A Good Morning Coffee @ Starbucks

Guest post by Laurentiu Badea

Woke up early in the morning and made my way to Starbucks. They opened up a new store at the Electroputere Parc mall in Craiova. We got one already, downtown at Mercur Shopping Center, but the mall is where all the buzz of the town... goes to drink some coffee. And good coffee, I might add. I'm not going to pretend I don't get tired once in a while, but it's nothing a strong cup of pure black energy won't fix. I consume it with a couple teaspoons of extra sweet energy to make sure I can't tell what's nightmare and what's hallucination anymore. 

But hey, you might not like it strong, you might like it latte, mocha, fresco, fredo or any other weird Italian word you pretend you know what it means. I don't know what macchiato or cappuccino means, but I still can enjoy a cup of that milky goodness. Want one? Want to know if it's really as good as your edgy friend bragged about it? Head up to Starbucks and give it a try. I did.

I was invited at this special opening event and was really impressed. With all due respect to the guys down at Mercur, to which I was also invited on opening day, this time I felt the atmosphere a lot more relaxed and fun. I got to drink a small, yet incredibly strong cup of Sumatra, mixed it with a piece of sweet cheesecake and then ordered a Starbucks Latte, to lighten up my blood pressure, and a toasty, buttery, warm croissant. It's inspiring to see the amazing and beautiful baristas and everyone at Starbucks smiling all the time. They're obviously passionate when they talk about the legacy of what this coffee store means to them and they seem happy to share their contagious love for coffee with everyone who steps inside.

If you think I sound like a kid in a toy shop, you should know I'm writing about Starbucks while drinking Starbucks coffee from a Starbucks mug. The only thing that would make this more awesome is if I was doing this from Starbucks, but nope, I'm doing this at home, which is much more interesting. Thanks to Starbucks CraiovaElectroputere for the awesome gift! This has been a marvelous experience for a humble coffee lover.

Deschidere cu pasiune la Starbucks Craiova Electroputere

Multumesc Starbucks Craiova si Evobrand, dar si fostei mele studente Catalina Serban, absolventa de Marketing, pentru invitatia la cea de-a doua inaugurare Starbucks din Craiova. Aceasta se afla la parter in Electroputere Mall, intrarea cu scarile. 

Am fost primiti cu caldura si cu o cafea Sumatra preparata cu un French Press. M-a impresionat managerul Adina prin pasiunea cu care a facut prezentarea, precum si zambetele tuturor angajatilor si reprezentatilor Starbucks din Europa. O prezentare bilingva la primele ore ale diminetii, in compania blogoltenilor si savurand o cafea aromata, a fost un mod perfect de a-mi incepe ziua innorata. 

Combinatia dintre cafea si New York Cheescake a fost extraordinara, taria celei dintai fiind completata de gustul cremos si fin al prajiturii.

Indemnati sa ne delectam si cu alte produse Starbucks, am ales un Salted Toffee Macademia Latte, iar prietenul meu Laurentiu un Starbucks Latte pentru inimioara :) Daca tot a venit in calitate de blogger fotograf, am facut cateva poze super interesante pe care le-am pus cover pe Facebook. Laurentiu a mai pregatit si un Gif cu taierea panglicii. 

Mi-a placut mult atmosfera calda cu care am fost primiti si cadoul aromat primit la plecare. Doresc mult succes echipei Starbucks si multe cafele savurate de clienti inspirati.

#starbucks #coffeelover

Pozele le puteti gasi pe pagina mea de Facebook - Deschidere Starbucks.
Photo credits: Laurentiu Badea

I drink my coffee American

Guest Post by Laurentiu Badea (Alientower)

Usually, my favorite coffee is an everything-goes coffee. If it's not instant coffee, I'll take a big warm expresso with cream and sugar. That's the real deal caffè americano. I can't do anything right without a good cup of brown brew. 

Coffee is my fuel, it gives me energy, even now as I write this article. I don't really care how unsofisticated I prepare my delicious drink at home, it does the job. When I go out, I simply ask for a coffee. I'm no fussy guy, give me whatever you can concoct from grounded roasted coffee beans (or soluble freeze-dried is all the same to me) and warm water. And yes, please, the water needs to be warm! If I can have a bit of milk and a teaspoon of sugar with that, you're my hero. 

And I bet that was everyone's way of drinking coffee for a very long while in the US too. But, back in the early 1970s, three young pals from Seattle decided to open up a coffee shop where they sold roasted coffee beans. A decade later, in 1984, a time when coffee shops were going out of business, they quickly expanded their business. What they did have was a love for coffee I can relate with and their clever wit to anticipate a changing market. Specialty coffee started to become a demand, people always want something new, and in many European countries making coffee was profound as art and intense as science. That's how Starbucks was born. 

45 years later, the first Starbucks in Craiova has opened its doors at the Mercur Shopping Center. I feel proud to have been invited at the opening event alongside some of my friends in ASBO. Since it's not the first Starbucks store in Romania, I didn't really expect much, but I'm glad I didn't drink my regular morning coffee at home. 

