Tasting with our eyes

The heyday of Starbucks’ initial expansion may be over, but business schools will be teaching their mastery of “value added” processes for years to come.

Presentation and appearance are a significant part of a food item’s value. We taste with our eyes.

Starbucks and others teach us to take a low price item and elevate it, adding at least two intangables: quality and time. In this case, add steam, milk and time to turn a nondescript, brown hot liquid into consumable, value-added folk art. If that isn’t too heady. Matt Milletto, Director of the American Barista & Coffee School demonstrates: