Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/26872
Seatlle’s Best flies with Delta Passengers can order new Level 4 blend on all flights Best Coffee, up from 3,000 in 2009. For more information, please go to www.seattlesbest.com. Customers on all domestic and international Delta and Delta Connection flights can now savor the flavor and aroma of fresh-brewed Seattle’s Best Coffee, thanks to an agreement between the two companies announced in February. For Seattle’s Best, the agreement reflects the next step in its ongoing strategy to broaden the accessibility of its premium coffee through relationships with great brands—from restaurants to the runway. And it is part of Delta’s $2 billion investment in customer experience on the ground and in the air. “A premium customer experience requires premium coffee and Delta is proud to serve Seattle’s Best,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s senior vice president, marketing. “During in-flight taste testing, we saw first- hand the passion Delta customers have for coffee and for the role it plays in a superior travel experience.” In December 2010, Delta customers participated in an in-flight coffee taste test. Their preference: Seattle’s Best Coffee’s new Level 4 blend, one of five offerings in the company’s recently launched, simplified approach to packaged coffee. Called The Level System, it ranks coffee from 1 to 5 based on roast intensity. “As two organizations who care about creating a distinctive, premium customer experience, Delta and Seattle’s Best Coffee make a perfect pair,” said Michelle Gass, president, Seattle’s Best Coffee. “Existing Seattle’s Best Coffee fans will be delighted to find their favorite coffee on their next Delta flight, and for those not yet familiar, it is an opportunity for us to introduce our great coffee to Delta’s more than 160 million global travelers each year.” Recently, Seattle’s Best Coffee has signed agreements with other brands including Burger King, Subway and AMC Theatres. With the addition of Delta Air Lines, there are now more than 40,000 places where customers can enjoy a freshly brewed cup of Seattle’s 6 | March 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com Mountain Tunder Kona Coffee wins Good Food Award Company honored at San Francisco event Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation’s 100% Kona Cloud Forest Coffee was honored during the inaugural Good Food Awards Ceremony hosted by Alice Waters on Jan. 14 in San Francisco The awards, created through a collaboration of food producers, farmers, food journalists and independent grocers, recognize products that have outstanding flavor and are produced and served in environmentally and socially responsible ways. Public Domain—the Portland, Ore. roaster and barista bar that Coffee Bean International’s Paul Thornton created— entered Mountain Thunder’s coffee in the competition. He joined Mountain Thunder’s Trent and Lisa Bateman in accepting the award. “Paul personally worked with Trent to identify this rare coffee variety and pays two and a half times market price for the beans,” information from the Good Food Awards website (www.goodfoodawards. org) says. “Grown on the top of lava caves, which allow for drainage, this coffee reflects the elevation and rare growing conditions of the farm.” Coffee category winners were selected for having a sweet, clean flavor; well- developed body; balanced acidity; and phenomenal aromatics. To qualify, roasters must emphasize fairness and transparency Mark Your Calendar March from seed to cup, and certify that their coffee beans are grown without the use of pesticides or herbicides. Mountain Thunder is the highest grown coffee in the state of Hawaii. Located in the rainforest above Kona, it is the largest organic coffee farm in the state. For more information visit www.mountainthunder. com. Starbucks announces mobile payment option Customers can pay with smartphones Starbucks announced in January the launch of mobile payment in all U.S. company-operated stores, allowing customers to pay for in-store purchases with select smartphones. Building on the earlier introduction of Starbucks Card Mobile App for select BlackBerry® smartphones, iPhone® and iPod® touch and a successful mobile payment test program, customers now have access to the largest mobile payment program in the U.S. and the fastest way to pay at Starbucks. This national program now includes nearly 6,800 company-operated stores and more than 1,000 Starbucks in U.S. Target locations. “Today, one in five Starbucks transactions is made using a Starbucks Card and mobile payment will extend the way our customers 16-19 National Coffee Association Conference, New Orleans, http://www.ncausa.org/ 21-23 Coffee and Tea World Cup, Asia 2011, Suntec City Exhibition Center, Singapore, http://www.tcworldcup.com/ 1-3 South Central Regional Barista Competition, St. Louis, MO www.usbaristachampionship.org/?p=southcentral 8-10 North East Regional Barista Competition, New York, NY www.usbaristachampionship.org/?p=northeast 27-28 SCAA: Symposium 2011—The Executive Series, Hilton Americas, Houston, www.scaasymposium.org/ 28-1 SCAA Exposition: The Specialty Coffee Event of the Year, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston www.scaaevent.org/ April