Starbucks Coffee

Everybody knows and loves Starbucks Coffee. Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. is man responsible of bringing Starbucks here in the country and he was not disappointed. It was a huge huge success and it started the coffee craze here in the Philippines evident by the appearnces of other coffee shops like Seattle's Best Coffee (which is owned by Starbucks by the way), Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Glora Jean's, and many more. I believe Filipinos are known to be coffee lovers as it is our most favorite breakfast drink; after which is milk. Starbucks quickly became a household name, next to Nescafe, when it comes to coffee.

But let us look at a brief history of Starbucks. It started as a coffee bean roaster and retailer in Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington back in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker. Bowker is the one who came up with the name Starbucks, which he got from one of the characters in the book Moby Dick. Today, Starbucks sells a wide selection of hot and cold coffee and espresso-based drinks, snacks, pastries and confections, coffee products, and other coffee related items.

Starbucks Coffee roughly has 15,000 stores in 44 countries. It first started to expand outside America in Japan back in 1996. In December 3, 1997, Starbucks opened its flagship store in the Philippines at 6750 Ayala Ave. Makati City. It is operated by the Rustan Coffee Corp., a susidiary of Rustan Group of Companies. RCC currently has 149 Starbucks stores, 129 of which is located in Metro Manila. If one would like to open their own Starbucks branch, one has to go Rustan Coffee Corp because Starbucks does not allow direct franchise to single individuals; and be sure your piggy banks are fat enough for that.