The Starbucks Story

Our story began in 1971. Back then we were a roaster and retailer of whole bean and ground coffee, tea and spices with a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.

Today, we are privileged to welcome millions of customers through our doors every day, in more than 17,000 locations in over 50 countries.

Starbucks is named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Our logo is also inspired by the sea – featuring a twin‐tailed siren from Greek mythology.

Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.

We’ve always believed in serving the best coffee possible. It's our goal for all of our coffee to be grown under the highest standards of quality, using ethical sourcing practices. Our coffee buyers personally travel to coffee farms in Latin America, Africa and Asia to select the highest quality arabica beans. Once these quality beans arrive at our roasting plants, Starbucks experts bring out the balance and rich flavor of the beans through the signature Starbucks Roast™

Our stores are a welcoming third place for meeting friends and family, enjoying a quiet moment alone with a book or simply finding a familiar place in a new city.

Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States and Wales.

We offer the finest coffees in the world, grown, prepared and served by the finest people. Our employees, who we call partners, are at the heart of the Starbucks Experience.

Our store partners are committed to coffee knowledge, product expertise and customer service.

We believe in treating our partners with respect and dignity. We are proud to offer two landmark programs for our partners: comprehensive health coverage for eligible full‐ and part‐time partners and equity in the company through our Bean Stock program.