For all you Starbuck’s watchers, remember in February 2012 when Logan Warren held the record for the most expensive Starbuck’s drink? It was a 31-ounce Trenta that cost $23.60. Into it went a Java Chip Frappuccino, enhanced with plenty of that’ll-cost-you-add-ons: 16 shots of espresso, soy milk, caramel, banana and strawberry purees, vanilla beans, and Matcha and protein powders, all topped with a bit of caramel and mocha. While Warren admitted that the 1,400 mg of caffeine was not great for his body, he also did not have to pay for it since he had a free drink coupon.
Now fast forward to this week, Feb. 19, 2013, Beau Chevassus ordered the “Quadriginoctuple Frap.” This $47.30 drink is: a venti 40-shot mocha Frappuccino with soy milk, mocha drizzle, matcha powder, protein powder, caramel brulee topping, strawberry, two bananas, caramel drizzle, Frappuccino chips, and vanilla bean. In this case, Chevassus brought his own 52-ounce mug (purchased at Goodwill), and ordered the drink on his birthday—so it was free.
Questions:
1. How should Starbucks account for these drinks? Please include journal entries in your answer.
2. What is the most expensive part of both of these drinks? In the 2013 record, the report said that Chevassus did “a lot of research” about breaking the record. What do you think this meant?
3. Calculate the per ounce cost for both the February 2012 and February 2013 record drinks. What percentage increase per ounce occurred between the two record drinks? Based on your calculations, can you say that the cost per ounce went up over the year? Would the profit margin for each drink be similar? If not, explain what additional information would you need to answer these cost questions and how a comparison could be made.
4. Go to http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com. What problems do you see with either of these individuals trying to be a Guinness record holder? Discuss.
Sources:
Roberts, C. (2013). VIDEO: Starbucks’ most expensive drink may just be the $47.30 ‘Quadriginoctuple Frap,’ NYDailyNews.com. February 19 (Retrievable online at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/starbucks-most-expensive-drink-record-broken-article-1.1268184#ixzz2LRlotGiI)
Levy, G. (2013). Man orders world’s most expensive Starbuck’s drink at $47.30. UPI.com, Feb. 19 (Retrievable online at http://www.upi.com/blog/2013/02/19/Man-orders-worlds-most-expensive-Starbucks-drink-at-4730/2181361285111/)
Seamons, K. (2013). Priciest Ever? Guy orders $47.30 Starbucks Drink. Newser.com, Feb. 20 (Retrievable online at http://www.newser.com/story/163145/priciest-ever-guy-concocts-4730-starbucks-drink.html)
Seamons, K. (2012). Man Tries to Order Priciest Starbucks Drink Ever. Newser.com Feb. 19 (Retrievable online at http://www.newser.com/story/139858/man-tries-to-order-priciest-starbucks-drink-ever.html
