The I-need-coffee-right-now face I have all the time is all the barista at Starbucks needs for him to quirk a knowing brow and start on my usual iced Americano (black coffee for the win!). Without my daily morning coffee, nothing seems to go right throughout the day.
I might just cry if coffee disappears one day.
Coffee is my dietary staple. I cannot deny that I am a coffee addict. I’d only recently discovered my new obsession at Starbucks – skinny green tea latte with no syrup and a shot of espresso. That concoction does wonders to the flavours – the bitterness of the espresso and green tea is offset by the milk and the green tea leaves a wondering taste after the espresso.
Since my recent obsession with going to the gym, I realised my whole morning routine revolves around going to Starbucks after my workout. Yes, as you can see, Starbucks is a big part of my life.
Photo courtesy of Starbucks.
Starbucks has been commercialised worldwide, having first opened at Pike Place in Seattle, USA in 1971, but not all that goes behind the scene is known amongst the public. In Singapore, anyone could learn more about Starbucks by attending one of the Starbucks Coffee Seminar at Fullerton Waterboat House that is conducted once every few weeks. It is a two-hour session, but at the end of it, I found myself being able to correctly identify the different coffee flavours and even order an appropriate snack that would complement my coffee better.
Being on Starbuck’s mailing list, I am notified of the classes that I can attend at Starbucks Waterboat House in Singapore.
Starbucks at the Fullerton Waterboat House is one of the very few reserve stores that house exotic coffee blends in limited quantities. These blends (such as Kenya Katarina, Bali Vintage Klasik, and Peru Bagua Grande) have exquisite taste profiles and are produced in exotic locations. Other reserve stores in Singapore are located in Resorts World Sentosa, Vivocity, Capitol Tower and Rochester Park.
The coffee masters at Starbucks can show you different ways of customising your coffee brew.
Starbucks Singapore is also the first in Asia-Pacific to be part of a new global initiative. The chain will give back a coffee tree for every bag of coffee beans purchased. This initiative was started for sustainable coffee growth as well as to protect coffee farmers’ livelihoods since, coffee growth is often stunted by Coffee Rust, or La Roya, a fungus that kills 70% of coffee plantations. Coffee farmers will also have to face income losses when coffee farms have grown beyond their peak fruitfulness and replacement trees will have to take another several years to reach that peak potential.
Photo courtesy of Starbucks.
Distribution of trees will be a collaboration effort between Starbucks and Ecom Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd (ECOM), a global commodity trading and processing company specialising in coffee. Associated Farmer Support Centres will then provide financial and agronomy support to help the farmers make strategic investments. As a coffee-addict who just cannot function right without my daily cup of java, this is the perfect excuse for me to pick up a bag of beans and contribute to this initiative. Likewise, anyone who supports Starbucks (or just coffee, in general), this is your chance to help plant a tree and save a diligent famer’s livelihood somewhere in Central America.
Visit the Starbucks website for information on store locations.
