Howard Schultz: From Brooklyn Projects to Coffee King

In the early 1980s, America had no true coffee culture. Most consumers purchased stale, mass-produced coffee from supermarkets, and the concept of a “third place” between home and work was virtually non-existent.

The specialty coffee industry was in its infancy, with only small, local roasters like the original Starbucks in Seattle, which sold whole coffee beans and equipment but no beverages.

This was the landscape that confronted Howard Schultz, a sales representative for a Swedish kitchenware company called Hammarplast, who noticed that a tiny Seattle retailer was ordering more coffee makers than major department stores like Macy’s. Curiosity piqued, Schultz decided to investigate this anomaly-a decision that would ultimately transform the way the world consumes coffee.