Coffee Master Activities
Overview
The Coffee Master Activities are comprised of the five Coffee Master Chapters.
Given the activities listed for each chapter, scheduled time, and materials
necessary, the Coffee Master Candidate will choose three activities from each
chapter with a required activity being Certification with the Coffee Master Coach
before moving on to the next chapter.
1.History of Coffee
2. Coffee Agriculture and Farming
3. Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability
4. Our Coffee Expertise
5. Barista Craft – Owning Quality
1
Coffee Master Activities
1. History of Coffee
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Title
Description
Time
History
Prepare a tasting with your fellow team
members and/or customers and share some
interesting stories you’ve learned about coffee’s
history; option to go deeper on a particular
country or region's history and its place in the
industry.
Taste Ethiopia and share the story of how
coffee began its journey around the globe.
15 min
Starbucks
History
Look at the menu of the original store in Pike
Place Market. Do a tasting of one of the coffees
that we still offer from the original menu. Share
the story of the first store in the market.
10 min
Starbucks
History
Read the article on 1912pike.com about our first
store. Prepare a coffee tasting of Pike Place
Roast and share with a customer or team
member the coffee and the story.
https://1912pike.com/store-tour-inside-1912pike-place-seattle-usa/
10 min
Starbucks
Reserve
Roastery and
Tasting
Room
Do you work in a Reserve store or have one
nearby? Taste a Reserve coffee with a customer
or team member and share the story of the
Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle,
WA. To learn about the roastery, explore the
Roastery website.
http://roastery.starbucks.com/discover/
15 min
Certification
Lead your manager/coach in a guided coffee
tasting of your choosing. Share what you've
learned from your experience in this chapter, why
it's important to you, and how you'll apply it going
forward.
15 min
History of
coffee
Passport Recap Using your Coffee Passport, share a tasting
5 min
10 min
with your fellow team members and/or
customers of some of your favorite coffees
from the passport. What do you love about
them? Why are they your favorites? How
would you describe them to customers?
Rediscover a
Favorite
Starbucks
History
Rediscover one of your favorite coffees: How
long has it been a coffee at Starbucks? Where
is the coffee from? How do you describe the
taste to customers? What do you recommend
for a pairing?
Do a coffee tasting with House Blend and talk
about why it’s important to Starbucks and
also talk about key dates in Starbucks history.
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
10 min
10 min
2
Coffee Master Activities
2. Coffee Agriculture and Farming
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Customer
Seminar
Teach about a coffee growing country or region
and taste coffee from that region. Speak about
terroir and how that can have an effect on the
taste. Share your Coffee Passport with the
customers.
30 min
Compare and contrast Starbucks two coffees
from the same region: how and why are they
different or similar? (think about climate and
processing)
Examples: Sumatra & Komodo Dragon, House
Blend & Breakfast Blend, Kenya & Ethiopia
.
15 min
Explore what single origin means, and how it
differs from a blend, compare/contrast a single
origin coffee vs. a regional blend.
Examples: Sumatra, Guatemala & Veranda
15 min
Compare and contrast 3-5 apple or grape
varieties as a means to understand coffee. If you
are in an Evenings store, ask your manager
about the possibility of using wine. Identify flavor,
aroma and mouth-feel, record your notes and
share with other baristas.
15 min
One Origin
- in depth
What is singleorigin
What is a
varietal?
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
Title
Description
The Regions, Lead a team tasting of the three origins,
part 1
brewed in a coffee press.
Time
15 min
Examples: Kenya, Sumatra, Guatemala;
Ethiopia, House Blend
The Regions,
part 2
Conduct another "around the world" tasting, with
different coffees than in The Regions, part 1.
Use a brew method of your choice.
30 min
Promo
Support 1
Take responsibility for a new promotional coffee
before it launches: its story and tasting notes,
and share talking points with team members.
Brew and taste it with your team. Connect to
origin and the Starbucks difference
30 min
Reserve
support 1
Take responsibility for new Reserve coffees:
connect with a favorite core coffee, learn its story
and tasting notes, how to brew it, and share its
talking points with team members.
