FARMINGTON--One man has made it his life mission to visit every Starbucks location in the world, and his most recent stop was in Connecticut.
There are approximately 20,000 Starbucks locations in 65 countries worldwide, and the man known as Winter--he changed his name from Rafael Lozano years ago -- has traveled all over the globe in an effort to visit every Starbucks.
From the UConn Campus to the Yukon Territory, from Singapore to Cyprus, Winter has journeyed to get a jolt of Starbucks java. "Beirut, I always wanted to go there, I actually had to wait for a war to end before I could fly into Beirut," he remarked.
"Random idea 17 and a half years ago, I was in Plano, Texas hanging out at a Starbucks," Winter said. "I was looking at all the new stores that were opening and I asked myself 'would it be possible to visit every Starbucks in the world?'"
So far, Winter has visited 35 countries and Puerto Rico--amounting to about 11,800 stores--and estimates he has spent more than $100,000 in travel costs and coffee consumption. Winter says his goal is encouraged by his need to be challenged, to see how far he can push himself. "It's almost like a puzzle, almost like an adventure game, but it's real life."
On Monday, Winter, a computer programmer by trade, bought a cup from the newly remodeled location at Westfarms Mall in Farmington. "This is the only Starbucks in Connecticut that I have not been to," he said. He also stopped by the new shop in South Hadley, Massachusetts, not far from where he is living in the Foxborough area.
Winter's next goal is to buy a cup in Moscow, Russia by next year.
To read more about his growing passport and what Winter has planned next you can visit his website, Starbucks Everywhere, here.