A woman drinks a cup of Starbucks coffee in a store at Qianmen Commercial Street in central Beijing, April 19, 2012. [Photo / Reuters] |
Starbucks, the world's largest coffee house chain, opened its first Farmer Support Center in Asia and sixth globally in Pu'er, Yunnan province, on Wednesday, in a bid to help improve the quality of local coffee beans and make Pu'er a stable sourcing region.
"The opening of the Starbucks China Farmer Support Center is a milestone in Starbucks' continued investments in China and the Starbucks Yunnan Coffee Project," said John Culver, president of Starbucks China and Asia-Pacific.
Culver added that Yunnan would continue to play an important role in the company's long-term supply of premium arabica coffee, as it continues to expand its store base in China, reaching 1,500 outlets in 2015.
The Seattle-based company has been purchasing locally produced coffee beans for a few years, and launched its first blend with beans from Yunnan in 2009.
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