The journey a coffee bean follows from farm to cup is an arduous one. It usually begins high in the hills of the Coffee Belt, a band that wraps around the Earth’s middle between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Bucket by bucket, the beans are hand-picked and processed before trundling down winding roads to cargo ships destined for roasting plants and cafés around the world. 

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To get the best beans, buyers from Starbucks have traveled to the source since the first store opened back in 1971. They journeyed to far-flung farms in places in Latin America, Asia and East Africa, taking time to get to know farmers and their communities along the way.&nbsp;&nbsp; 

When Starbucks launched its C.A.F.E. Practices sustainable sourcing program in 2004, the company knew that building on these personal relationships would be critical to the program’s success. It opened its first <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-farmer-support-centers/">Farmer Support Center</a> that same year in San José, Costa Rica, and hired a team of agronomists to bring farmers into the program.

Carlos Mario Rodriguez, director and global head of coffee research and development for Starbucks, was part of that first Farmer Support Center agronomy team. He drove his pickup truck over countless miles of narrow roads to visit farmers and help them with a range of sustainability issues and ensure a long-term supply of quality coffee. He helped them set up their own test plots, showed them how to space trees correctly and offered suggestions to manage erosion and reduce the use of pesticides.&nbsp; 

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William Chacon, owner of the Café Las Peñas farm in Sabanilla, Costa Rica, has been working with Starbucks agronomists for more than 10 years, even when his farm is not selling to Starbucks. 

“There are many problems related to deforestation, and the coffee gets damaged by disease, and so the quality suffers too,” said Chacon. “With Starbucks help, we are producing new varieties of coffee. The quality is good because the leaves and the plants grow healthy.” 

In that first year the Farmer Support Center, 43.5 million pounds of green (unroasted) coffee were purchased from C.A.F.E. Practices-approved suppliers, representing 14.5 percent of total coffee purchases. Each year, purchases under the program continued to grow and Starbucks expanded its network of farmer support. A satellite location in Guatemala City opened in 2006, followed by Rwanda in 2009, Tanzania in 2011 and Colombia in 2012. Field by field, farm by farm – this new approach to sustainable sourcing was taking root.

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In 2012, Starbucks opened its sixth Farmer Support Center, and first in Asia, in Yunnan, China’s Pu’er region. Alan Tong was the first agronomist at the <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/yunnan-single-origin-coffee/">China Farmer Support Center</a>, starting with just 25 coffee growers.

Since then, he and his team have trained nearly 10,000 farmers in China in sustainable farming practices and 1,200 farms are now verified through C.A.F.E. Practices. They are also putting resources toward <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-deepens-its-commitment-in-yunnan-communities/">creating pathways out of poverty in coffee farming communities</a> across the region.

After opening two more Farmer Support Centers in Ethiopia (2014) and Indonesia (2015), Starbucks’ oldest Farmer Support Center also became its newest. In 2016 the San José agronomy center moved from its downtown office building to a farm 15 miles up a mountain road to the foot of the Poàs Volcano. The 600-acre working farm and visitor’s center at <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/coffee-sustainability/">Hacienda Alsacia</a> serves as Starbucks global agronomy research and development center.

“I can show [farmers] how we have been doing things,” said Victor Trejos, general manager of Hacienda Alsacia. “How we have been planting, how we fertilize, soil tests … and how they can do the same.” 

The farm includes 14 hectares dedicated to research. It’s a testing ground to push the boundaries of agronomy research to breed trees that are resistant to coffee leaf rust, or roya, which is ravaging coffee crops in Latin America. The team also analyzes soil, fine tunes pruning techniques, and supports farmers in other ways to increase coffee trees’ quality and productivity. Its findings aren’t kept in a company vault; they are shared freely with researchers and farmers everywhere.

To date, Starbucks has trained more than 52,000 farmers with free access to education and resources through its Farmer Support Centers, with a goal of reaching 200,000 farmers by 2020.&nbsp;Its aspiration is to&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2015/making-coffee-the-worlds-first-sustainably-sourced-agriculture-product/">make coffee the world’s first sustainably sourced agricultural product</a>.

But for Rodriguez, the accomplishment is best measured one farm, one farmer at a time.

