News & Events 2003-2004

Sean Starke ’82 Speaks About Coffee at Skeptics

Sean Starke, Blair Class of 1982 and coffee dealer, spoke on “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Coffee” as part of the Society of Skeptics lecture series on February 17, 2004, in Cowan Auditorium.

Sean says, “I started working in coffee in 1986, roasting and setting samples up for cup testing. I tasted a lot of coffee, roughly 100 cups every day. Conservatively, I tasted 200,000 cups during my career and, yes, I still love the stuff and I can occasionally sleep. Each year roughly 2.5 billion pounds of coffee are consumed in the United States alone, and I’d like to help you understand how it gets from the tree to your cup.”

Using a Powerpoint presentation, he laid out the coffee process from picking green coffee beans in Brazil to export, roasting and the ultimate sale to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, etc. and the consumer. Sean emphasized the enormous increase in price as this commodity moves along the “value added” trail, although the current world price for most coffee has decreased over time due to overproduction and lagging consumption patterns.

Sean stressed the importance of a liberal arts education at Blair and the University of Virginia. He said it allowed him to communicate thoughtfully and adapt to any number of business situations. This has been the key element to his success in the world of trading coffee.

Please check the Calendar and Events section of the Web site for upcoming Society of Skeptics speakers.

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