STARBUCKS - Made in China coffee anyone?

STARBUCKS - Made in China coffee anyone?

BEIJING - STARBUCKS has launched its first coffee to be made with beans grown in China, the company said.

The South of the Clouds Blend is made with coffee grown by farmers in the southwestern province of Yunnan and will be sold in Starbucks stores here until February 19, said a statement posted on the company's website on Wednesday.

'We are proud to offer our customers the opportunity to experience a truly world-class coffee from China,' Martin Coles, president of Starbucks Coffee International, said in the statement.

'We believe our success and China's growth are inextricably linked. The constant, stable growth China has achieved ... has reinforced our confidence in the long-term potential for our sustained growth in this market.'

Starbucks opened its first store in mainland China in 1999 and now operates more than 350 stores across the country.

Thursday's Beijing Business Today said the coffee would also be offered in Starbucks outlets outside China, including those in Singapore and Malaysia.

China produced 25,655 tonnes of coffee beans in 2006, up 17 per cent from 2005, according to Zhongheng Ceyuan Consulting. -- AFP

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_326496.html