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Starbucks [SBUX] has a voracious need for high-quality arabica beans (as opposed to the cheaper robusta beans traditionally favored by your traditional grocery packager of big red cans of coffee). Its ever-expanding business model requires it to take the lead in ensuring steady growth in economically-viable coffee-growers throughout the developing world.
The Daily Monitor of Addis Ababa reports (Via allAfrica.com ) that Starbucks is set to triple the amount of coffee beans it buys from African countries beginning with 2007's growing season. SBUX currently buys just 5% of its beans from the four coffee-producing African nations: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The company pledges to pay better than "conventional markets" for the beans -- provided, the article notes, that the "prices and conditions coffee beans are traded with at each level of the transactions" are transparent.
This is in keeping with the Coffee Farmers and Equity (CAFE) program that Starbucks itself created to "evaluate, recognize, and reward producers of high-quality sustainably grown coffee" with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) an independent evaluation and certification firm.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-05-2006 @ 12:31PM
foodmannyc said...
It is interesting the impression most people have about Arabica beans, Yes they have a connotation of being the "finest" beans, however in Italy major roasters use a blend of Arabica and Robusta, one reason is RObusta beans have a little bitterness and let off some extra body , but this is assuming the beans are properly blended and roasted,
You can mess up the mest arabica beans just as you can make a great blend, it is about balance.
7-05-2006 @ 1:18PM
Aaron Snowden said...
I am what I would refer to as an occasional coffee drinker.I am not really qualified to rate the quality or taste of coffee (a couple of cups in the AM and acouple cups in the PM but I have become accustomed to the smoothness and flavor of Maxwell House master blend. ( I believe that the original reason for master blend was so Maxwell House could put fillers in blend and thus use less of the more expensive coffee beans)Also the one in the red container has a very similar taste (the brand eludes me at the moment) but you know the one that I am refering to.
I must confess that when I walk into a business that has a Starbucks I am almost overcome by the aroma,butttt I am not that excited of the flavor.
Aaron Snowden
7-05-2006 @ 3:38PM
Selam said...
I am a coffee drinker and enjoy the flavour of the coffee that I drink. I drink SBUC coffee due to the fact that the do offer African coffee. The flavour i find more to my liking than others I have tried. I think what SBUCS is doing is a great thing for the economy of these African countries as it will help in the devolopment of these countries as well.