Behind Starbucks Yunnan Coffee: what has Starbucks done to Yunnan coffee farmers?

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coffee supply chain

The more care we take in growing, picking, and processing coffee, the higher the quality of coffee. Starbucks ethically sources and purchases premium coffee from a diverse network of suppliers. Good relationships with growers ensure that we can obtain high-quality coffee. We look for people who grow, pick and process coffee with the same passion Starbucks has for blending, roasting, packaging and brewing its beans. This passion for coffee is also reflected in our request for every detail of our coffee journey.

We work with different types of suppliers, including:

Small-scale farms: They are usually family-run and the total area of coffee trees is generally less than 12 hectares.

Manor: Combine farm and processing, directly monitor quality throughout the process. Estates are usually owned by local coffee farmers, local businesses or families.

Cooperatives: small farmers come together to achieve economies of scale, access to price negotiations and cooperation in the field of production methods. Cooperatives can also process and export coffee.

Exporters/importers: usually receive or buy green coffee beans from processors and cooperatives and arrange for the shipment of green coffee beans to roasters after signing agreements.

Grower Support Center

Starbucks 'personal connection to coffee growers is of great importance. Starbucks opened its first Grower Support Center (FSC) in San Jose, Costa Rica, in 2004 to provide services and support to coffee growers in Latin America. A second Grower Support Centre was established in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2009 to serve coffee growers in East Africa. 2011 Third FSC established in Yunnan, China.

The FSC team includes agronomists and quality and sustainability experts who work with growers and suppliers on land issues to help improve coffee quality and teach responsible farming practices that benefit growers 'families and their communities.

FSC team specific work:

Develop best practices for growing quality coffee responsibly.

Improve crop quality and yield through better planting and conservation techniques.

Implement and regulate coffee and grower equity norms.

Making an impact through farmer loans and community investment

Coffee is grown mostly in developing countries, Starbucks provides credit to small coffee farmers on reasonable terms, establishes farmer support systems, finances farmer loans and helps coffee farmers cooperatives manage their businesses.

The health and stability of the coffee community has a significant impact on farmers and their ability to produce sustainable crops and yields, and Starbucks provides a range of community grants to support critical infrastructure improvements and agricultural diversification projects. For example, we are working with Heifer International in Tanzania to introduce dairy cattle and improve access to clean water, sanitation and renewable energy, with the aim of helping coffee farmers improve their living conditions and stabilize coffee bean production.

Climate change poses an immediate and long-term threat to coffee farmers worldwide, so Starbucks works with organizations such as CI to closely study the impact of climate change on coffee cultivation and accordingly integrate agricultural methods with coffee and grower equity practices to reduce carbon emissions, ensure that coffee farmers implement environmental conservation practices by planning shelter and reservation areas and actively managing climate-related pest risks.