“To me, as a professional, as a partner, it’s the best part really when you start working with a particular farmer and see that they are improving their living conditions and being able to keep producing coffee as a good business,” he said. “That’s the best. It’s really something that motivates us.” 

Coffee & Craft

Coffee &amp; Craft Archives - Starbucks Stories EMEA

Starbucks Stories EMEA

Centred on Sustainability - Starbucks Stories EMEA

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/coffee/

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How Starbucks provide farmers across the globe free access to education and resources.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2019/ensuring-access-to-agronomy-education-and-resources/

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Centred on Sustainability

Centered on Sustainability

A lot of people, love and science make your morning cup happen.

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At a coffee farm on the side of volcano in Costa Rica, Starbucks is innovating and learning on behalf of the coffee farmers everywhere. All that research is open-source, in pursuit of making coffee the first sustainable agriculture product. It’s a huge undertaking, but one that everyone involved takes personally. 

From seed to cup: The journey to sustainable coffee - Starbucks Stories EMEA

From seed to cup: The journey to sustainable coffee

A lot of people, love and science make your morning cup happen.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2019/from-seed-to-cup-the-journey-to-sustainable-coffee/

In honor of International Women’s Day, meet Cecilia Valderrama Gómez, Manjula Kahar and Nande Anggun, women who live in different countries but are united in their commitment to improving their communities with the support of The Starbucks Foundation. 

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It was a mother’s sacrifice that was nearly unfathomable. In order to save her children, Cecilia Valderrama Gómez knew she would have to send them away. She and her husband and four children lived in El Escobal, a rural area in Colombia that was controlled for 50 years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

“Because of the conflict, people were living in fear,” she said. “There was a lot of fear in doing just basic activities. We couldn’t dare try to leave the area.” 

The FARC was known to recruit young children and use them as runners. So, when Valderrama Gómez’s children were between 9 and 13, she sent three of them to stay with family in a safer area where they could go to school and wouldn’t be taken by the FARC.

“I didn’t want them to be at risk,” she said. Years passed, and it wasn’t until the conflict ended two years ago that she saw them again. Her son who wasn’t able to go with the others ended up being conscripted by the FARC and later went to jail.

It’s overwhelming recalling all that she went through living in the shadow of the FARC, she said. Instead, she chooses to focus on the present and work toward the future. Today, “I’m happy and hopeful,” she said. “I have always wanted to help others fight for a better life and to help others get ahead.”

Valderrama Gómez, 52, is doing exactly that as president of the Escobal Women’s Association, an organization comprised of 16 women, dedicated to improving conditions for the community after the conflict. About half of the families in her community don’t have basic sanitation services. Many don’t have bathrooms. 

That’s now starting to change due to help from a $500,000 grant to Lutheran World Relief from The Starbucks Foundation, which is targeted toward improving sanitation and access to clean water and also creating greater economic opportunity for women in coffee communities in Tolima, Colombia. 

In 2018, The Starbucks Foundation announced a goal of empowering 250,000 women and girls by 2025 in communities where coffee, tea, and cocoa is grown. Since then, the foundation has given nearly $4 million dollars to 11 programs focused on women’s leadership opportunities, economic development, access to water, sanitation, health, education and more. 

Starbucks currently partners with a number of non-profits around the world who lead the programs, including Barefoot College, CARE, Days for Girls International, Lutheran World Relief (in Colombia and Indonesia), Roger Federer Foundation, Send a Cow, UNICEF Ethical Tea Partnership, Instituto del Café’ de Costa Rica, Malala Fund and World Relief.

Fact Sheet: <a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/uploads/2019/03/Fact-Sheet-The-Starbucks-Foundation-Grants-to-Empowering-Women.pdf">The Starbucks Foundation Grants to Empowering Women</a>

“When you invest in women, you are investing in an entire ecosystem,” said Virginia Tenpenny, vice president of Global Social Impact at Starbucks and executive director of The Starbucks Foundation. “We’re focused on investments that lead to women being empowered, specifically in health, educational opportunities and income, so they can in turn empower their families and communities as well.”

The women of the Escobal Women’s Association may be small in number, but they know how to organize and get things done, a point of pride for Valderrama Gómez. They raise bees and sell the honey locally, providing an income for their families while working toward a goal of being able to sell their honey in the larger cities and grow their customer base. 

