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Based on some feedback I’ve recieved on the msn article on a Starbucks on every corner, I thought it might be enlightening to share a little more about my thoughts on the coffee giant.

I’m not a complete expert on the subject, but I do like to call myself some what of a coffee shop guru. I have worked at mom and pop shops, as well as large chains, including Starbucks, as a barista (fancy term for the coffee bartender) for about 7 years. Though I believe that the local individually owned shops are charming, unique and personal, I think Starbucks deserves a full profile before we throw it in with MacDonald’s.

Since Starbucks’ humble beginnings on Pike’s Place Market in Seattle in 1971, Starbucks has, according to Fortune magazine, “changed everything … from our tastes to our language to the face of Main Street.” Starbucks has certianly taken its place in corporate America’s “big business”: the store boasts over 8,000 stores world wide, with  an average of 25 new locations every week. Don’t forget that these figures do NOT include locations such as Barnes and Nobles or Target, which proudly SERVE Starbucks coffee. According to Business Week, Starbucks averages 30 million customers a week!

So what do I make of this companies record growth and sustainability? As a patron and past employee, I have a perspective that would argue against all those who view it as the evil empire, trampling all the local shops and displaying its green and white siren logo as the very symbol of big business.

Why is Starbucks in a different league than MacDonalds? They have a practice of legendary service, of going above and beyond the customers basic need for java in order to provide meaningful experiences that enrich their daily lives. Employees are rewarded and encouraged for focusing on the people, not the sales. Cards that read, “Exceed expectations. Look for ways, both big and small, to let customers know they are valued” and “Make a friend. Make a difference. Make someone’s day” are passed around employees pockets and pinned to employee bulletin boards to remind them that thier job goes beyond espresso, milk and syrup. The motto, “develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all the time” resonates in thier minds. They ask for the names of customers when taking drink orders, not just to label the mug, but to label the face. Often repeat customers find that their name and drink are memorized within a few subsequent visits.

When was the last time MacDonald’s new YOUR name and order?

Starbucks as a corporation also stands apart because of the emphasis they put on giving back to the community. Through programs like The Starbucks Foundation, Make Your Mark program, Urban Coffee Opportunities and annual Holiday Angels Joy Drive, Starbucks rigorously seeks to employ a standard of corporate social responsibility. They take part in environmentally sound practices like the eco-friendly coffee growing techniques and “Fairly Traded Coffee”, as well as little things such as recycling all used coffee grounds and bagging them up for free for customers to take and fertilize their garden with. Businessethics.com said this about the company:

The company’s presence in 33 international markets has sometimes made it an easy target for anti-globalization activists. Yet Starbucks is winning kudoes from those in the know for its treatment of coffee farmers, commitment to its nearly 75,000 employees [this number has since been blown away], and the diversity of communities where it conducts business. Starbucks can be looked to as a model of how to institutional social values in a company.

Going one step further, not only would I toot Starbucks’ horn any day of the week, I would also like to point out that with a little research, it is not hard to find studies that reflect the BENEFITS Starbucks has to the local coffee shop market. By educationing customers on their drinks and setting a standard of quality across the board, local communities become increasingly interested in the coffee shop scene, which expands to increased business for mom and pop as well!

And one last thought: If you think there is no difference between Folgers and Starbucks coffee, you are brewing your coffee wrong and wasting precious java moments on less than par counterfeits! Do yourself a favor: on your Christmas list this year, add a coffee grinder and a French Press coffee maker, along with a bag of Starbucks coffee (try Verona, my personal fav). Follow directions and sip down that quality caffiene!

Just a little word from your friendly neighborhood mama.

Recent MSN article. What do you think? Personally, I LOVE having three Starbucks locations within 3 miles of me! (Is it just me?)

Hey everyone! Head over to the new Mama Need Java message board. There we can have ongoing discussions about current blog posts, as well as main topics of Mama Need Java. Do not let this coooooool feature pass you by! If you want to become a moderator, let me know.