15 min
Coffee
Processing
Tasting
Compare washed, semi-washed, and natural (if
available) coffees to each other. What's your
favorite, and why? How would you share this with
a customer?
15 min
3
Coffee Master Activities
2. Coffee Agriculture and Farming…………..continuation
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Coffee Lifecycle
Do you know the lifecycle of a tree? How hard
it works to produce coffee?
Research the work of farmers & agronomists,
and watch a video from our blog on
www.1912pike.com. Now, taste a coffee that
you appreciate in a new way and share it with
a customer
What is processing? Why is it important to
flavor? Pick a coffee and discuss how
processing has impacted its flavor and lead a
tasting. Connect the coffee tasting with your
own journey and appreciation of quality..
15 min
Reach out to a Starbucks partner who has
been on the Origin Experience, and interview
them about their experience and how it
changed them.
What did they learn about coffee growing
regions and farming?
How has it changed their experience when
talking about coffee to team members or
customers?
Don’t know how to contact alumni? Email
originexperience@starbucks.com and ask for
contact information for a local partner.
30 min
Coffee
Processing
Flavor
Interview an
Origin
Experience
alumni
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
Title
Description
Time
Promo
Support 2
Take responsibility for a new promotional coffee:
where is it from, and how do we describe its
processing method? Learn about its origin details,
and how you would share its story with your team
and customers. Lead a tasting to share this
information. What do you find interesting about
this coffee? What would you highlight about this
coffee's story and origin?
15 min
Reserve
support 2
Explore current Reserve coffees: identify the
processing methods for available reserve coffees.
Complete a coffee tasting for others that highlights
how processing is a reflection of the coffee's origin
and approach to quality: how would you prepare the
coffee and share it with a curious customer?
In a visual way, draw or chart the journey of coffee
on the farm. Think about all the hands that touch
the coffee on its journey and incorporate this
information into a coffee tasting with customers and
fellow team members.
Lead your manager/coach in a guided coffee tasting
of your choosing. Share what you've learned from
your experience in this chapter, why it's important to
you, and how you'll apply it going forward.
10 min
15 min
Coffee's
Journey on a
Farm
Certification
15 min
15 min
4
Coffee Master Activities
3. Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
C.A.F.E.
Practices
indicators
Go to our C.A.F.E. Practices third-party verifier’s
website - Scientific Certification Systems and pull
up a scorecard
(https://www.scsglobalservices.com/starbucks-cafepractices). Read through a scorecard and select 2
indicators that you thought were interesting. Why
do you think we measure those indicators? Share
that information with your team
Pick a growing region or country of origin, and
research the coffee-growing issues that face
farmers from that country. examples include:
- coffee rust
- scale/infrastructure
- access to capital
- climate change
- political instability
Share this information in a tasting/seminar with
your team
Lead a coffee tasting with a coffee that you believe
symbolizes your journey: how do you connect your
experience with Starbucks to the other people
working in the world of coffee? What is your
journey so far, and where do you want to go? How
are you leading others?
30 min
Research
Issues
Your coffee
story
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
Title
Description
Time
Sustainable
Coffee
Learn about the Sustainable Coffee Challenge
and what Starbucks is doing for ensuring a
sustainable supply of coffee. Share this
information with your team.
https://1912pike.com/a-sustainable-coffeechallenge/
http://blog.conservation.org/2015/09/wake-upyou-need-sustainable-coffee/
http://blog.conservation.org/2015/04/can-coffeebecome-the-worlds-first-100-sustainably-sourcedcommodity/
15 min
Customer
seminar
Share with a customer about C.A.F.E Practices:
share the 4 parts of C.A.F.E Practices, and why
each one is important to us. Taste a coffee that you
think relates to the story of our ethical sourcing
message.
30 min
tasting:
15-20
min
seminar
30 min
10 min
C.A.F.E Practices is our approach to ethical
Compare
'ethical' labels sourcing: How does it compare to other coffee
sourcing certifications you can find? goal:
understand and articulate how we're
similar/different from Direct Trade, Fairtrade,
Organic, etc. .
tasting:
15-20
min
seminar:
30 min
5
Coffee Master Activities
3. Ethical Sourcing and Sustainability ………….continuation
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Fairtrade
Facilitate a tasting of Fairtrade Italian Roast and
answer the question: Why doesn’t Starbucks have
more Fairtrade coffee?
