Yes, that’s my hand, holding a 1 lb bag of Starbucks coffee. No, I didn’t buy it. Starbucks gave it to me.
Backing up…
In case the Westwood Starbucks incident was an anomaly, I decided to give the one on Robertson and Pico a try. The encounter went thusly:
Me: Hi :) I was wondering — Can I get fair trade coffee here?
Barista1: Sure :) ! (to Barista2) Do we have any left?
Barista2: I think it’s finished.
Barista1: (to me) I could brew you a pot :) It would just be like five minutes –
Me: That would be great!
Slightly shocked by their fair-trade-friendliness (The :)’s indicate actual smiles), I plopped down on one of the couches and leafed through an LA Weekly, during which time Barista1 came by to ask if I made coffee at home (yes) and what kind of coffeemaker I owned (the kind with the cone filter. #4.).
Five minutes later, my fair trade coffee was ready, but Barista1 was helping another customer, so I talked to Barista2. At this point things got a little confusing, mainly because B2 kept referring to “free trade” coffee. I corrected him once (”You mean fair trade?” “Oh, yeah, yeah.”), but then he reverted back, and said that all the espresso beans used for the special drinks were “free trade.”
Me: Really? Do they have the label?
B2: Um… They come in these huge bags…
At this point, B1 rang up my $1.50 tall fair trade coffee, then presented me with a free pound of Starbucks fair trade coffee, which he had ground “specifically for your coffeemaker.”
B1 is evidently a fair trade advocate. While I stood there, stunned, he gave me a mini-speech about the Make Trade Fair campaign, said the issue was “near and dear” to his heart, and told me that Starbucks had repackaged their FT coffee — It’s now called the “Cafe Estima Blend.”
B1: I get a free pound a week, and I want you to try it. If you like it, I hope you come back and ask for it next time.
I now have a non-sexual crush on this guy.
This particular Starbucks has been brewing fair trade every day lately, because they’re trying to use up all the FT coffee in the old packaging. But even when that’s used up, they’d brew FT for me on request, said B1. “And we’ll feature it as the coffee of the week about once a month.”
Me: Really? Coffee of the week? I thought it was Coffee of the day…
B1: No — It’s for a whole week.
For a homogenized chain, Starbucks’ policies are really, really confusing. I think I’m gonna have to say this Starbucks is an anomaly too — I’m very impressed by B1’s personal effort to promote fair trade coffee (I know it’s kinda rude to refer to him as B1 — I was gonna ask what his name is, but a long, angry line was developing behind me), but I’m not sure what kind of reception I would’ve gotten if I’d come during B1’s off hours.
Regardless, Starbucks deserves more investigation. (**Update 9/6/05: Latest investigation news here) Incidentally, my third communique with Starbucks received a non-form letter. Ben Johnson, customer relations rep of Starbucks, wrote me saying that he “completely understands” my concerns, and that he’ll hook me up with a district manager who’ll be able to answer my questions. (**Update, 9/24/05: Christina, district manager for the Starbucks near USC, emailed me. Details here.)
Cool. Cuz I have a lot of them. And if you readers have others, please comment or backchannel me. I’m emailing Ben back today to hopefully set up a phone discussion, if not a face-to-face meeting, with a district manager…
Filed in: fairtrade coffee starbucks losangeles
Whoa… “B1″ sounds like a pretty cool dude indeed. Surprising case, but I’d follow the policy anyday. We’ll see if they really understand your concerns too… I’d verify from a third-party any corp. prop. handed to you, if possible.
So, I’m a “green economist,” huh? Mmm…
Incidentally, if Alex Singleton walked into that Starbucks, he’d ask for “protectionist” coffee. Both clerks would either laugh at each other or just stare at him - huh?
Comment by Fletch — September 4, 2005 @ 11:34 pm
Wow, that’s great news. Maybe I’ll have better luck if I ask for the Cafe Estima Blend (or whatever…. I’ll check before I go in!) at our one and only Starbucks.
Still on the fair trade beer hunt….
Andrea
Comment by Andrea — September 5, 2005 @ 10:17 am
Fletch — I thought of dubbing you green-ish as opposed to straight-out green, since you’re a self-described moderate, but I haven’t seen much evidence of your “moderate-ness” on your blog. Perhaps I should go through the archives? In any case, explain. :)
Andrea — good luck with the fair trade beer hunt :) Finding organic’s a little easier — and they’re subversive too — Try to make it a local brew :)
Comment by Siel — September 5, 2005 @ 7:59 pm
I posted something long here yesterday and it got erased. Bummer. Anyway, my definition of moderate is rather broad. Basically, unless you’re some wide-eyed socialist or a libertarian freakazoid, you’re “moderate.” I don’t like the term “liberal” because many libertarians call themselves classical “liberals.”
Comment by Fletch — September 6, 2005 @ 6:07 pm
Ha ha — I like the libertarian freakazoid description. There was a really, really funny article in JANE a few months ago written by a girl who tried dating a libertarian. Needless to say, the fling ended. But you think socialists are naive?
Comment by Siel — September 6, 2005 @ 9:32 pm