Our flagship project in Chiapas

Starbucks Shade Grown Mexico coffee, purchased through CI’s Conservation CoffeeTM program, comes exclusively from farms surrounding the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots.

More than 300 species of birds, including the endangered Queztal, can be found in the reserve – which amounts to about 3% of all known bird species in the world. El Triunfo is also home to 45 types of reptiles and 30 species of mammals, many of which are unique to this area. The Reserve spans four climate zones and is the largest continuous cloud forest in Mesoamerica.

 The Quetzal, from Chiapas Mexico, is one of the primary benefactors of shade grown coffee.

The conservation efforts among the farmers living and growing coffee on the Reserve are essential to its preservation. Improvements in small-scale coffee production can help ensure the long-term economic viability of the farmers.

Making progress

In fiscal 2003, Starbucks invested $200,000 in CI’s Conservation Coffee™ program. According to CI, in 2001, farmers producing Shade Grown Mexico received a 60 percent price premium over local prices for their coffee. Today there are nearly 700 farmers and more than 2000 hectares involved in the program. In fiscal 2005 Starbucks purchased more than 1.9 million pounds(0.9 million kilograms)Conservation Coffee in order to cope with the increasing demand and to ensure its availability throughout the year. Starbucks has committed to invest $11.5 million the next 3 years to support the expansion of the Conservation Coffee™ program in Central America, Peru and Colombia