15 min
Farmer
Support
Centers
Our FSCs are committed to helping our farmers
and sourcing partners improve quality and
productivity: how are you doing the same with
your fellow partners? Put together a plan to raise
the bar on quality & productivity in your role, and
share that plan in a coffee tasting. Share your
plan with your SM.
10 min
Reach out to a Starbucks partner who has been
on Origin Experience, and interview them about
their experience.
What did they learn about C.A.F.E. Practices?
How did they see evidence of our farmer support
in the growing regions?
Don’t know how to contact alumni? Email
originexperience@starbucks.com and ask for
contact information .
30 min
Interview an
Origin
Experience
alumni
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
Title
Description
Time
Promo
Support:
Every promotion provides the opportunity to talk about how
we’re building a future with farmers:
- through a featured coffee
- through a featured beverage that highlights espresso
- or through our commitments to lead as a company (like
the One Tree For Every Bag Commitment)
Have you considered the components or story of the
promo coffee and/or beverage? Can you speak to the
impact that Promo has on your at-home coffee business
(eg., what number of trees will be derived from coffees sold
in your store
15 min
Reserve
support:
Every reserve coffee comes with a story that features the
farmer, their family or community. Did you know that we
sponsor a social project for in the community for every
reserve coffee that we offer? Prepare a coffee tasting of a
reserve coffee and feature a story that resonates with you.
https://1912pike.com/starbucks-reserve-social-projects/
15 min
CAFE
Practices
Scorecard
Use the C.A.F.E. Practices Generic Scorecard to explore
several indicators from the Social Responsibility and
Environmental Leadership pillars. Have a discussion with
your CM lead about what you learned, and how it affected
your understanding of coffee. In your discussion, include
what you have learned and how it impacts coffee growing
communities. Share what you learn during a coffee tasting
with customers/team
https://www.scsglobalservices.com/files/program_document
15 min
s/cafe_scr_genericv3.4_011516.pdf.
6
Coffee Master Activities
4. Our Coffee Expertise
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Title
Description
Time
Spectrum
tasting:
Pick a coffee from each roast (Blonde, Medium,
and Dark): taste them side-by-side, focusing on
the differences in roast. Note the impact roast
has on coffee flavor, body, and acidity. What do
you prefer? Describe the differences in a way
you would to a new customer of Starbucks
Highlight the points along the coffee's journey
where quality is ensured to help your team
understand the importance of quality from farm
to store.
Get familiar the tastes and flavors that
contribute to our multi-region blends. Taste
similar coffee components individually. For
example, Café Verona is similar to a mix of
80% Yukon & 20% Italian Roast. What flavors
come from different regions, and how do they
contribute to blends? How does this help you
appreciate the art of blending?
15 min
Describing
Roast
Think of a creative way to describe roast (eg., a
graph, poem, metaphor, vivid description,
infographic, etc.). Using the aid you created, make
a presentation to your coach/team/customers.
20 min
Decaf
Tasting
Prepare a decaf tasting with your fellow team
members and/or customers, featuring at least two
coffees. Share an overview of Decaffeination; how
is it done, and why are there differences in
approach? Only one of the coffees need be Decaf.
15 min
Format
Tasting
We offer coffees in multiple formats: VIA, K-Cup,
Verismo, Ground & Whole Bean. Pick a coffee and
taste it in 2 different formats, comparing its
similarities and differences in taste. How does the
format affect the coffee's flavor profile? How would
share this with customers? How would you
recommend or connect this format to customers?
15 min
Pick a coffee: can you tell its story up until this
point (including growing, sourcing, blending,
roasting)? Lead your team or customers in a
tasting that tells this story.
20 min
Freshness
Tasting
Explore the freshness of a coffee: find a stale coffee
(past-date or opened for more than 1 week), and
compare it to the same coffee when fresh. Can you
share the importance of freshness with a customer?
