s your favorite origin? Really coffee-related,” Wolford says. Store partners were coming off the isolation and stress of the COVID-19 pandemic when the Green Apron Blend project launched, and while themes emerged about the direction of the coffee itself, partners also responded deeply and emotionally to the open-ended questions, Wolford says. The input gathering process was meaningful for Wolford as well. It's super refreshing and it has an energy which I think is really going to be exciting over ice.” Then when you introduce it in a cold style such as iced or cold brew, that's going to be more sweet-forward. “When you experiment with this coffee, whether brewing it as hot in the Bunn brewer, Clover Vertica or in a coffee press, you really get more of the citrus notes from the African origins and the toasty graham cracker notes from the Latin American components. “Green Apron Blend has to fire on a lot of different levels and not just live on the shelf as a packaged coffee, so how can we reinvent it in different ways and bring it to life?” Wolford says. Last year, Starbucks reported that cold beverages accounted for almost 75 percent of its drink sales. A whole new generation of baristas and customers have grown up around iced beverages, refreshers and cold brews, Wolford says, and don’t think about coffee heritage the same way she does. She acknowledges how times and tastes have changed. “How great is that when we can build something together?”įor Wolford, this project was an opportunity to think about coffee in a different way. “At the end of the day, the partners in the stores are the ones selling the coffee, so we should recognize that they have a lot of opportunity to lean in,” Wolford says. People 25 years of Starbucks CUP Fund: By partners, for partners Read More ![]()
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