In one of my summer reads from this past year, I came across a short story about a man who literally changed the world of coffee as the world once knew. This man was Don Valencia, a cell biologist who was also the CEO of his own biomedical firm, Immuno Concepts N.A. Ltd., which he co-founded in 1979. Valencia was described by one of his colleagues, Bob Boyes, as “incredibly inventive, with a zeal for discovery, and he was very driven to always find new and better ways to diagnose diseases like lupus and scleroderma.” He remained there until he sold his share of the company thirteen years later in 1993. But why does a man on a mission to curing so many diseases leave the work he created?
It can be sure that there were many reasons he sold out, but the factor we are going to focus on here is the fact that he ended up working at Starbucks. And no, not just some barista gig. Valencia went from cell biologist to being the first head of Starbucks’ research and development department. Is this a dramatic change? A bit. Here is how this incredible scientist found his home in the biggest coffee company in the world. While working in his biomedical firm, Valencia was developing a way to freeze-dry cells so they could be examined under a microscope, a method that even received many microscopy patents. He eventually started testing this freeze-dry method on coffee so he could have fresh, instant coffee on his many hiking adventures he enjoyed taking in his past times. This was a process of trial and error, but after trying it with Starbucks coffee, he realized he invented a pretty good instant coffee compared to some of his past attempts. After taking this idea to some Starbucks baristas in Seattle, WA., the invention eventually reached the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, who insisted on bringing Valencia to the Starbucks team. After being put in charge of the new multimillion-dollar Technology Resource and Applications Center, his dry-freezing methods were employed in “extracting, refining, stabilizing and preserving the unique taste of Starbucks coffee” into products such as their shelf-stable Frappucinos, icecream, and the instant coffee VIA packets, whose name derived from Valencia himself. Don Valencia was the first figure to start changing the view of quality coffee, taking a closer look at the scientific make-up of the coffee itself and even the micronutrients that go into producing the perfect yield of beans. He saw brewing and producing the various Starbucks products as science projects for him to solve so he could serve many by bringing them the best quality of coffee he could, whatever form that may be.
Resources
http://www.homecomingmagazine.com/article/leaking-jesus-bob-goff-s-love-does/
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/instant-starbucks-coffee-idea-started-with-don-valencia-20-years-ago/
https://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/Donald-Valencia-1952-2007-Starbucks-executive-1258818.php
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-09-22-tm-46296-story.html
Goff, Bob. Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World. IDreamBooks Inc, 2015.
Hello Emily,
ReplyDeleteAs an avid coffee drinker, this guy sounds like my messiah. I think that his motivation to pursue something more practical and conducive to his hobbies and interests could be considered intrinsic. I mean, something like healthcare requires a lot of energy and mental fortitude against things like disappointment, especially with diagnostics. Maybe he wanted to do something that brought him more joy, whilst surrounding himself in a more positive environment.
I definitely agree with you that Don Valencia should be considered to be a Big-C creative because of his revolutionary process for coffee. It is really interesting in how intrinsically motivated he was to get the perfect cup of coffee for his hiking trips. I also find it interesting in how he used science as a tool to create a new process for coffee beans and thus a new product and market emerged.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this blog post! I think you did a great job describing his creative process and source of motivation. I also agree that Don Valencia is a "Big-C" creative because he changed the world in regards to coffee and preserving it. Although I am not a big coffee-drinker myself, I am sure Valencia has changed many people's lives because of his discovery. I think it's really cool that he found a way to use science to improve another thing he loved, which is coffee. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow, I never realized that instant coffee was freeze-dried...I guess I always kind of assumed it was just like coffee grounds but had never really thought about it. I think it's really cool and creative that he was able to extrapolate his original creative process (for cells) onto coffee, but I do think it's an interesting change of field--biology, which could potentially save lives, into coffee, which some claim they couldn't live without.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting blog post! I had no clue that it was only one person who started the instant coffee success of Starbucks. It is also incredible how he used biology of cell freezing to even conceive of this idea. The ability to practically apply his knowledge in cellular biology to coffee in itself in my opinion is Big C creative. It makes me wonder what else this method can preserve
ReplyDeleteAs a person who is obsessed with coffee, I loved this blog post! I had no idea that it was one person who changed the way Starbucks marketed themselves and led to their major success. I agree that he is a Big C creative do to his work with how he used his methods in cell biology to coffee. It is an interesting way to take something you studied and apply it to something you loved.
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