Tata Starbucks Ltd, the 50:50 joint venture of US beverage chain Stabucks with Tata Global Beverages, plans to source more coffee from Tata Group company Tata Coffee, company officials said in a statement on Tuesday.

To mark the company’s second anniversary in India, Tata Starbucks launched a locally sourced, roasted and packaged arabica blend, ‘Starbucks India Estates Blend’, in select Starbucks stores in Asia as well as online in the United States.

“We will see such initiatives only growing in the future, displaying the strong unity between Starbucks and Tata Coffee. It is a reflection of the shared commitment between Starbucks and Tata Coffee to develop and promote Indian-grown arabica coffees,” Avani Davda, chief executive officer, Tata Starbucks Limited said in a statement.

The arabica beans from Tata Coffee have been selected by Starbucks coffee experts from Tata Coffee’s estates across Coorg and Chikmagalur, the birth place of coffee in India. The blend has been named to represent the origin of the coffee and the packaging has been carefully created to reflect traditional Indian designs, the company said.

“This commitment to highlighting India’s rich coffee heritage, builds on the strong growth of 59 Starbucks stores across six cities and more than 1,000 passionate partners (employees) in India,” John Culver, group president, Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, Channel Development and Emerging Brands, said.

Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 and currently operates 59 stores in India across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business / DHNS – Bangalore, November 04th, 2014