Starbucks To Sell Coffee From India For The First Time Image courtesy of eesti
Tired of picking up bags of the same old Colombian coffee at Starbucks? You’ll soon be able to branch out, as the coffee giant announced today that it will, for a limited time, offer coffee from India for sale this fall — but only in Seattle.
Starbucks said on Monday that it would sell single-origin, small-lot arabica coffee from the Tata Nellore Estates in India in the U.S. for the first time. Tata Global Beverages is Starbucks’ partner in the dozens of coffee shops the company has opened in recent years in India.
For now, the arabica coffee will be roasted and sold at Starbucks’ Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room in Seattle.
The new partnership is Starbucks’ attempt at supporting coffee production in the country, while also increasing its roasting capacity at stores in India. The coffee giant plans to expand the offerings to other reserve batches in coming years.
Starbucks has been selling the Tata coffee at its 84 locations in India. This first expansion of the India-grown coffee allows Starbucks’ local partner to get a small foothold in the American market. Coffee is a growing export for India, which is now the sixth-largest coffee producer in the world.
The deal also paves the way for Starbucks to start selling coffee from outside of India to customers who have only been able to buy the locally grown product since the coffee chain opened in 2012.
“These announcements build upon the incredible success and shared values between Starbucks and Tata in our partnership in India,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, said in a statement.
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