Onward (43 page)
There was a fine line between confidence and overpromising, and I did not think I had crossed it that day. I was just stating what I wholeheartedly believed to be true.
Part 5:
Courage
Where it all began, in 1971.
The first Starbucks store in Seattle's Pike Place Market.
Starbucks has been buying coffee from the African nation of Rwanda since 2004. During my third trip there in June 2008 to visit with farmers and tour their co-op, I again marveled at the country's beauty and the fortitude of the Rwandan people, whose fight to heal themselves after the country's tragic 1994 genocide is one of the most inspiring acts of rebirth in human history.
Growing high-quality coffee is a craft, requiring a unique skill set often passed down from generation to generation.
On February 26, 2008, in an unprecedented move, Starbucks closed all of its 7,100 US company-owned stores for three hours to retrain baristas on espresso preparation so they could create the perfect beverage every time.
Starbucks has always been about so much more than coffee. But without great coffee we have no reason to exist.
