Starbucks rolls out more coffee products from Yunnan

Leading global coffeehouse Starbucks has further enhanced its localization efforts by rolling out two more reserve coffee products produced in Yunnan province recently.

The two coffee blends, one from Tianyu and Zuo Farm and one from Hong Feng farm in Yunnan province, have been available at its reserve stores nationwide, the fifth consecutive year to develop high-quality and high-yield coffee from local farms.

Yunnan is China's largest coffee-growing province, accounting for over 90 percent of the total output. The Starbucks Yunnan Star project was launched in 2012 after establishing the first Starbucks China Farmer Support Center in Pu'er, Yunnan province, covering all-around supply chains from planting, processing, roasting to retail.

The company has helped local farmers to plant high-quality and high-yield coffee as part of efforts to improve local incomes and livelihoods.

Zhang Qisheng, owner of Hongfeng Farm in Yunnan province, recalled the difficulty to grow top-level coffee in the beginning back in the year of 2019. Starbucks China Farmer Support Center then sent its agricultural technicians and cup testing professionals to work with him and developed solutions to improve the processing part by sun-bathing coffee beans to raise the flavors. For example, Starbucks' support center in Yunnan has raised the wholesale price for coffee growers, offering extra bonuses for the coffee beans that are above Starbucks' purchasing standard.

The move has since greatly boosted the planting activities in the local market. In nine years, quality rate has been raised to more than 80 percent from 20 to 30 percent previously. By the end of August, the coffee grower center in Yunnan has trained coffee growers 27,249 times and has certified a total of 2,383 farms through the Starbucks Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E) Practices, the company's sustainability guidelines for growing and processing quality coffee.