So we got there early at dawn and we were gracefully received by the friendly smiling faces of the baristas and waiters. We've been offered spiced cold brew coffee  infused with orange and probably a hint of cinnamon, served in tall champagne glasses, it was both classy and quirky at the same time. 

Overall, it was about having fun in a cozy environment. We had cake and two more types of coffee, a coffee tasting demonstration and a few speeches from representatives of the company and the director of Mercur Shopping Center that houses the store. It was a delightful experience, I really enjoyed having my energy fix there and since they've given me lots of coupons, I will surely be visiting again.

Thanks for the invite to Evobrand.  

Aburi de cafea cu gheata la Craiova

De cand asteptam sa vina Starbucks si in Bania noastra! Iata ca a venit!

Astazi, 20 septembrie 2016, ramane in istoria Starbucks Romania. Locatia de la Craiova are nr 22. 

Multumesc pt invitatie celor de la EVOBRAND, agentia de publicitate care se ocupa de organizarea evenimentului deschiderii. 

Bloggerii olteni au fost invitati incepand cu ora 8, pentru o degustare de cafea si luarea pulsului acestui nou local, care te imbie prin arome si povesti misterioase.

Starbucks, cu totii stim, nu este doar o cafenea, este un concept care ne aduce aminte de personajul Starbuck din Moby Dick. Iar mie imi aduce aminte de filmele americane in care mesele din localurile Starbucks isi asteapta clientii misteriosi, pt a savura o cafea sau a tasta ceva in graba pe laptopurile lor sau isi ia cafeaua preferata si fug pe strazile aglomerate, in drum spre ceva sau cineva sau spre niciunde.

Filmul The Devil Wears Prada. http://qatarcultureclub.blogspot.ro/2013/02/starbucks-and-product-placement.html

Urasc sa ma trezesc dimineata, iar astazi era marti, vreme innorata, rece de toamna, eu racita, dar m-am trezit chiar inainte sa sune ceasul/telefonul. Eram in picioare pt o cafea Starbucks. Din poze, am vazut ca aratam cam obosita, dupa ce am stat pana tarziu in noapte sa privesc The Path, cu Aaron Paul si Hugh Dancy, doi dintre actorii favoriti. 

Cafeneaua Starbucks este la parterul Mercur Craiova, are si o terasa exterioara pentru fumători, banuiesc :) Am fost întâmpinați cu o cafea rece, cu aroma de portocala, care ne-a trezit, înaintea degustării efective. 

Apoi, ne-am delectat fiecare cu o noua cafea, intr-un pahar cu numele nostru pe el. Ca de obicei, cand comand ceva, aleg ceva total aiurea. Racita dar nu suficient, ma gandeam sa beau ceva cald, si m-am trezit ca vreau un Frappuccino Vanilla Cream. E perfect! A fost foarte bun!

Frappuccino Vanilla Cream

Pentru degustare, Grig ne-a povestit despre procesul realizarii cafelei, de la macinare pana in momentul in care ajungem sa savuram aroma cafelei. Pe cine nu innebuneste mirosul de cafea? :) 

Un alt element dragut al deschiderii a fost prezenta aparatului pt poze, il numesc asa, ca suna mai interesant :)

Dupa trei cafele, inca adormiti :) Am ajuns acasa, am mai baut un ceai negru si inca o cafea :) Cafeaua nu este doar o bautura care iti da energie, asociez cafeaua cu povestile, ciocolata, filmele, muzica, filele de carte, istoria, misterul, arhaicul. 

Blogoltenii cu noaptea in cap .... sau cu cafeaua :) M-am bucurat sa o revăd pe Alexandra Calinoiu  si pe Catalina Șerban (o fosta studenta), de la Evobrand . 

La plecare, cand au venit primii clienti, am primit un pachetel cu o cafea si o cana. Desigur, ca am mirosit cafeaua imediat si am admirat cana, in care, indata ce am ajuns acasa, am facut o cafea fierbinte. 

Am primit si niste cupoane cu oferte Starbucks, asa ca astept sa revin într-o zi cu soare data viitoare :) si fara dureri de gat :)

Va recomand sa vizitați Starbucks, sa savurați cafeaua, dar si momentul, sa închideți ochii si sa simțiți mirosul de cafea, agitația angajaților care fac tot posibilul sa va simțiți bine, bătăile inimii celui de lângă voi, bătăile inimii voastre....

Dumitru Răduț, Director General Mercur Center

“Mercur Center își ține astfel promisiunea de brand făcută încă de la redeschiderea sa, de a aduce branduri internaționale de renume, care să satisfacă gusturile craiovenilor, în materie de cumpărături și timp liber de calitate. Salutăm deschiderea Starbucks Craiova și nu ne îndoim că vor avea succesul pe care îl merită!” – Dumitru Răduț, Director General Mercur Center