It’s really not that hard.

Some of my favorite things to do while living in Lakeland:

1. Well, I like to shop, and I really like to shop for food. Try Strawberry Palace produce stand off South Florida Ave., Gourmet Country in Merchants Walk Plaza, the Lake Miriam Publix, or travel to Tampa for Wild Oats Markets.

2. Outdoors: The weather is FINALLY letting up, as our 8 month summer comes to an end. Step outside, you just might smell cinnamon in the air. Lake Hollingsworth- if you want to commit to the 3 miles. Stroll downtown- include Lake Mirror, Barnett Family Park, and Hollis Gardens in your walk. Lake Morton is looking a little better these days, and as a plus for parents, the children’s section of the Lakeland Public Library is slowly being put back together (yes, that’s indoors, but you can feed the birds at the lake when you get out!) Also, take a walk in your neighborhood- unless you live in the Combee area!- or try the boardwalk/nature trail at Peterson Park for some quiet time.

3. Great days in Lakeland wouldn’t be complete without goooood coffee. Starbucks coffee far outweighs the local coffee scene, sorry. It’s brewed darker, fresher, and just plain better. For specialty espresso drinks (for the java illiterate, that means lattes, caps, misto/ a lait’s, mochas, machiatto’s, etc.) stick with the wonderful siren logo as well; Starbucks just does a better job with consistency of recipes, temperatures, and quality of the espresso shot itself (blame that on the equipment). However, skip the frapps if you want a blender drink: Mitchell’s Coffee House has got some Frozen Mochas that really hit the spot. Made with powder mix of espresso and chocolate, the outcome is generally smoother, less syrupy sweet.

4. Pizza and other “joints”: Pizza Palace (downtown and off S. Fl) is great, and so is the pizza place in the new Lakeside Plaza next to the movies. YUM! Sandwhiches: try Purple Onion’s french dip or cuban, or Mitchell’s Coffee House lunches M-F from 11-2. Panera Bread is a decent choice for baked goods, sandwiches, etc - esp. the broccoli chedder soup. On weekend, enjoy 2 for $2 all beef Nathan’s hot dogs at the twisty treat/ Nathan’s place off S. Florida in downtown area. I wish I could refer you to nicer dinner choices but we are too poor for that. I recall Gosh (sushi bar), Cafe Panino, and Carabba’s being my favorite before my son came along!

5. After all your shopping for food, eating, drinking coffee, and then working it all off at the parks, remember to find a place to cuddle up with a good book. While Barnes n Nobles and Books A Million offer a large variety of books that you can take with you to your seat and never put back on the shelf, I like to find little nooks of reading space. Munn Park’s benches are nice, or the large steps surrounding Lake Mirror. Starbucks’ make good reading spots, so long as it isn’t their rush hour. I used to read on SEU’s campus but I don’t think alumni’s should sit around at their old schools.

6. Wines- I was told today by an unnamed employee at an unnamed chain wine store that their prices are too high and the quality ain’t that fabulous. He or she suggested I just go to Tim’s. Tim’s Wine Market is my favorite, and I don’t think its JUST because my brother-in-law works there, but more that he hasn’t brought me a wine I didn’t like. In comparison, the other unnamed place has given me four tastings and four purchases, and only once did I get a taste of something I liked, (and even then, the sales associate convinced me to buy something else, which I hated when I tried it at home and dumped it out.)

7. Art: I don’t get around to this much, and I really should. But a great day needs some art so here goes: Lakeland has a unique mix of artists, we are really quite rich in creativity. Just look at the pieces hanging on the walls of the downtown coffee shops. For some creative inspiration, Polk Art Museum is an obvious choice. Or make your own at one of the many pottery places, (my favorites are Pottery on the Park or Picasso’s Cup). The local colleges, even PCC, offers art events through out the year, and the annual Platform Florida is a fun event too.

