The Collegian

Issue date: 9/24/09 Section: News

Senior Kari Snyder, student manager at Jitters Coffee Cart, prepares a drink for a customer. Jitters will continue to serve Starbucks coffee.

Students who frequent A.J.'s Café have noticed the familiar Starbucks coffee dispensers and cups have been replaced. No longer does the college's snack bar "proudly brew Starbucks coffee" - instead, they've switched to an obscure brand called Mosaic.

Kevin Kirwan, general manager of Saga, Inc., said Saga decided to pick up a new distributor at the end of last year, after some students, faculty and staff requested a coffee option besides Starbucks. After taste-testing a variety of brands, Kirwan said Saga chose Mosaic because it had a bold flavor that didn't taste "burned."

"This particular brand was equivalent in quality," he said. "So far, we have received nothing but compliments about the coffee."

"We grind the beans just before brewing," A.J.'s Supervisor Lisa Beasley said, so the new brand of coffee is fresher than the old Starbucks grind, which came pre-ground.

Kirwan said A.J.'s began the semester with Mosaic, handing off their unused Starbucks products to Jitters coffee cart. The cart will not stop selling Starbucks coffee, he said, so as to provide more than one option on campus.

There may be a practical reason behind this decision; Wendy Brannagan, a senior and student manager at Jitters, pointed out that it would be difficult to switch brands at the coffee cart due to space constraints.

"We don't have a grinder. That would be an additional cost in switching over," she said.

A.J.'s will continue to use Starbucks brand espresso until January. At this time, Kirwan said, espresso beans are not available; only drip coffee is from Mosaic.

Senior Kari Snyder, a student manager at Jitters, said when A.J.'s leftover Starbucks products came to the coffee cart, so did a price hike. The change in price isn't a mystery; last semester A.J.'s raised their prices and Jitters didn't. The increase now is an effort to establish consistency, since both the snack bar and the coffee cart are under Saga's jurisdiction.

"The price of our coffee is comparable to or less than all coffee in town and in Jonesville," Kirwan said. "We've been very keen on keeping the price at or below the competition."

Continued...

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