15 min
Flow of
Quality
Beneath a
Multi-Region
Blend
Coffee
journey
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
10 min
15 min
7
Coffee Master Activities
4. Our Coffee Expertise ……………..continuation
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Starbucks Roast
Prepare a tasting with your fellow team members and/or
customers. The tasting should focus on the Starbucks
Roast as a philosophy and why we offer Blonde, Medium
and Dark
15 min
Promo
support
Is there a limited time offering or promo coffee available
in the store? What is the story behind this coffee? How
and when was it developed? Have we offered it before?
Share what you learn while tasting the coffee with your
team.
20 min
Reserve support
Why do we offer Reserve Coffees? What makes them
so special? Choose 1-2 of your favorites, brew on the
Clover, and share the story of our Reserve line-up with
customers.
15 min
Certification
Lead your manager/coach in a guided coffee tasting of
your choosing. Share what you've learned from your
experience in this chapter, why it's important to you, and
how you'll apply it going forward.
15 min
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
8
Coffee Master Activities
5. Owning Quality – Barista Craft
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to the next chapter.
Title
Description
Time
Beverage Skills
Develop your beverage skills, and teach others
to sharpen their skills on the espresso
machine. What makes a perfect shot of
espresso? Can you tell the difference in taste?
How do you improve milk quality &
consistency? Can you teach latte art? Make a
flat white and coach another team member as
they work on improving their milk quality.
20 min
Cleaning &
Maintenance
Assess your skills at cleaning and maintaining
equipment. If you are not familiar with all
equipment, then learn more about it!
Perform maintenance or train a newer team
member how to maintain a particular piece of
equipment using the Store Cleanliness and
Equipment Maintenance Manual as resource.
•Bun Brewer
•Clover
•Espresso Machine
•Coffee Presses/Pour Over equipment
15 min
Can you compare a coffee 2 ways: with
clean/maintained equipment vs. dirty/outdated
equipment?
Show/describe how the coffee's flavor quality
is affected
15 min
Equipment
Tasting: methods
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
Title
Description
Time
Equipment
Maintenance
Brewer
Using your Store Cleanliness and Equipment
Maintenance Manual, perform the following for
your drip coffee brewer.
- cleaning spray heads
- cleaning baskets
- changing spigot seat cups
- cleaning out spigot
Check the temp on the water you pull from the
Hot water spigot / insta-hot to brew a pour over
or press: is it within recommended range?
What affects will this have upon the brew? How
can you fix or problem solve this?
30 min
Equipment
Maintenance
Espresso
Using your Store Cleanliness and Equipment
Maintenance Manual, perform the following for
your espresso machine.
- cleaning bean hopper
- cleaning group head
- cleaning steam wand
30 min
Equipment four
fundamentals
Select a coffee and prepare it on at least 2 different
brew methods: how did you apply and control for the 4
fundamentals in preparing the coffee?
15 min
9
Coffee Master Activities
5 Owning Quality – Barista Craft……………..continuation
The Coffee Master Candidate will choose two-four elective activities and complete certification with their Coffee
Master Coach/Manager before moving on to Coffee Leadership & Certification.
Title
Description
Time
Triangulation
Triangulation challenge: tasting coffee is a fun activity but, how we can identify
differences?
20 min
Prepare 3 cups of unmarked coffee: 2 are the same coffee, one is different. see
if you and your team members can identify differences in the coffee.
Fun examples of this:
- 2 coffees from the same region
- 2 coffees from within a same section of the roast spectrum
- 2 coffees that are the same, but different formats (WB/Via/K-Cup/Verismo)
Consider the care and focus that goes into managing quality.
Promo
support
Learn how to prepare and describe the promo beverage(s). How will you ensure
all team members know how to make it consistently and describe it? What role
does coffee quality play in the beverage?
Reserve support All Reserve coffees are also featured on Clover (or additional equipment): can
Certification
Starbucks Confidential – INTERNAL USE ONLY
you highlight the impact of Reserve or Clover on your business? How many
units of Clover brewed Reserve coffees does your store sell? How do you love
to share Reserve with your customers? Pick a current favorite and taste with
your team or with customers.
Lead your manager/coach in a guided coffee tasting of your choosing. Share
what you've learned from your experience in this chapter, why it's important to
you, and how you'll apply it going forward.
10 min
15 min
15 min
10