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Starbucks coffee may taste good, but is it organic?
I’d been paying more attention to organic coffee lately, so this question came up naturally.
People usually look for organic coffee because they want a coffee grown under stricter standards, with a cleaner sourcing story and less synthetic input.
I’m going to look at whether Starbucks serves organic regular and decaf coffee, what organic coffee actually means, and a few of the roasts you can buy.
Key takeaways
Does Starbucks serve organic regular & decaf coffee?
When I checked the menu, I found Starbucks organic decaf coffee, but not organic regular coffee.
However, they do have organic ground roasts for purchase:
Starbucks Dark Roast Ground Coffee – Organic French Roast: This roast has a smoky, bold flavor that makes sense if you already lean toward darker coffee.
It’s the one I’d be most likely to buy again.
Starbucks Medium Roast Ground Coffee – Organic Yukon Blend: This roast comes with earthy notes and a lighter acidic edge.
The types of decaffeinated coffees served at Starbucks are the Decaf Komodo dragon blend and the Instant Decaf Italian roast.
But is Starbucks coffee healthy, and is it GMO-free?
Starbucks does use non-organic milk in some drinks, so I wouldn’t automatically treat the whole menu as GMO-free just because a few items happen to be organic. That’s also why I like checking the ingredient list instead of assuming the label covers everything.
I wouldn’t read too much into Starbucks instant coffee being micro-ground when it comes to GMOs, because processing style and GMO status are two different things.
What makes a coffee organic?
That made me stop and look more closely at what certified organic actually requires.
A coffee that’s certified organic is essentially:
- 1Made from beans that are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or herbicides
- 2Processed without chemicals or artificial agents
The easiest way I’ve found to check is to look at the packaging or the product page.
The primary health benefits of drinking an organic blend are avoiding additional contents and good manufacturing practices.
If it’s organic coffee, it should carry the USDA Certified Organic seal .
To earn that seal, the farmers the company buys from must comply with Certified Organic Requirements.
In Starbucks’ case, a truly organic cup would mean every ingredient used to make it was sourced under organic guidelines.
The key part is that the whole drink has to meet the standard, not just one ingredient.
As mentioned above, Starbucks does not have an organic coffee menu (other than decaffeinated coffee drinks) as it doesn’t use organic coffee beans, and it also uses non-organic milk (the majority of their dairy products are non-organic other than Starbucks soy milk ).
So I’d still count it as non-organic coffee overall.
What coffee does Starbucks use? (Guide for all roasts)
Starbucks Beans: Arabica Beans
Starbucks uses 100% Arabica whole beans, but they’re not organic.
Arabica beans are usually prized for flavor, and Starbucks says they go through a careful selection process before roasting.
Starbucks Roasts: Dark, Medium & Blonde Roasts
Starbucks mostly talks about three roast levels:
The Starbucks Blonde Roast, Medium Roast, and Dark Roast.
The Starbucks Blonde Roast is lighter and has a shorter roasting time, which leaves more mellow notes of toasted malt and milk chocolate.
The Medium Roast is the one I’d most often think of as a regular cup of coffee, with a smooth, balanced, rich flavor.
The Dark Roast has a bolder, more robust taste, with notes of dark cocoa and roasted marshmallow.
Is Starbucks’ claim of ethical coffee sourcing true?
Is Starbucks coffee Fairtrade and organically sourced?
Starbucks says that 99% of its coffee is ethically sourced, but I wanted to pin down what that actually covers.
That refers to Coffee and Farmer Equity, or CAFE, practices, which focus on sustainable farming, waste management, water quality, water and energy use, biodiversity, and reducing agrochemicals.
The remaining 1% is tied to farms and cooperatives that are still working toward CAFE standards.
Starbucks says its standard Espresso Roast is 100% Fairtrade certified, so there is fair trade coffee in the lineup.
That makes the sourcing claim make sense to me.
FAQs
Does Starbucks coffee have toxins?
On the toxin side, Starbucks says it regularly tests its coffee, and roasted coffee naturally contains acrylamide as a byproduct of roasting. I wouldn’t jump from "not organic" to assuming the coffee is loaded with pesticides.
Is Starbucks coffee full of pesticides?
Those are separate claims, and they need separate evidence.
How do you know if coffee is organic?
The simplest sign is the USDA seal on the packaging, which shows that a coffee is certified organic.
Is Dunkin Donuts coffee organic?
No, Dunkin Donuts coffee is not organic, and they do not offer organic options.
Is Starbucks Winter Blend organic?
Starbucks Winter Blend has been listed as organic in some cases, but I’d still check the current packaging.
Conclusion
So, while Starbucks regular coffee isn’t organic, there are still a few organic options.
After all, their decaf is organic, and there are also regular organic Starbucks beans sold for home brewing.
It gives you a little more choice than some other major coffee shops.
For me, that sourcing detail matters more than the label alone.
