The coffee master was rather surprised that I was so far behind my schedule all thanks to Hari raya last week. My training store is not the actual store which I'll be working at. I was posted here, as my store was too busy to conduct any training..

Okay, back to the story.I thought that since I'm working in starbucks now, I should pay more attention than ever to news about Starbucks, the global company which has built massive chains of outlets all over the world.

I have been introduced to Starbucks' culture, its mission statements, dedication to corporate social responsibilities , and how they attempt to give back to the farmers, namely, the coffee growers and the direction that the company is heading generally.

Starbucks has landed itself in hot water!!

Well, if you had read strait times today, you'd see the news in the Home section.

If you're wondering which page, obviously you haven read the papers cos it was on the coverpage.

It's about the Environmental Experts pointing out that Starbucks is actually wasting tons of water by allowing its taps to run non-stop. For more information, click here.

For those who are lazy to read, and to help those who had read but didn't understand what's going on, I shall explain further.

You see, when you guys ordered your cappuccinos or lattes. The milk which is poured into your drinks has to be steamed beforehand. And to create the foamy thingy on yr cappuccinos, so u can make funny faces on it with condiments or whatever, needs a spoon.

The spoon is constantly used and so it is placed near the beverage section, under constantly running tap ( as mentioned in the article).

So, the tap will clean the spoons which are normally covered in milk residue,by overflowing the milk+foam+dirty contents into tiny holes near the brim. The 'mini sink' near the beverage counter also contains thermometers. So the environmentalists were referring to this.

As an official Starbucks partner, I really have to be careful with what I post and what I blog.

So, I was told, " If you're approached by any reporter and media personnel, you can tell them, *insert standard politically correct answer here* "

Things can be really complicated especially when the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 15,012 stores in 44 countries ( as extracted from wikipedia) is being accused of water wastage by environmental pressure group.

And mind you, its water wastage! When the problems of global warming is a pressing issue, where sea level rises, temperature rises, leading to extreme weathers and water scarcity. (As sea level rise, salt water intrude underground water, higher temperature reduce effectiveness of reservoirs).

Things become not that simple anymore. It's not like making newater to overcome water shortage. It's water scarcity. It applies worldwide. I'm sure Starbucks will be trying to maintain its 'responsible image' and staying off the environmentalists' blacklist.

Afterall, the IPO company is still answerable to all its stakeholders and shareholders. Meanwhile, I was trying to remember the recipes for the beverages. When I finally come to the conclusion that I need to jot them down....

I realised I left my learning book at the store...