Jolt for Seattle's coffee grind: Juan Valdez

By Jake Batsell
Seattle Times business reporter

The Starbucks siren soon may have to contend with another coffee icon in her hometown: Juan Valdez.

A budding chain of coffeehouses named after the fictional, mule-towing Colombian farmer plans to open stores in several U.S. cities, including Seattle, later this year.

Long before Starbucks hit the mainstream, Valdez was the face of coffee to many Americans, leading his mule through coffee fields and grocery-store aisles on TV ads sponsored by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.

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