Debate goes on
Does Starbucks roast all the Kirkland
Signature™ coffees? I have been buying the
Rwanda beans, but there is nothing on the
package that mentions Starbucks. However,
today in the warehouse I saw a Kirkland
Signature medium roast and it does say that
the beans have been roasted by Starbucks.
Please clarify. I’m a huge coffee snob, but
whatever the answer is, I’ll still buy my beans
at Costco!
Tess Wilkins, Costco assistant general
merchandise manager, responds: Starbucks is
the roaster for the whole-bean coffee labeled
Kirkland Signature Roasted by Starbucks. We
may stock up to three items (Espresso, House
Blend and House Blend Decaf) depending on
the location.
For the other Kirkland Signature whole
bean products—Colombian, Guatemalan,
Rwandan and Sumatran—we have teams
working with farmers in these country to
source premium coffees at fair prices. These
coffees are roasted by the Rogers Family
Company and Costco’s own roaster, Costco
Wholesale Industries.
To subscribe, go to Costco.com
and search “subscription.”
In response to the April
Debate, “Is college worth it?
YES. You can lose your job, your home,
your car, etc., but no one can ever take away
the knowledge and experience you receive
from a college education.
Tricia Reynolds
Tulare, California
NO. Traditional four-year colleges are not
for everyone. Trade schools and other educational institutions that take someone
directly into their field of interest might be
more appropriate and could save students
thousands of dollars.
Margot Sneed
Makawao, Hawaii
Member comments
Coffee question brewing
I love Costco, I love The Connection.
However, the article on the Starbucks/Costco
connection [“The big 4-0,” April 2011] has
me puzzled.
Linda Daniel
Bastrop, Texas
C. T. Ross
Houston, Texas
DIALOGUEletters Each month get a link via email to the current issue when it is published, plus access to more than five years of back issues. Are you reading
Paycheck alert
I am a small-business owner who has
been in business in the same location since
1979. Since I travel a lot, I use Intuit to process
my payroll and require my employees to allow
direct deposit for their payroll checks.
While the [Consumer Connection, April
2011] deals with job scams, Mr. Horowitz
states, “Do not give personal bank account,
PayPal account or credit-card numbers to an
employer.” This advice is a disservice to both
established employers and to potential employees.
This advice applies only to companies
that are not firmly established.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Connection comments
from off the network
“If your barber’s only reading material is Costco Connection, I’d say you’ve done
pretty well for yourself.” Tweeted by blkum
“Well, clearly I have ‘made it’ to the big time ... recently quoted in the Costco
magazine, in ‘Carrot or Stick’ [Canada March/April] ... Tweeted by stephanestaples
“Pretty interesting article about @Starbucks in the new [April] Costco Connection
magazine.” Tweeted by TheSocial Trip
“Do you think it’s far fetched that Costco would jump into the wedding business?
I am not that surprised— when it comes to throwing a big party I know that Costco
is on my list to shop at.” Blogged at bridalgownblog
MAY 2011 ;e Costco Connection 9