They are also about to use those same organizational skills to help facilitate the building of more toilets in her community. Women from her group will meet with families in the area to assess the need. And then they’ll coordinate getting the supplies there via a two-hour journey by donkey.

Valderrama Gómez knows that better sanitation means less sickness and disease. People get sick if the water is contaminated. The closest hospital is miles away. 

“If you have better sanitation, you have better health,” she said. “My hope is to see new projects continue and for the community to really grow, not just in prosperity but in peace.”

That’s the hope of The Starbucks Foundation too, said Tenpenny.

“Women have an instinct to pay it forward,” she said. In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, meet some of the other women who are working to change the world, one community at a time.

At 3 p.m. each afternoon, about 120 children arrive at Majula Kahar’s home in Assam, India, for her after-school education program. For the next two hours, Kahar teaches them how to read and write. Though Kahar comes from modest means, she does it without pay, committed to helping the children have opportunities she didn’t growing up. 

Like them, Kahar, now 26, grew up on the Moran Tea Estate, the daughter of a tea picker. She attended the local government school when she was a girl, especially unusual for young girls in the region. Due to limited access to school and lack of resources, many children on tea estates who do attend school drop out before high school without being able to read, making aspirations and economic opportunities nearly impossible.

&nbsp;“The after-school program that these children are a part of is for lower-income groups,” she said. “I feel change will come when it is communicated that education is a largest priority. I want the community to be educated and to value education.”

In many tea communities, education is prioritized for boys, with girls being expected to focus on household chores, she said. But Kahar’s mother, a tea picker whom she calls the core of the family, always placed value on education. She encouraged all three of her children to continue school, even as Kahar saw many of her friends drop out and get married early. &nbsp;

Kahar went through a training program to learn how to teach children as part of <a href="https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/tea">Mercy Corps’ Community Health and Advancement Initiative (CHAI)</a>, supported since 2003 by &nbsp;The Starbucks Foundation. Today she is earning her Bachelor of Arts degree at Moran College to advance access to education for children in her community.&nbsp;

“I always had the desire to be a teacher,” she said. “Education was not a priority on tea estates growing up, and after getting training, I began teaching kids in the community. I quickly saw, after three or four months, an improvement in students. They could now recognize the alphabet and write short sentences. One student even began to sing stories in the classroom to friends.&nbsp; This is the inspiration I see in schools. I am happy that I can contribute to my community and society.”

The number of students who come to Kahar’s classes continues to grow. Many, who are eager for the chance to learn, are bringing their friends. She finds room for them all.

Education, she knows, is the key to unlocking a better life, particularly for girls.

“I want to see women and girls uplifted in parts of the world where they are deprived of education,” she said. “I hope one day the woman will rise and be given importance in the world.”

After she graduates from college, she wants to be a school teacher, which she sees as her path to changing the world. 

It’s early morning and Nande Anggun, 48, has not been to bed yet. As a midwife, she’s accustomed to being up at all hours at the side of women who need her. On this day last week, she’s just helped deliver a baby girl – part of the next generation of women in the Indonesian community that Anggun has devoted her life to helping empower.

In addition to being a midwife for the last 26 years, she also works with young children and the elderly, tends to her farm of 200 coffee trees and is also the treasurer of Pembianaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (PKK), a family welfare organization led by women focused on helping develop women’s leadership, governance, management, strategic planning and more in their villages. It’s rare for her to get more than six hours of sleep a night, but it’s worth it, she says, because she knows that this is how change happens.

“I’m very proud to participate in community activities because I look for how the women in my community can have a better life,” she said, as she sat in the lobby of her local health clinic. 

In 2018 Lutheran World Relief, which works with PKK, was given a three-year grant from The Starbucks Foundation totaling $500,000 to support women-led community health and hygiene programs for 2,100 households in Indonesian coffee-producing villages. 

PKK is leading a series of workshops where women in the community can discuss various topics about health and family. The group is focused on helping women build, and then advocate, for their own agendas in their lives and communities. Often, she said, the weight of caring for the family and making sure bills are paid falls to women, even when they are working outside the home. 

“Women are considered the responsible person for running a family,” she said. 

She recently led a workshop focused on the roles of women and men in families – and how women can navigate conversations with their husbands about being more involved as fathers and seeing their wives as equals. It sparked a conversation with Anggun’s own husband, whom she said doesn’t always understand why she is so busy volunteering her time. 

