Starbucks' stirs up brewing coffee culture

Starbucks' stirs up brewing coffee culture

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It's an occurrence that is nothing less than heaven-sent for
those of us whose kitchen counters groan under an assortment of
our favorite brews (a Japanese brand of Toraja, vanilla hazelnut,
some Balinese and that soulful indulgence of Illy espresso
currently make up the collection of yours truly).

But, for others with a high dose of cynicism toward the
grasping tentacles of American corporate expansion, the opening
of a Starbucks here is along the same lines as the Golden Arches
foisting yet another burger joint on an unsuspecting public.

Whatever your take, it's yet more proof of the brewing coffee
culture here, even though most people still consider the drink as
something to be taken in the morning, with a smoke and while
browsing the newspaper, or at those sidewalk stalls offering a
glass of piping-hot coffee with its grounds.

For Jakarta, at least, cafe and coffee culture have arrived.
From the Ooh La Las and Our Daily Breads (both very good at what
they do), savoring one's favorite cup of the dark stuff went up a
level with Coffee Club and the newly opened Coffee Bean & Tea
Leaf at Plaza Senayan.

Now there is the May arrival of Starbucks, the firm founded in
1971 that brought upscale coffee to the masses in the U.S. and
employs 55,000 people at stores all around the globe, in a mall
already populated with Ooh La La, La Moda, the Dome and
Excelsior.

The Indonesian affiliate of this giant company, now firmly
part of popular culture as the favorite pick-me-up of Gwyneth,
Jennifer, Brad, Nicole, Bill during his White House days and
other international celebrities, snapped by paparazzo bearing its
distinctive brand-bearing coffee cups, has taken up residence in
a prime ground floor corner spot of Plaza Indonesia.

It is conveniently located adjacent to one of the main
entrances and, interestingly, is right across from the venerable
Segafredo, which also does a great cup of java.

The new store, like its forerunners around the world, has been
designed with the vaunted "Starbucks Experience" in mind: soft
jazz plays in the background, patrons can curl up in a comfy
chair in a tweedy section to the right of the open-fronted coffee
section or see and be seen at tables outside.

Even the selection of cakes and sandwiches has an accompanying
label indicating which beverage they go best with.

The store's philosophy is most definitely not about getting
bums on seats, and then marching them out of the place as soon as
they have taken their last slurp, said general manager Anthony
Cottan from PT Sari Coffee Indonesia, the local licensee for
Starbucks Coffee International, Inc.

Instead, Cottan said, the goal is for the stores to become
part of the daily routine, a place to stop at and unwind while
partaking of a cup of the good stuff.

"We want Starbucks to be the third place in people's lives,
after the home and office," Cottan said. "The music compliments
the atmosphere, and is an attraction to bring people in. We
really don't have enough chairs on the weekend, but we design
them so that people want to stay.

"We want people to come, stay and then come back again."

Atmosphere has a lot to do with whether people want to come
and stay a while, but it's the coffee that will get them in the
door.

Cottan said Starbucks wanted to foster a deeper appreciation
of coffee -- "we take our coffee seriously, and we don't want
people to lose sight of that" -- and it starts with its staff.

Before they can qualify to wear their green aprons and become
part of the store's army of barista (coffee experts), each must
pass a period of training to get the savvy of what they are
serving.

"Part of our daily ritual is to drink coffee, and we have a
morning meeting every day," said Cottan, whose office includes
its own store where employees undergo some of their training.

"We learn about the different subtleties of coffee, what is
the difference between, say, a Kenyan and a Guatemalan Antigua,
and give them the confidence to explain it to customers.

"We find that people may know the coffee of their own area in
Indonesia, but not those from other parts of the country."

In some ways, Starbucks is playing catch-up, a relative
Johnny-come-lately to the burgeoning Jakarta coffee scene. Cottan
said there were repeated requests from committed Starbucks'
drinkers to come to Jakarta, but the firm waited for the right
time and a suitable partner before making its entry.

As for the fear that the heavyweight of international coffee
will move in and muscle out the minor players on the scene,
Cottan was quick to state, understandably, that there is room
enough for all.

It's all part of the company's belief that it is helping the
public go from a morning caffeine fix of Nescafe to developing a
deeper understanding of the coffee-tasting experience.

"Other players are very important, too," Cottan said. "But, if
it's specialty coffee you want, then try us."

And, if you don't like coffee, they have tea, too. Naturally.

Starbucks, Ground floor, Plaza Indonesia. Opening hours:
10 a.m.-10 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-midnight weekends.