Oh hey, nice cup of coffee. Do you know what it takes to make that?
in 2013 Starbucks but a coffee farm in the side of a volcano in Costa Rica
we call it Hacienda Alsacia.
We didn't buy this farm because we needed more coffee,
we bought it to learn about the problems coffee farmers are facing.
So who are these farmers?
Meet Victor.
Victor manages the farm and he loves coffee
Victor's worked in coffee for over 25 years
and spends his days on the farm making sure we have the highest quality trees possible.
"Look at that"
That being said, he couldn't do it without Carlos Mario.
Carlos Mario is in charge of all research and development at the farm.
He's one of the world's most and respected agronomist
and is is the go-to guy for all of our farmers support centers around the world.
one thing that they discovered while talking with other farmers
is that climate change is destroying the trees
due to the rise of rust.
No not that kind of rust.
This kind of rust.
Here's Conservation International's CEO Dr. Sanjayan to tell us all about it.
"There's a really solid connection between climate change and the
availability of coffee, particularly good coffee."
"So you take a disease like coffee rust which destroys millions of coffee trees around the world
climate change makes that fungal disease just a lot worse.
So unless we do something about it, coffee really becomes at risk."
Oh no, we gotta stop this.
on our farm we're dedicated to ensuring the future of coffee
from the seed, to the cup.
We have a nursery where we're growing unique hybrids of trees
that are highly resistant to diseases like rust.
So what do we do with these trees?
Well we plant them.
Then the sun shines on them,
then we wait
then we wait some more.
Once the trees grow we pick the cherries.
Did you know that coffee cherries are picked by hand?
These hands!
once the cherries are picked
they take a bumpy ride to the wet mil
from there they're given a float test
to separate the good from the bad
and then the skin to removed and the beans are raked
in the pretty patterns to be dried up by the sun.
Pause
Did you know you can come and see all this in action?
On the farm there's a visitor center
where you can actually pick some of the cherries and taste the coffee being grow here.
Not to mention, you never know who you're gonna run into.
Oh hey Howard
"This is our first farm that we have actually owned and operated."
"We've been working side by side with farmers to lead in sustainable farming practices."
No way! That's so cool.
So how do we actually make sure that all that coffee tastes great too?
Well that's Jessi's job.
she works in quality control.
She samples all the coffee grown at the farm to make sure it's up to our standards.
Yes, every single batch.
Once we get the all-clear from her the beans are roasted on-site.
Then it's off to the cafe where Jose Daniel is ready to take your order.
Wait a minute. Does this guy look familiar?
It's Victor's son and he's a barista at the cafe on the farm.
Even though we're a big company, coffee is still personal to us.
From knowing the names of our farmers to growing stronger coffee trees
we're dedicated to finding solutions not just for Starbucks, but for everyone who loves coffee.
That's why everything we learn on the farm is open source and shared with farmers around the world.
So the next time you take a sip of that delicious cup of coffee,
make sure to remember the faces of the people who made it possible
because they're thinking of you
everystep of the way.