She puts her hand to her heart as she talks about what matters – she wants to make things better for those who are coming behind her. Women coming together can be powerful, she said. “It’s not always just about gaining new knowledge, but other women might be thinking about the same things,” she said. That is how change begins.

Her face lights up as she talks about her own children, a 25-year-old daughter and her 21-year-old son. 

“As a mother, I always hope my daughter can hope she has a better life than me. I hope she and her husband can discuss everything about the family,” she said.

In addition to the community workshops, part of the grant is focused toward improving sanitation and access to clean water. Women who volunteer with PKK will be trained to help educate people about better sanitation. Grant dollars will help fund the construction of 18 communal water and sanitation facilities in five communities, featuring a shower, toilet, sink and water storage tank. 

While Anggun has running water at her house, many in her village don’t. When she goes to visit friends who only have latrines and no water, she worries for them, she said. 

Better health, better sanitation and women who are truly supported in their communities are the goals that drive her, she said. “When I grow old and look back, I hope that people will remember the work I’ve done and the love and hope I have for people,” she said.

Just then, someone approaches and Anggun excuses herself. A woman in labor needs her. Another baby, part of the next generation in her community, was about to be born. 

Luz Ruiz Salazar contributed to this story.

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3 women changing the world, a community at a time - Starbucks Stories EMEA

3 women changing the world, a community at a time

In honor of International Women’s Day, meet Cecilia Valderrama Gómez, Manjula Kahar and Nande Anggun, women who live in different countries but are united in their commitment to improving their communities with the support of The Starbucks Foundation.

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2019/women-in-coffee-and-tea-communities/

In honor of International Women’s Day, meet Cecilia Valderrama Gómez, Manjula Kahar and Nande Anggun, women who live in different countries but are united in their commitment to improving their communities.

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3rd January 2019: Today, Starbucks announces the launch of its Blonde Espresso Roast to over 3,000 stores throughout EMEA, bringing customers an entirely new way to experience coffee.&nbsp; By introducing a Blonde Espresso Roast to its permanent menu, alongside its Signature dark Espresso Roast, customers will now be able to tailor the foundation of any handcrafted espresso-based drinks from a Flat White, Vanilla Latte or any iced espresso drink.

Created by Starbucks master blenders and roasters – with more than 45 years of roasting experience – the new Blonde Espresso Roast has a smooth body that’s balanced with citrusy notes. An entirely new take on what espresso-based drinks can taste like, it is perfect for those looking for something a little smoother, with no compromise on flavour.

The unique Blonde blend brings together beans from Latin America and East Africa, roasted to the peak of their flavour. The Latin American coffees lend a round, smooth body, while the East African coffees bring out flavours of lemon, orange and caramel.

Reuben Arnold, Vice President, Product &amp; Marketing, Starbucks EMEA, said: “Since 2017, our stores in the US and Canada introduced Blonde Espresso Roast for the first time and the feedback has been overwhelming so we’re really excited to now be able to offer that to our customers in our 3,000 stores in EMEA too. Customers can now choose from the new Blonde Espresso Roast for a mellow but mighty taste, or the Signature Espresso Roast for a bold and rich flavour. It’s a great way to invite new espresso drinkers to try our coffee, while also offering our coffee experts new options.”

The new Starbucks Blonde Roast is available from 3rd January 2019, for no additional charge.

Starbucks drinks are served as standard with semi-skimmed milk*.

*All Flat White drinks are served with whole milk as standard.

Starbucks is proud to have reached the milestone of 99% certified ethically sourced coffee through its Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices, developed with Conservation International. C.A.F.E. Practices is a set of sustainability standards, which are designed to help farmers grow coffee in a way that’s better for both people and the planet. Over one million coffee farmers on four continents have benefitted from the programme. Starbucks is also a founding member of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge with Conservation International, with an ambition to make coffee the first sustainable agricultural commodity in the world.

The new, Blonde Roast will be available in stores around EMEA  alongside Starbucks Signature Espresso roast, bringing customers a new way to customise their coffee.

Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast Launches in EMEA

Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast Launches in stores around Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2019/starbucks-blonde-espresso-roast-launches-in-stores-around-europe-the-middle-east-and-africa-emea/

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Today, 1st November 2018, Starbucks welcomes the festive season with the launch of its highly anticipated Christmas cups and seasonal drinks – marking the count-down until Christmas for many.

