Nav: Home > Coffee News >

Starbucks founder talks about drink Truth: stores in the United States are closed only for espresso

Published: 2026-08-23 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/23, On a Tuesday afternoon in February 2008, Starbucks stores in the United States were closed. The 7,100 closed stores posted the same notice: we are committed to making our espresso perfect. And all this comes from proficiency, which is why we devote ourselves to carving our own skills. Just a few weeks ago, I was sitting in my office in Seattle holding meetings.

On a Tuesday afternoon in February 2008, Starbucks stores in the United States were closed. The 7,100 closed stores posted the same notice: we are committed to making our espresso perfect. And all this comes from proficiency, which is why we devote ourselves to carving our own skills.

Just a few weeks ago, I was sitting in my Seattle office holding meetings to discuss how to quickly solve the emerging problems within the company. One team pointed out a possible solution: take immediate action to retrain 135,000 baristas in a short period of time to ensure that they can make espresso accurately.

Making espresso is an art that requires baristas to pay attention to the characteristics of the drink. If the barista just moves mechanically, or if he doesn't make inferior espresso that is too light or too bitter, then Starbucks has lost the brand mission we have adhered to for 40 years: to inspire human beings. I understand that for a cup of coffee, this? Life is too noble, but this is what businessmen should do. We breathe new life into the mediocre-a pair of shoes, a knife, a cup of coffee-believing that what we create has the potential to decorate other people's lives, because it lights up our lives first.

Starbucks is involved in much more than just coffee, but without top coffee, we have no reason to exist.

"We screened all the options," said the team member sitting around me. "to retrain everyone by March, we had no choice but to close our stores at the same time."

This is a shocking statement that no retailer has ever dared to do such a thing. "it's a bold idea." I muttered to myself, weighing the pros and cons. It is inevitable that Starbucks will lose millions of dollars in sales and labor costs. And competitors will take full advantage of our closure and try their best to take away our customers. Critics will gloat, critics will smile, and capricious public opinion will humiliate us.

Our share price on Wall Street will also hit rock bottom. And worst of all, this large-scale retraining makes people feel like we admit that we are no longer perfect. But if I am honest with myself, I will say that this is true.

I pursed my lips and looked at them. "Let's get moving!"

When I think of our company and its partners, there is a word that comes to mind: "love". I love Starbucks because everything we try to do is based on human nature.

Respect and dignity.

Passion and laughter.

Compassion, sharing and responsibility.

Honest and credible.

This is Starbucks' touchstone and the source of our pride.

Whenever many people sit alone in front of the window, we provide them with room for contemplation; in an age when people are divided into individuals by many disputes, we are eager to build connections between people; in the days when Jerry-building became the hidden rule of the industry, despite the increase in costs, we still practice the code of ethics-all these are our honorable persistence and our pursuit of core values.

For more than 30 years, coffee has occupied all my imagination, because it is a magic drink that can be enjoyed and shared. A farmer in Rwanda, 80 bakers at six Starbucks factories on two continents, and thousands of baristas in 53 countries and regions come together like a symphony in which coffee is delivered to different people. and then they carefully create its charming charm. There are too many possible mispaths in the journey of coffee from soil to cup, but if every link is accurate, it can make a perfect work! After all, coffee doesn't lie. Every sip is a taste of art-craftsmanship and even human nature, which are incorporated into its world.

At the beginning of 2008, I deeply hoped that people could fall in love with Starbucks again, which is why, despite a hail of objections and warnings, I was duty-bound to close all my stores on American soil. The fear I felt was insignificant compared to the unknown I faced. It was like suddenly opening an inverted card. I have only one belief that if there is anything more important than perfecting our coffee, it is to reinvigorate our passion, which is essential for every Starbucks to serve our customers. And these actions mean that we have to take a step back, and only in this way can we take a big step forward.

(responsible Editor: Leo)

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。