Honoring farmers for exceptional coffee.
Starbucks pays tribute to the farmers of each Black Apron Exclusives™ coffee with a cash award, helping fund projects that support their communities, the environment and coffee sustainability. Past awards have contributed to projects in all three coffee-growing regions.
100% Kona. The farm responsible for this delicate, light-bodied coffee donated its proceeds to the Start Now Foundation, a non profit organization that supports drug education and prevention programs for Kona’s youth.
Ethiopia Harrar. The coffee-farming village of Dire Dawa, which brought us this coffee with its intriguing blueberry aroma, used the award money to support their community’s medical, dental and vision services.
El Salvador Estate Pacamara. Funds awarded to the growers of this floral and juicy coffee were put toward the infrastructure of the Montecarlos Estate to help ensure a better living for the farming community there.
Aged Sumatra Lot 523, Crop Year 1998. Our coffee warehouse partners in Singapore, where this coffee was aged, contributed funds to Child at Street 11, a nonprofit daycare center. The center’s mission is to educate and help young children from low-income and dysfunctional families break out of cycle of poverty.
Kigabah Estate, Papua New Guinea. The Estate immediately applied their award money to fund educational programs in the Waghi Valley community schools.
Elephant Kinjia, Blackburn Estate, Tanzania. Blackburn Estate’s award contributed to water systems at the village medical dispensary, improving living conditions and health services as well as providing funds for coffee research.
La Candelilla Estate, Tarrazu, Costa Rica. With the first in five generations of Sanchez family members attending college, this farming community has used the award money for scholarships and computers furthering their educational goals.
Shirkina Sun-Dried Sidamo. This cooperative where this coffee is processed put the award money toward the acquisition of additional raised drying beds to continue production of a high-quality, natural process Sidamo for years to come.
Kenya Kirinyaga. The Kikuyu tribe members who cultivated this coffee will put their award toward the purchase of computers software and training for their six coffee offices.
Rwanda Blue Bourbon. Monies awarded to the Gatare and Karengera coffee-washing stations will be used to purchase cows and goats which will help supplement the diet of Rwandans and provide organic fertilizer to their coffee farms.
Kopi Kampung Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Toraja coffee kampungs(villages) in south Sulawesi used their Black Apron award to establish a health centre for mothers and infants, a pre-school for youngsters, ages 4-5 and two hydro-electric turbines, each capable of supplying electricity for a small village.
Ethiopia Gemadro Estate. This award is being used to expand services and equipments of the clinic and school on the Gemadro plantation. The improved clinic will benefit an estimated number of 233 permanent workers and their families, 1.241 temporary workers and 500 neighboring farmers and their families.
Zambia Terranova Estate. The permanent workers of the Estate met and decide to use their award to build a health clinic within a 10-kilometer radius from the Estate that will benefit approximately 3.000 people (up to 5.500 when temporary workers are on site).
The clinic will provide medical assistance and midwifery services and administer medicines for various ailments and diseases such as AIDS/HIV. Currently the closest clinic to the Terranova Estate is a three-hour walk away and does not allow many workers to go for general consultations or births.
Sumatra Siborong-Borong. This award will be used to build three village clinics in the Siborong-Borong coffee-producing areas. These new clinics will provide improved health care on a daily basis, benefiting approximately 3.000 individuals.
You can help Starbucks support coffee-farming communities by purchasing our next Black Apron Exclusives™ coffee.
The flavor | The farms | Coffee terms