Since 1997, Starbucks has designed Christmas cups to reflect the joy of the season, with their return becoming a festive tradition and a <a href="https://news.starbucks.com/news/20-years-of-starbucks-holiday-cups">symbol of the season</a>. This year, for the first time since 1999, Starbucks has unveiled two cup designs – perfect for wrapping cold hands around and creating those eye-catching quintessential Instagram posts.

Inspired by the nostalgic, joyful taste of the season and Starbucks coffee heritage, the new green ‘Stargyle’ cup features stars twinkling against a back-drop of interlinking diamonds in varying shades of Starbucks green. The new iconic red cup ‘Stripes’ features graphic bands of bright poppy red and a darker cranberry, accented with white pale rose gold. A ribbon of black, white and Starbucks green on the back ties both cup designs together. For those who opt for reuse, Starbucks has also given its classic £1 reusable cup a merry make-over with a new red festive design.

It’s not just what’s on the outside that will make people smile.&nbsp; Starbucks has also launched its Christmas drinks line-up, with a range of new as well as returning favourites. Brand new drinks this year include a delicious Christmas Brulee Latte, Salted Caramel Brownie Hot Chocolate, and a Flat White with Cinnamon Spice. Returning to the festive line up is the classic Gingerbread Latte and Toffee Nut Latte.

Starbucks drinks are served as standard with semi-skimmed milk*. There are thousands of ways to customise Starbucks drinks, including asking for less or no whipped cream, without drizzle or toppings, or choosing one of three sugar-free syrups: vanilla, hazelnut or caramel – which all helps to reduce sugar and calories.

Introducing Starbucks Festive Drinks Menu

A seasonal take on the traditional Crème Brulee – Creamy eggnog milk is steamed with a rich Crème Brulee Sauce and mixed with fresh espresso, then finished with a Christmas Brulee. Soft spices compliment the coffee and the luxurious, Crème Brulee Sauce. The Latte is topped with a sprinkle of Crème Brulee Twinkle.

Steamed milk and mocha sauce combined with salted caramel sauce, then topped with a salted caramel brownie whipped cream and finished with a blend of brownie crumbles and salted caramel brittle. The perfect balance between sweet and salty.

A subtle hint of cardamom, vanilla and cinnamon spice is mixed with our espresso to give your Flat White a sophisticated twist (can be offered as a Latte as well). Cinnamon spice sugar is steamed into milk and poured over espresso, bringing a festive spark to your morning coffee.

For the ultimate drink to get you into the festive spirit, the Gingerbread Latte has everything you need.&nbsp;Topped with a gingerbread whipped cream and crunchy wafer, the sweet and delicately spicy gingerbread flavours mingle with espresso and steamed milk. A finishing touch of ground nutmeg and is sure to hit that spirited spot every time.

One of the most celebrated festive favourites, the Toffee Nut Latte is perfect for customers who prefer caramel flavours or nutty treats. Its rich, buttery flavour of sweet toffee is combined with the warmth of toasted nuts and blended with espresso and velvety steamed milk. Generously finished with whipped cream and our classic Toffee Nut Sprinkles.

The return of the Eggnog Latte is celebrated by fans all over the world. Made by combining Starbucks 100% Arabica espresso with creamy, steamed eggnog and served with a dusting of ground nutmeg, it gets everyone feeling Christmassy, and contains 11% less total sugar since 2015. (Available in the UK only)

Starbucks welcomes the festive season with the launch of its highly anticipated Christmas cups and seasonal drinks – marking the count-down until Christmas for many.

Starbucks count-down to Christmas with new cups and drinks

Starbucks marks the count-down to Christmas with brand new festive cups and drinks

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2018/starbucks-marks-the-count-down-to-christmas-with-brand-new-festive-cups-and/

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There is always a person behind the coffee, but could there be a champion barista behind your next beverage? Meet the finalists in line competing for the ultimate title

After almost 12 months of competition and practice to make it to the 2018 Starbucks EMEA Barista Championship Final, 28 National Champions—with over 164 years of Starbucks experience between them — made it to Amsterdam, all vying for the title of being named the best barista.

