The cup of Starbucks coffee you hold in your hand is more than just a drink.
It’s an expertly handcrafted beverage, a daily ritual, the final step in an
incredible, global, coffee-production story connecting you to farmers,
agronomists, roasters, buyers, engineers, Green Apron baristas and more.
Starbucks proudly sources 100% arabica coffee from more than 450,000 farmers
in 30 markets along “The Coffee Belt” – in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Our buyers, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, scour the globe for the finest coffees, including our premium, single-origin Reserve selections.
The Coffee Belt
Almost all the world’s coffee grows in the “Coffee Belt.” The Coffee Belt circles the earth, falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. There are more than 70 coffee-producing countries around the world, and Starbucks® buys coffee from more than 30 of them. The cultures, landscapes and growing methods vary by country and all contribute to different coffee flavours. The Coffee Belt is divided into three main growing regions: Latin America, Africa and Asia / Pacific. We responsibly source, roast and blend coffees from each of these three regions to bring you unique coffees. Just like tea or wine, coffee gets much of its flavour from where it comes from. Each of these growing regions has different growing conditions and traditions that affect the overall coffee flavour.
LATIN AMERICA
Latin American coffees are the foundation of many of Starbucks® most beloved blends. We buy more coffee from this region than any other because of its consistent taste and quality. This region has many different microclimates, soils and processing traditions. Costa Rica, for example, is known for its volcanoes, which can impact the taste profile of the coffee grown there.
FLAVOUR NOTES: NUTS, COCOA AND SOFT SPICE
AFRICA
Africa is home to some of the world’s most unique coffees that set our high
standards of quality. The region is home to some of the world’s most exotic coffee flavours. More specifically, Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.
FLAVOUR NOTES: VIBRANT, LUSH COFFEE FLAVOURS RANGING FROM CITRUS TO BERRY
ASIA / PACIFIC
The large Asia / Pacific region is home to coffees with big and bold coffee flavours that aren’t found anywhere else. Including Indonesia, China, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam, Thailand and India, the region encompasses a wide range of climates, topographies and distinctive coffees.
FLAVOUR NOTES: FULL-BODIED AND SYRUPY SMOOTH WITH HERBAL, EARTHY COFFEE FLAVOURS
Starbucks team of experts are dedicated to sourcing, roasting, blending and brewing high quality arabica coffee.
By doing so, we can continue to create exceptional coffee blends crafted to your individual preferences. Let’s take a closer look at blending and roasting and explore some of the steps Starbucks® coffee beans go through to get from farms all over the world to your cup.
COFFEE BLENDING
An important step we take to create delicious Starbucks® offerings is to blend
together coffees from different origins or of different roast styles.
Blending gives us the flexibility to create new tasting notes not found in one single-origin coffee.
COFFEE ROASTING
By the time coffee leaves a farm and arrives at one of our roasting plants, the
next step is to develop and maintain its flavour. Each coffee requires a slightly different amount of time and temperature during the roasting process to create a cup of coffee with peak aroma, acidity, body and flavour.
Starbucks small team of master roasters has more than 150 years of combined roasting experience.
Starbucks has spent almost 50 years mastering the art and science of roasting to bring out the inherent flavour in each coffee.
Our coffees come in three different roasts. Starbucks® Blonde roast, the lightest, has a shorter roast time, lighter body and mellow flavours. Medium-roasted coffees are balanced with smooth and rich flavours, while dark-roasted coffees feature a fuller body and robust, bold flavours.