Our long-term success is linked to the success of the thousands of farmers who grow our coffee. That’s why we invest in loan programs for coffee-growing communities and work onsite with farmers to help improve coffee quality. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the right thing to do for our business. By helping to sustain coffee farmers and strengthen farming communities, we ensure a healthy supply of high-quality coffee going forward.
We plan to increase our farmer loan commitment to $20 million by 2015 and provide farmers with incentives to reduce the environmental impact of coffee production.
Support Centers
Locations of Starbucks Farmer Support Centers:
San Jose, Costa Rica – opened 2004
The agronomists cover Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, South America and China.
Kigali, Rwanda – opened 2009
Mbeya, Tanzania – started ground operations in 2011
New South America location (Minas Gerais, Brazil) – opened 2012
Yunnan, China – opened 2012
During the growing and harvest cycles, many coffee farmers dip into their modest reserves to cover expenses until they can sell their crops. Some farmers may even experience a cash shortage, prompting them to sell their crops early – and for less – to local buyers.
The Starbucks Farmer Loans program is an alternative for co-ops that cannot access traditional funding channels. It aims to provide financial resources to cooperatives to fulfill their cash flow needs during harvest time, and to make infrastructure investments that result in better competitiveness.
In FY11, over 45,000 farmers in seven markets benefitted from our work with the third-party organizations ROOT Capital, Verde Ventures and Calvert Foundation. We’ve set a goal to dispurse U.S. $20 million to these programs by 2015. We’ve provided $14 million so far, and are working hard towards delivering the rest.
Our long-term success is linked to the success of the thousands of farmers who grow our coffee. That’s why we invest in loan programs for coffee-growing communities and work onsite with farmers to help improve coffee quality. It’s not just the right thing to do. It’s the right thing to do for our business. By helping to sustain coffee farmers and strengthen farming communities, we ensure a healthy supply of high-quality coffee going forward.
We plan to increase our farmer loan commitment to $20 million by 2015 and provide farmers with incentives to reduce the environmental impact of coffee production.
Support Centers
Locations of Starbucks Farmer Support Centers:
San Jose, Costa Rica – opened 2004
The agronomists cover Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, South America and China.
Kigali, Rwanda – opened 2009
Mbeya, Tanzania – started ground operations in 2011
New South America location (Minas Gerais, Brazil) – opened 2012
Yunnan, China – opened 2012
During the growing and harvest cycles, many coffee farmers dip into their modest reserves to cover expenses until they can sell their crops. Some farmers may even experience a cash shortage, prompting them to sell their crops early – and for less – to local buyers.
The Starbucks Farmer Loans program is an alternative for co-ops that cannot access traditional funding channels. It aims to provide financial resources to cooperatives to fulfill their cash flow needs during harvest time, and to make infrastructure investments that result in better competitiveness.
In FY11, over 45,000 farmers in seven markets benefitted from our work with the third-party organizations ROOT Capital, Verde Ventures and Calvert Foundation. We’ve set a goal to dispurse U.S. $20 million to these programs by 2015. We’ve provided $14 million so far, and are working hard towards delivering the rest.
Once roasted, coffee begins to lose its flavor the longer it’s exposed to air and moisture. We recommend that you store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark place and grinding it just before brewing. Coffee in an unopened FlavorLock™ bag will stay fresh for several months.
Our unique FlavorLock™ technology uses a special one-way valve that allows the carbon dioxide released by freshly roasted coffee beans to escape a sealed coffee bag without allowing flavor-robbing oxygen to get in. All Starbucks coffee is sealed in our airtight FlavorLock™ bags within two hours of roasting so that it stays fresh until you’re ready to use it.
For the freshest tasting coffee, we continue to recommend starting with whole beans and grinding them fresh for each pot. Or, if you prefer, you can take your whole bean coffee to your local retail store and ask them for a customized grind.
Drip makers perform best with a grind specifically for a flat bottom or cone type filter. All Starbucks stores can grind coffee to this specification. Espresso machines are grind-sensitive and require a very fine grind, 30-35 seconds in a blade grinder. Slow and fast shots are often caused by a grind that is too fine or too coarse, frozen or refrigerated espresso beans and tamping coffee too hard or not firmly enough.
Once roasted, coffee begins to lose its flavor the longer it’s exposed to air and moisture. We recommend that you store it in an airtight container in a cool, dark place and grinding it just before brewing. Coffee in an unopened FlavorLock™ bag will stay fresh for several months.
Our unique FlavorLock™ technology uses a special one-way valve that allows the carbon dioxide released by freshly roasted coffee beans to escape a sealed coffee bag without allowing flavor-robbing oxygen to get in. All Starbucks coffee is sealed in our airtight FlavorLock™ bags within two hours of roasting so that it stays fresh until you’re ready to use it.
For the freshest tasting coffee, we continue to recommend starting with whole beans and grinding them fresh for each pot. Or, if you prefer, you can take your whole bean coffee to your local retail store and ask them for a customized grind.
Drip makers perform best with a grind specifically for a flat bottom or cone type filter. All Starbucks stores can grind coffee to this specification. Espresso machines are grind-sensitive and require a very fine grind, 30-35 seconds in a blade grinder. Slow and fast shots are often caused by a grind that is too fine or too coarse, frozen or refrigerated espresso beans and tamping coffee too hard or not firmly enough.
