If you enjoy drinking coffee from Starbucks and other cafes, you may find yourself wondering about the source of its coffee beans.
You could be among those coffee lovers that can even take a coffee tour just to see where their favorite brew comes from.
But can you do that with coffee from a cafe? For example, with your Starbucks brew. No. That’s because Starbucks is a huge coffee shop chain that receives coffee beans from all over the world.
The only way to find out the source of Starbucks coffees is by informative articles such as this one. Or by taking an online coffee tour through one of the farms from which it sources coffee.
Since you are here, why don’t you start learning about Starbucks coffee from our article? Here is some information concerning the history of Starbucks coffee shops.
The History of Starbucks Coffee Shops
Since its first shop was opened in 1971 at Pike Place Market, Starbucks has earned a reputation for selling great-tasting coffee.
The coffee house started as a small coffee shop in Seattle at what is now Pike Place Market. That shop only sold Lattes, but with growing customer demand, the shop ventured into selling premium coffees.
An event in 1983 contributed greatly to Starbucks’ development from a small Pike Place Market coffee shop to a slew of coffee houses with a unique outlook.
Howard Schultz, a Starbucks CEO, traveled to Italy, where he was amazed by the Italian coffee culture. He decided to bring this tradition back to the US by championing the creation of Italian-style coffee shops that served espressos and lattes. That’s the foundation of the Starbucks coffee shops we see today.
Starbuck’s famous name is inspired by Moby Dick. It’s meant to give coffee drinkers a feeling of the early coffee traders who transported coffee from different regions of the world to the US through all sorts of seafaring weather.
The name Starbucks is a far cry from what the famous coffee shop chain was supposed to be called, which is Cargo House (the name of the Captain’s ship in Moby Dick).
But that was set to the side when the coffee shop’s logo designer spotted Starbos town on an old map. That reminded the designer of the name Starbuck, which belonged to Captain Ahab’s first mate in Moby Dick. It is what we call the coffee chain today.
Where Does Starbucks Coffee Come From?
Starbucks’ motto during its early days and now is to sell good quality coffee, which is why it was among the first coffee house chains to sell specialty coffee. The coffee shop chain continues to focus on selling premium coffee to its customers to date.
The coffee house’s Arabica coffee comes from Africa, Latin America, and Asia – Pacific countries. But its coffee blends are exclusively sourced from Asian pacific countries.
You may wonder why Starbucks does not import coffee from a specific region. It would be nice if their coffee had a distinctive taste unique to a single coffee-producing area in the world.
While it sounds like a good idea, specializing in a single coffee variety of beans from one region limits the outreach of a coffee shop.
People have different palates, and Starbucks knows that. It needs to depend on coffee suppliers worldwide to benefit from a steady supply of high-quality coffee beans that will keep its coffee shops in operation by satisfying the preferences of its customers.
However, Starbucks depends on Latin American coffee beans most due to their amazing taste. These are the coffee beans that give your Starbucks brew a nutty, chocolatey, spicy flavor.
What Makes Starbucks Coffee Stand Out From the Rest?
Each coffee-growing region imparts an exceptional taste to coffee beans based on the type of soil, climate, and processing methods used to produce them. Starbucks brings out the unique flavor notes of these coffee beans through their special roasting process in the US.
You may have tasted the fresh, bright, nutty flavors of Latin American coffee beans in some of your Starbucks brews. Some coffee drinks also have lingering exotic, citrusy flavor notes characteristic of African coffee beans.
Starbucks coffee packs flavors from all the regions the coffee house buys coffee beans. That’s why it tastes so amazing.
Another reason for Starbucks’s great quality coffee is its coffee sourcing principles. The coffee house focuses on buying ethically grown coffee beans from coffee producers who grow organic coffee and have earned the fair trade award and other certifications.
These coffee growers and producers uphold social responsibility and adhere to coffee-producing environmental standards. And the coffee house recognizes them through collaborative programs such as building support centers for them where they offer farming advice through expert agronomists.
Farmers also benefit from Starbucks loans provided by the coffee shops Global Farmer Fund through loan partners. They also train them on financial risk management and other beneficial business practices.
Starbucks also sponsors carbon projects through initiatives such as its Carbon Neutral Green Coffee project. All the producers that Starbucks buys coffee from, who are located in over 30 countries around the world, also ethically produce their coffee. That say’s something about the coffee house’s commitment to quality coffee.
Some Coffee Beans You Can Buy From Starbucks
Starbucks is well known for its amazing coffee beans, specifically its Starbucks Reserve coffee. These coffee beans are single-origin coffee beans from specialty farms. They are adored by people who like to take coffee produced from a single farm with flavor notes and aromas unique to that location.
The coffee shop also has signature coffee roasts, such as its Pike Place roast, which is quite popular among coffeeholic who love to brew their coffee at home. The coffee beans used to produce Pike Place Roast come from Brazil and Colombia.
Starbucks also has a well-loved house blend made up of coffee beans from countries in Latin America. Other Starbucks coffee beans you should try are the Kenya African Blend, Starbucks Veranda Blend, Starbuck Sumatra Coffee, and Starbucks Café Verona.
Conclusion
Now you know where Starbucks coffee beans are from. So the next time you bring home one of their signature coffee beans or buy a takeaway coffee from one of their shops, you’ll feel like you know more about the coffee you are drinking.
You’ll be able to tell whether the brew you’ve bought is made using coffee beans from Africa, the Asian Pacific, or Latin America. Make it a coffee-drinking game, and you’ll have fun identifying the different flavor notes in every brew.
Some of the well-loved coffees you can buy from Starbucks are the Nitro-Cold Brew, the Caffé Mocha, and Caffé Americano.
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