8. Churches: A great day in Lakeland might, for me, include church in some factor, especially because faith plays a major role in my having a great day. Church and I have a love-hate relationship. I’ve tried many protestant churches in Lakeland and I’m just going to lay it out there: The bigger ones like Victory, Family Worship, and Without Walls turned me off by the hyper emotional mix of spiritual gifts and flaunting materialism. Some smaller baptist churches were just way too, how should I say it, ostrich with its head stuck in the sand? Bigger baptist church was great structurally, had much too offer (FBC at the Mall), but the quirky pastor with his wanna-be-mullet, constant smirk, and sermon’s made of nothing but acronym’s were too much. Others were extremely closed off, fake, or greedy, the unfortunate imperfection of churches and my own judgemental sin made it impossible for me to deal with. My family and I have been going to and getting involved in Trinity Presbyterian, because despite the whole predestination thing, the community is one of the most real, gutsy, loving, selfless, Jesus-focused I’ve ever been around. Also worth noting is Oasis Community Church- visited a few times and here of great things happening there.

9. Music: A great day needs great music. Whether you own an iPod or you can just listen in the car with the windows down, (or maybe you are one of the few people who keep the tv OFF and listen to music still- like, “what’s that in the corner over there, honey, a stereo? Gosh, I forgot all about THAT!”) My favorites go all over the spectrum, so I’ll limit to my recent music binges; Ella Fitzgerald- the swing stuff, not the ballads, John Williams and the Boston Pop Orchestra with their CD Joy to the World -hey, its as close as I got to the entire Home Alone soundtrack, Jimmy Needham- oh, so good, and as always, Nicole Nordeman. Diana Krall makes for some good times too.

10. Friends and family in Lakeland- though we fight all the time, and you all get super annoyed with me constantly (trust me, it works both ways!), a good day usually gets boring if I am going it alone! Hubby- in your good moods, you are truly the best friend a wife could have!; baby E-man- I’d take you any where and I never leave you with a sitter because YOU ARE SO MUCH FUN!; Nanny/canine woman- damn, why do we keep hanging out and leaving all other responsibilities behind- probably because we LIKE each other!; neighbors/relatives R and R; you guys are the best, you make me laugh, how R-female goes on and on, especially if she drank too much, and R-male loves to talk about anything and everything he thinks he is an expert on!; Kitchen Designer- when you are happy, every one knows it! You laugh loud and strong- its so good to hear. Keep ya head up!, and Mec- who probably never ever reads this because she is busy chasin around two little ones all day, you are the kind soul that I aspire to be!

That’s the ten ways I have a great day in Lakeland. How do you?

Tonight I’m all about black coffee, as I awoke about 12:30 in the afternoon today and our AC is frozen up. So at the moment I am hot and sleepy and my left eye won’t stop twitching.

On a different note, reflect on this: the Greek root of “to believe” means “to give one’s heart to”. That sure puts a different connotation in the mind with regards to words like “belief”, “religion” and “faith”. To believe is not like joining a political party or taking a pledge, its about the heart, and more specifically, the giving of the heart over to what it is, or WHO, the belief is in.

The tricky thing is that I give my heart over to all sorts of things. In the last week I have given my heart to: money (or lack thereof), my home, the idea of acceptance, new clothes, my son, my husband, my writing, my TV shows, and the list continues. See, just because I wasn’t giving my heart to Jesus doesn’t mean my heart wasn’t being given. That’s impossible. Even if you aren’t giving your heart outwardly to others or to God, you are in reality just devoting your heart to yourself - your career, your car, your looks, whatever it might be.

So how do I give my heart to God? How do I continue to place my desires, my devotion, my fears and limitations, and my genuine belief in His hands? It could quite possibly be as simple as talking to Him about it. Novel idea, huh?

So with that, I need to say farewell, because this mama needs some time to give her heart away to the right Thing before getting to “work” for the night, black coffee in tow.