Sniff, slurp, spit: Starbucks teaches how to take coffee global

By HELEN JUNG
The Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) -- It was hardly the most elegant of tastings, but Barbara Rivera still managed to spit with grace.

Wearing a Starbucks apron, Rivera spooned some coffee into her shot glass, inhaled the aroma, and slurped. She paused, then spit it back into a paper cup and moved to the next coffee roast.

Sniff, slurp, spit, reflect and repeat. Fifty times.

The marathon coffee-tasting session was part of Starbucks Corp.'s training for about 16 international employees and representatives from Puerto Rico, Kuwait, China, Australia and other countries. The immersion training, one of several Starbucks holds each year for its international partners, is designed to teach coffee culture, standards and the underpinnings of the Starbucks Way.

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