mbf tod@y

drink diesel

Starbuck Blues: notes on 'optimal scheduling'

"This new "philosophy" is called "Optimal Scheduling," and it requires that "partners" (Starbucks-speak for employees) must dramatically increase their own flexibility. If they'd like to work full time, they must be available to work 70 percent of open store hours. (For a Starbucks open 16 hours a day, as is typical, this means 80.5 hours per week.) Many Starbucks employees say they want to work more hours; the new system could make it possible for those people to work more by downsizing those who can't or don't want to. Starbucks spokeswoman Tara Darrow says optimal scheduling is "a win-win for our customers and partners" that will lead to "more stable scheduling and more satisfied partners." (Liza Featherstone, The Big Money)

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Starbucks opens its first store in Portugal

Starbucks Coffee International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX), and Grupo VIPS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sigla S.A., a leading food service and retail operator in Spain, through the joint-venture company, Starbucks Coffee Portugal, Lda, will celebrate the opening of its first coffeehouse in Portugal on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at Alegro Mall in Alfragide. (Reuters)

Getting closer and closer,,,

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Four Barrel Coffee opens in SF

"Now, in case you’ve missed the rumors or the hype, Four Barrel Coffee is the latest undertaking of Jeremy Tooker, co-founder and once co-owner of Ritual Roasters, which is just down the street between 20th and 21st. Four Barrel will supposedly be opening in just 3-4 weeks, although when I peered in through the front doors that were slightly ajar, it still looked like there was a lot of detail left to be completed. [...] Despite my already highly caffeinated state, I ordered a cup of the very limited Columbian micro-lot that Four Barrel was pressing, just to taste. It was bright with lemon and lime and subtle herbal notes that reminded me of matte. While it wasn’t my favorite, it was a very good, complex cup of coffee." (Man Seeking Coffee)

An insanely detailed early review of Four Barrel Coffee, a new cafe' that just opened in the Mission (SF). Now, this is why the internet was invented. It also shows the difference between caffeine criticism vs. caffeinated criticism.

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Coffee: Myths and Facts

“Contrary to common belief,” concluded cardiologists at the University of California, San Francisco, there is “little evidence that coffee and/or caffeine in typical dosages increases the risk” of heart attack, sudden death or abnormal heart rhythms. [...] Probably the most important effects of caffeine are its ability to enhance mood and mental and physical performance. At consumption levels up to 200 milligrams (the amount in about 16 ounces of ordinary brewed coffee), consumers report an improved sense of well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability, Roland Griffiths of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine reported, although higher amounts sometimes cause anxiety and stomach upset." (Jane E. Brody, The New York Times)

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