The week-long competition has already seen incredible barista bar skill artistry and knowledge of Starbucks ethically sourced coffee tested to ensure the semi-finalists’ skills on the bar and with the product were at their highest. As the top 10 baristas were presented with limited-edition coffee cupping spoons, two additional spoons remained — to the surprise of all watching, these special spoons were for two wild card champions.

However, there will only be one taking home the prized purple apron, let’s meet them.

John Lester Flores, originally from the Philippines, now lives in Dubai and is representing the United Arab Emirates

"It took me two attempts, and on the third attempt finally I made it. It took courage, hard-work and perseverance for me to become a Barista Champion".

"To be a champion it takes time, patience, love, people taking care of you and pushing you."

"Starbucks is a whole way of life, an opportunity to express myself and what I love."

"I get to know new customers every day, I always offer ceramics first – the planet will say thank you."

"You have to be transparent to show your love for the coffee every day in store. I also think that hard work always pays off."

"I have been a fan since 2011 when I started collecting city mugs – the power of Starbucks is you feel like home no matter where you are in the world."

"Starbucks, from the beginning, meant family to me."

"I'm proud to be a Champion and it's a big responsibility. Using social media, I share training videos with my district."

"Starbucks means living their mission statement of neutering the human spirit – it's all about minor differences we make to our customer"

"I've been a Starbucks customer for over 13 years, it is like my second home, or even my first! To now be part of the Starbucks family mean a lot to me."

"I feel so proud. It makes me happy and proud to lead my partners, be a good example, and inspire them that they can do the same."

"It felt amazing to become a National Champion as I was competing against such passionate partners, and to think I am here representing them is just out of this world."

There is always a person behind the coffee, but could there be a champion barista behind your next beverage? Meet the finalists in line competing for the ultimate title.

Starbucks names its top Baristas for Barista Champion

From 28 to 12: Starbucks names its top baristas who are competing to earn the title Barista Champion

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2018/from-28-to-12-starbucks-names-its-top-baristas-who-are-competing-to-earn-th/

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Today’s International Coffee Day (1 October) will be celebrated with the gathering of 28 top baristas who are travelling from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to Amsterdam where they will share their passion and skills for ethically-sourced coffee. These 28 baristas have all won the coveted title of National Barista Champion, and now they will attempt to take their coffee craft expertise one step further – competing to be named Starbucks EMEA Barista Champion 2018.

This year’s Barista Championships are taking place at the Amsterdam Roasting Plant and Starbucks stores across the capital on 3rd, 4th and 5th October. The championships are a showcase of the finest skills and knowledge within the coffee industry as well as an opportunity for the baristas to show off their coffee craft talent. During the three day battle each barista’s bar skills, coffee tasting expertise, creativity and latte art will be put to the test by the judging panel, before the 2018 Champion is crowned.

From Deutschland to Denmark or Saudi Arabia to South Africa – the baristas journey to Amsterdam commenced almost 12 months ago when regional championships began across our 40 EMEA markets. All championships comprise of three key elements: Barista Craft, Signature Beverage and Personal Coffee Tastings. Baristas showcase their latte art skills, create their own signature beverage using ingredients that currently exist in Starbucks stores and provide a coffee tasting of their choosing. That tasting may include a food pairing, music or any other sensory experience that enhances the coffee experience. After several rounds of competitions, 28 national champions were crowned and now only one can take home the golden pitcher and rare EMEA Barista Champion purple apron.

The country champions have been tirelessly finessing their latte art and International Coffee Day signals the final day of practice. The baristas practice also includes deepening their knowledge of Starbucks most recent achievements to help strengthen the long-term stability of the coffee industry. &nbsp;Barista Champions are not only impressive coffee craftspeople, but also ambassadors of Starbucks ethical sourcing&nbsp;– here are the recent achievement they’ll be sharing when the finals kicks-off this Wednesday:

This year has seen significant investment in the opening of Hacienda Alsacia Visitor Centre in Costa Rica – Starbucks first coffee farm that’s open to the public as well as serving as a global Research and Development Centre into issues such as coffee leaf rust.

99% of Starbucks coffee is verified ethically-sourced by Conservation International and under our C.A.F.E. Practices programme. The remaining 1% reflects the small coffee farms where Starbucks can have the most impact – bringing new resources and support to farmers. This also allows Starbucks to open new coffee markets and share small-lot coffees with customers around the world – all while bringing farming communities along on the journey to its ethical sourcing standard.

