Starbucks baristas in the Philippines

Recently, the Starbucks coffee masters conducted a seminar dubbed "From Bean to Cup" and proved they were truly worthy of their titles. Held at the company's training center in Makati, the coffee masters enthralled members of the media with their skills and knowledge in preparing various coffee concoctions.

Sources around the world

The popular Starbucks coffee is indeed a product of a meticulous process from the time the bean is harvested to the liquid matter that flows to a patron's cup. The coffee beans are imported from three major coffee sources: Latin America, which is known for its mild, consistent flavor, making it ideal for blending; Africa and Arabia, which carry a distinct citrus and lively flavor and is highly recommended to be enjoyed over ice; and Asia Pacific, popular for its intense and heavy-mouth feel.

Raw coffee beans are processed differently depending on their locale of origin. The dry method is widely used in Africa and Arabian continents where water is not very abundant while the wet method is the preferred procedure in Latin America. In the Asia Pacific realm, the masters use the semiwash method. Each method of processing has a distinct effect on the final taste.

After the coffee beans are harvested and processed, these will undergo a roasting phase. A common Starbucks maxim says, "It's not the world's finest coffee until we roast it." At Starbucks, coffee beans pass through a thoroughly precise roasting process-one that is designed to bring out the full flavor in coffee.

Harnessing the senses

Starbucks baristas are trained to distinguish a good brew from a mediocre one. The coffee masters share that they always follows these simple steps in enjoying one's coffee:

(a) Take time to smell the coffee. This is best done by partially covering the cup with one hand to lock the aroma in. Then place your nose directly over the narrow opening where the steam comes out. Then inhale the rich-tasting aroma.

(b) Slowly sip from the mug. This way, you'll get to feel of real coffee flavor.

(c) Try to savor the after-taste, and fill your senses with the distinct characteristics of a particular coffee. For instance, coffee from Sumatra has a strong after-taste that tends to linger in the tongue. There is also such a thing as blending food intake and coffee-there are cakes and pastries that enhance the flavor of coffee while there are other food items that tend to overwhelm the taste of coffee like pungent fruit-based desserts.

A fool-proof formula

For those who want to be their own baristas, the coffee masters offer these four fundamental guides: proportion, grind, water and freshness. The best mix is combining two tablespoon of ground coffee to every six ounces of water. The coffee masters also shared that ground coffee is best stored in an airtight, opaque container at room temperature and not inside the refrigerator. Keeping coffee inside the very low temperatures induces the condensation process making the coffee taste bitter.

A sip of goodwill

Akin to the title of the coffee masters' seminar, the Starbucks history is also a "bean to cup" story. The company started in 1971 as a whole bean supplier and was only in 1984 when it opened an outlet offering special coffee beverages. The 6750 building is the first home of Starbucks in the Philippines.

Thirty-six years after its inception, Starbucks is leading the coffee race all right but what is truly remarkable is the manner in which the company gives back to the efforts of the coffee farmers. Part of the Starbucks advocacy program is to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions of the coffee farmers who do the initial groundwork of planting and harvesting coffee beans. Now, that's what we call paying it forward.

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