Cup of Joe

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Starbucks barista has meltdown over Unicorn Frappuccino By AP

Photo Credit: AP/The China Post

SEATTLE -- A Starbucks barista has taken to social media hoping to make orders for the coffee chain's much buzzed about Unicorn Frappuccino disappear. Starbucks' entry into the unicorn food craze was released Wednesday and its popularity was too much for 19-year-old Colorado barista Braden Burson. He posted a video (now-deleted) on Twitter after his shift complaining that it was difficult to keep up with orders for the drink and he's "never been so stressed out" in his life. The Unicorn Frappuccino is a sweet and sour pink and blue cream swirl topped with what Starbucks calls "fairy powder." Burson says in the video that a day of making the treat left him with sticky hands and residue from the drink stuck to his clothes and in his hair. Burson tells The Associated Press that he didn't think his rant would get this much publicity and he didn't intend to "downgrade" the drink. "It's a great drink. But it is difficult to make when there are like 20 fraps all at once both front and drive thru," he wrote in a Facebook message. Starbucks said in a statement Thursday that the popular reception of the drink has "exceeded everyone's expectations." It added that it is reaching out to Burson "to talk about his experience and how to make it better." Burson said he hadn't heard from the company as of midday Thursday. The China Post

Starbucks Ice Cream: Coffee Chain To Test Treats In U.S. Stores By Neal McNamara

Photo Credit: Starbucks

The Starbucks line of ice cream treats were pioneered at the Seattle Roastery last summer.

SEATTLE, WA — An ice cream and coffee treat pioneered at Starbucks' Seattle Roastery will be rolled out across the nation soon, beginning first at 10 Starbucks Roastery stores in cities like Boston and New York. The Starbucks affogato drinks are based on an Italian dessert and are comprised of espresso poured over ice cream. After the Seattle-based chain rolls out the dessert at the upscale Roastery stores, Starbucks will test out the affogatos at 100 regular stores in Orange County, California. Starbucks introduced the affogato treat in June at the Seattle Roastery. The company offered the affogato in three different styles, as well as ice cream treats with cold brew coffee. The cold brew float, for example, was cold brewed coffee poured over ice cream. The cold brew malted shake was a mixture of coffee, ice cream, malt and bourbon barrel bitters. The drinks, which cost between $6 and $8.50 at the Seattle Roastery, have become a top-five menu item, according to Business Insider. The drinks will cost slightly less at the Orange County pilot stores. The most expensive drink — the cold brew malted shake — will cost $6.40. On Dec. 1, longtime CEO Howard Schultz announced that he would step down to focus on developing the upscale Starbucks Roastery stores. Patch

Starbucks to Open First Italian Store in 2017 By Silvia Donati

Starbucks will open its first store in Italy in early 2017. The announcement was made by none other than Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who was recently in Milan for Fashion Week, where he met with a group of Italian business leaders and journalists to talk about his plans for the first Italian Starbucks. Scheduled to open at the beginning of 2017 in the center of Milan, the store is expected to be the first of several set to open in other Italian cities throughout 2017. According to an article published in the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Schultz said he is personally involved in the opening of the first Starbucks in Italy. “Our mission is to surpass Milan residents’ expectations,” he was quoted saying. “ I am personally involved in every detail, for me the first Italian Starbucks isn’t just about business, it’s a personal question.” After all, Schultz came up with the idea of launching a coffee shop chain after a business trip to Milan in 1983, during which he noticed the large number of coffee shops (bar in Italian) in the city and the ritual of coffee drinking in Italian society. That inspired him to try to recreate the same experience and coffee culture in the U.S. The idea was clearly a winning one, as Starbucks has not only become ubiquitous in the U.S., but has also expanded to the rest of the world (there are roughly 24,000 Starbucks stores in the world). The rest of the world, except Italy – so far. “I didn’t feel ready for Italy,” Schultz said. “I felt for a long time we hadn’t earned the right to open here. But after all these years, I can say we have learned the craft and honored Italian culture around the world. It’s a dream I’ve had since 1983. Now the time has come, and it will all begin in Milan, the capital of food, fashion and style.” Starbucks certainly isn’t entering the Italian market with the expectation to teach Italians how to roast coffee or how to prepare an espresso, Schultz pointed out: “We’re coming here with great humility to present our interpretation of the coffee experience, whose main component is to create a sense of community, a third place between home and the workplace.” Just as in its other stores around the world, the Italian Starbucks will recreate comfortable spaces, with music and wi-fi. At the same time, Schultz said, Starbucks will honor and adapt to Italian culture by having the classic bar counter, for Italians who still prefer to drink their coffee standing, and by creating a special blend to suit the taste of the Milanesi. “It’ll be a classic, dynamic and elegant Starbucks store,” Schultz said, “but in terms of experience, atmosphere and design, it’ll be immediately obvious how much we respect the Italian people and their coffee culture.” Italy Magazine Photo Oprah Winfrey Network (Interview)