Starbucks is also donating up to $20 million to temporarily relieve smallholder farmers in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador, as record low coffee prices leave them struggling to cover basic production costs during the upcoming harvest season.

Starbucks also recently donated 2 million disease-resilient coffee seeds to help farmers on Puerto Rico, following the hurricane reboot the coffee industry, and to date, has invested more than $100 million in supporting coffee communities.

Collaborative farmer programmes and activities – including Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices, farmer support centres, farmer loans and forest carbon projects – improve farmer livelihoods and ensuring a long-term supply of high-quality coffee for the industry.

To learn more about Starbucks C.A.F.E practices, click here: <a href="http://www.starbucks.co.uk/responsibility/ethicalsourcing/ourcoffee">www.starbucks.co.uk/responsibility/ethicalsourcing/ourcoffee</a>

28 leading baristas convene in Amsterdam to champion ethical sourcing and barista craft.

Starbucks EMEA Barista Championship Returns

International Coffee Day celebrated with the return of Barista Championships

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2018/international-coffee-day-celebrated-with-the-return-of-barista-championship/

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The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan is an intricate masterpiece of Italian craftsmanship and coffee innovation. The marble and brick, the twisting copper pipes and blossoming bronze roasting cask, the cascade of sounds and vibrant colors and changing light – where to even start?

Don’t worry. We’ve got you. Here are 10 initial things to look for in the new Milan Roastery.

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Milan is the third Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the world (the Seattle Roastery opened in 2014, and Shanghai in 2017) but the first where customers can move all the way around the bright green Scolari roaster (made in Italy, by the way) and watch every step of the coffee roasting process from bean to cup.

The epicenter of the new Roastery is a 22-foot, first-of-its-kind bronze roasting cask that periodically unfolds and rotates, like a blooming flower, to give customers a rare glimpse of the de-gassing phase of the coffee bean roasting process.

While the Seattle and Shanghai Roasteries used rich, dark tones, the Milan Roastery is an explosion of color, including marble in jewel tones and a roaster and clackerboard display in a distinctive, vibrant green inspired by the coffee card for Starbucks Reserve Ethiopia Kayan Mountain Farm.

The entrance wall of the Roastery features a floor-to-ceiling, engraved brass story of Starbucks. Guests can view the wall as it is or, with the help of their mobile device, can experience the wall in augmented reality (AR), giving them access to even more multimedia artifacts about the company’s history and the art and science of coffee.

In a nod to the marble countertops featured in espresso bars across Milan, all of the bars in the Roastery are marble and warm to the touch, thanks to radiant heat inside. They were carved from the same 30-ton block of Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble from a Tuscan quarry.

The Roastery’s stunning mosaiced marble floor is handcrafted in the traditional Palladianan style, while its geometric ceiling was designed and engineered digitally, creating a floor-to-ceiling blend of history and future.

On the Roastery’s mezzanine, up a sweeping staircase, is the chic Arriviamo Bar. Inspired by the tradition of the Italian aperitivo, early evening social cocktails paired with small bites, the bar features more than 100 cocktails with new creations and traditional favorites like the Negroni and the Aperol spritz..

At the end of the Roastery’s main coffee bar on the ground floor is a theatrical mix of food and beverage that partners have dubbed “Fire and Ice.” A line of siphons with glowing flames for brewing coffee sits next to an affogato station creating ice cream with liquid nitrogen, generating clouds of puffy, white vapor with each hand-crafted batch.

The Princi Bakery in the Milan Roastery is anchored by a wood-fired oven, made brick-by-brick on site – local baker Rocco Princi’s ultimate tool for making bread the way it’s meant to be done.

Outside on the Roastery’s distinctly European terrace, customers can enjoy the full range of Roastery coffees, cocktails and cuisine. As you make your way out to the leafy, street-side café tables on the terrace – some of which sit in giant, bronze bird cages – be sure to look for the stunning statue of the siren in the portico, hand-carved from Carrara marble by Tuscan sculptor Giovanni Balderi.

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan is an extravaganza of Italian tradition and coffee innovation, design and craftsmanship, color and light. Here’s what to look for on your first visit.

10 things to know about the Milan Roastery

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