Journey to Origin: Where it all began
“I’ve been with Starbucks for nine years now and started as a Green Apron Partner,” says Barb Sládková, now a Marketing Specialist at Starbucks, “I’ve spent almost a decade studying coffee craft – I was lucky enough to be named Barista Champion for the UK in 2021. I didn’t think there was much that could surprise me about coffee anymore – until I went on the Origin Experience.”
Every year, a cohort of partners from all over the world are selected to visit Starbucks coffee producing regions – Rwanda, Costa Rica, and Indonesia – for a trip known as the Origin Experience. Over the course of three days, they discover the “first 10 feet” of our supply chain, following the journey of a coffee bean all the way back to its origin. Open to partners across the business – from barista to boardroom – those from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) travel to Rwanda, ‘The Land of a Thousand Hills’, where rich soil and high altitudes have allowed coffee farms to flourish.
From farmers to dry millers, agronomists, quality assurance specialists, and exporters – the Origin Experience honours those who our customers never have the chance to meet, but who are as integral to the Starbucks supply chain as the baristas who craft our drinks in store. Join us as we explore why a few lucky Starbucks partners are sent on this unique journey each year, and why so many describe it as ‘life changing’.
Honouring the past, securing the future
“So few people ever get to experience something like this,” says Category Specialist Ben Hobby-Osman, from the UK, who accompanied Barb on this year’s trip to Rwanda, “when I got the call, I felt this immense sense of responsibility wash over me. I knew I had a duty to carry each farmer’s story back home with me, to show others: this is why what we’re doing matters.”
Being nominated for the Origin Experience is a recognition of a partner’s unwavering dedication to coffee craft. To be in with a chance of selection, they have to have completed all levels of the Starbucks Coffee Academy, achieving Coffee Master status.
“Many of the partners who go on the Origin Experience have waited for a decade or more for this opportunity,” explains Alvaro Dominguez, Retail Planning and Communications for Starbucks EMEA, who plays a critical role in the smooth running of the programme, “it’s an incredible milestone in a partner’s career. They’re entrusted to embody Starbucks values and bring what they learn back home to educate others. Being nominated is a recognition of their knowledge, skill, and ability to inspire others.”
The annual programme has been running since 2010 and, in that time, hundreds of partners have made the journey. This year, partners from EMEA hailed from 21 countries. Some of the cherries harvested by this year’s cohort came from trees planted by their predecessors years before. Just like past alum, attendees this year also planted their own trees. This cyclical rhythm echoes the cadence of the harvest seasons in Rwanda itself. Coffee trees bloom in September and October, the bright red cherries then picked in March and July – a cadence that has paced rural life in Rwanda for generations.
Today, almost half a million smallholder farmers depend on that cycle and the impact of the coffee industry ripples across the entire country. After the devastating 1994 genocide, coffee farming became a lifeline for many, aiding the country’s economic recovery. Today, Rwanda produces up to 22,000 metric tons of coffee cherries each year – in 2023 alone, coffee exports totalled $89.3 million.
The Origin Experience honours the history of the land where Starbucks coffee is grown, and the people shaped by it. As well as time spent on the farm or in the drying mill, partners are encouraged to engage with the communities that surround the industry. This year, attendees visited the women of Ineza, a sewing cooperative founded by genocide survivors. It’s an enduring reminder of the country’s painful history, but also of the powerful communities to emerge from it. Highly skilled tailors, the women crafted elaborate Starbucks aprons for the visitors, adorned with the geometric patterns and bold colours of traditional Rwandan dress.
“The country’s genocide isn’t ancient history, the remnants of what happened are still felt everywhere,” Ben says, “we were incredibly moved by the resilience of the people we met. It’s an experience that will stick with me forever.”
Measuring our impact
Importantly, the Origin Experience allows partners to orient themselves within the coffee supply chain – so they can appreciate their own individual impact as well as Starbucks impact on farmers, their families, and the community at large.
“When you’re drinking a Starbucks latte, you’re not thinking about all the hands those beans had to pass through to get to you,” Barb says, “sitting in my office back in the UK, that whole process can seem so abstract, you feel far removed from that first 10 feet. But now that I’ve seen it up close, it’s brought to life my part in this much bigger story. Now when I’m approaching a new marketing campaign, I’m weighing it against the people I met in Rwanda, wondering if my work respects their craft and honours their stories.”
The Farmer Support Centre is an important stop on the partners’ journey in Rwanda, where they meet agronomists whose research into soil nutrition, pest-control, and tree breeding helps protect farmers’ livelihoods. The experience sheds light on our Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices, which all partners are aware of but few have the chance to witness in action.
“Visiting a coffee farm, you’re struck by just how fragile this process is,” Barb says, “bad weather, poor soil, pests – there’s so much that can go wrong and people’s livelihoods hang in the balance. The Starbucks Farmer Support Centre is a real lifeline for farmers. The agronomists we met share knowledge and advice with people all over the world – even those not affiliated with Starbucks. It was incredible to see all these highly knowledgeable, passionate individuals working together to secure the future of coffee.”
Connected through craft
Partners who go on the Origin Experience come away with a deeper connection to coffee, Starbucks, and each other. “Before I went, people told me the Origin Experience is life changing and I didn’t really believe them,” says Ben, “but once you’ve seen how many lives are touched by our coffee, and the amount of care, passion and community that surrounds the production process, you’ll never look at a latte the same way again. Coffee really does connect us.”
To learn more about Ben and Barb’s experience in Rwanda, read their story here.
