Smash Notes

This is Your Life in Silicon Valley

Do You Prefer Starbucks, Blue Bottle, or Philz? (Guests: Philz Coffee CEO Jacob Jaber, Techcrunch Reporter Kate Clark)

Special episode alert! Techcrunch reporter Kate Clark sent a tweet out about how she hates Philz Coffee. We decided to bring her on the show with Philz CEO Jacob Jaber to convince her otherwise. Hilarity ensued.

Transcript

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Notes

  1. At one point, Kate Clark, who is a report for Tech Crunch went on Twitter to say - "I hate Philz more than Starbucks. There I said it!" This tweet got linked to Philz Coffee twitter account and eventually escalated to the CEO. Instead of hiding behind a PR department, Jacob Jaber stepped into the conversation, and the idea for a podcast episode was born .

  2. Seattle Freeze is an idea that Seattleites are not particularly friendly to strangers, or to each other for that matter. People live their own lives and have their friends, but they don't an effort to step out of those circles and interact with someone new.

  3. Jacob says it is a fine product, but personally he does not like the acidity, nor does he like the minimalist aesthetic, which is becoming a part of tech monoculture. That said, optionality is great for the consumer.

  4. Kopi Luwak is a rather unique coffee, which taste is achieved by the proteolytic enzymes in the digestive system of a civet cat. In other words, they feed the coffee to a wild animal, then brew what comes out the other end.

    Jacob Jaber said he tried it in Bali and the coffee was delicious.

  5. In a public forum, after making a statement on a subject and later learning new information that invalidates the statement, people tend to backup their original message whether or not their opinion of it has changed. Their position only changes when the knowledge of the original message is no longer publicly relevant and it becomes safe to admit one's new position.

  6. Sunil Rajaraman and Jascha Kaykas-Wolff. They open season three by introducing themselves as the co-hosts of a podcast about Bay Area technology and culture. This episode's guests are Philz Coffee CEO Jacob Jaber and TechCrunch reporter Kate Clark. The setup is a tweet. Clark had written that she hates Philz, and the hosts brought her on with Jaber to try to change her mind. Rajaraman and Kaykas-Wolff are the people who make the show. Jaber and Clark are the guests for this argument about coffee, not the producers.

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