All beans sold at Starbucks in Colombia are sourced from Colombia. That’s a model which finds favour with strict coffee boards in core coffee countries.
Starbucks described the concept of single origin beans as novel for the global chain that started in the Seattle, USA.
“It’s also the company’s first and only store in
the world to serve 100 percent locally sourced coffee,” states Starbucks on the deal.
Starbucks wants 50 stores in Colombia in the medium term for the 50 million fast growing nation.
Its a single-source model that could find favour in Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Jamaica.
Starbucks however would need to bunch smaller countries like Jamaica with existing investments in Central America for such a venture to even register as a single digit in the company’s financials which earned US$15 billion revenues last year.
“When we set out to design
this store, we wanted to reflect that coffee heritage through store design and create a truly elevated experience for our customers,” stated head of Starbucks design Latin America Bret Lewis.
The highlight of the local selection is its Starbucks Reserve® coffees from Colombia. These are rare collections of single source coffees,
available only in select stores worldwide.
“As our first Reserve location in the region,
serving some of the finest and rarest
Colombian coffees, we had a unique
opportunity to try a bold design that captures
our coffee passion,” Lewis said.
Starbucks own coffee
heritage with Colombia dates back to the
1970s.
On the second level of the store, past a short
flight of stairs, a one-of-a-kind interactive
coffee bar experience awaits. Here, customers
meet one-on-one with Starbucks baristas to
learn about sourcing, the art of blending, the
coffee roast spectrum, and to try various
brewing methods – from the manual pour-over
style Chemex® Coffeemaker, to the classic
coffee press. It’s an opportunity for customers
to try any of the five different varieties of
Colombian coffee offered in the store.
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