Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee: Yesterday's Favorite Has Become Today's Tradition; Starbucks Christmas Blend Coffee Celebrates 20th Year

Business Wire, Nov 11, 2004

SEATTLE -- It's time to share the year's best blend. Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX) today invites customers to enjoy a holiday tradition now in its 20th year: Starbucks(R) Christmas Blend coffee.

"When we created Christmas Blend in 1984, we wanted to share a very special coffee with our customers and partners," says Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman. "Today, I am very proud that, so many years later, Christmas Blend has become a part of holiday traditions all over the world."

Tom Walters, communications specialist at Starbucks Kent Roasting Plant, was the retail delivery driver in 1984 when the blend was first introduced.

"In 1984, Starbucks was a small chain of five Seattle retail stores selling fresh-roasted coffee beans, loose leaf teas, raw popcorn, bulk chocolate and culinary spices, along with coffee presses and other high-end coffee and tea equipment. Coffee was packaged in paper bags, with a seven-day shelf life," recalls Walters.

"When we introduced a new coffee -- a special blend of Latin American, Pacific and Aged Indonesian beans -- as a gift for customers, we thought it would develop a small, dedicated following," he continues. "But there was a huge stampede of customers buying Christmas Blend in the days leading up to Christmas Eve. For years, we saw ridiculously long lines wrapping around the blocks where our stores were located. Everyone in the company was at the stores helping out until late in the evening on Christmas Eve. This was a very unifying event. We all got together to weigh, grind and package pounds and half pounds for the stores, only to see them sell as soon as they were prepared."

Twenty years later, Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee is Starbucks best-selling seasonal coffee, becoming a favorite part of holiday meals and a delightful gift for coffee lovers.

The coffee starts with a blend of lively Latin American beans and full-bodied Pacific coffees. The finishing touch is the addition of rare, spicy, aged Indonesian beans. This year's aged Indonesian beans were purchased from Sumatra, and aged for three to five years before roasting. When the roasted, aged Sumatra coffee is added to the blend, the result is a soft cedary spice that makes the coffee the perfect finishing touch for a rich meal of turkey and stuffing. Christmas Blend is a sturdy coffee that goes hand-in-hand with many holiday foods, including savory meals and sweet and spicy desserts like pumpkin pie and gingerbread.

Starbucks(R) Christmas Blend coffee (also offered as Holiday Blend) is available now while supplies last in one-pound bags (regular $11.95 U.S./$15.75 CAN; decaffeinated $12.45 U.S./$16.95 CAN) and half-pound bags (regular $6.30 U.S./$8.65 CAN; decaffeinated $6.55 U.S./$8.90 CAN) at Starbucks coffeehouses throughout North America.

Christmas Blend is also available in several of Starbucks special holiday gift packs, including:

--  The Taste of Starbucks Gift Pack

        This gift pack offers coffee lovers and coffee newcomers to a
        sample of our favorite Starbucks(R) coffees. It includes six
        2.5-ounce bags of Christmas Blend, Yukon Blend, Sumatra,
        Caffe Verona, Guatemala Antigua and Kenya coffees.
        ($14.95 U.S./$18.95 CAN)

    --  Dawn & Dusk Gift Pack

        Starbucks Dawn & Dusk coffee gift pack lets you enjoy coffee
        throughout the day. A half-pound of complex, spicy Christmas
        Blend wakes you up in the morning and a half-pound of Decaf
        Christmas Blend tucks you in at night. ($12.95 U.S./
        $16.95 CAN)

    --  Starbucks(R) Christmas Blend Celebration Gift Pack

        This signature gift set includes a specially designed coffee
        press, two matching 12-fluid-ounce mugs with metallic
        accents, a custom coffee scoop, and one pound of Starbucks
        Christmas Blend, all packaged in a reusable serving tray.
        ($69.95 U.S./$89.95 CAN)

Starbucks(R) whole bean coffee assortment includes more than 20 single-origin offerings and blends from around the world, including many worldwide exclusive coffees, such as Bella Vista F.W. Tres Rios(R) Costa Rica, Brazil Ipanema Bourbon(TM), Colombia Narino (Supremo), and Panama La Florentina. Three coffee families help customers select their favorites: "Mild," "Smooth," and "Bold." The "Coffee of the Week" program links brewed coffee to whole bean coffee, providing customers with the opportunity to bring a daily taste home for the weekend. Starbucks Coffee Masters are stationed in stores to answer coffee questions and help customers navigate the world of coffee.

Starbucks Corporation is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 8,700 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino(R) coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot(TM) coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company's brand portfolio provides a wide variety of consumer products. Tazo Tea's line of innovative premium teas and Hear Music's exceptional compact discs enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products.