Starbucks franchises are rolling out upscale coffee line.
According to the Huffington Post, Starbucks is presenting, Starbucks Reserve, set to enter 500 stores over the next year, the company announced Tuesday. The expansion will double the number of locations serving coffee drinks made with Reserve beans.
According to a press release, the coffee brand, originally presented in 2010, are "rare and exotic small batch single-origin."
Starbucks spokesman Andrew Linnemann repeatedly referred to the coffees as being "hand-crafted." The coffee is made individually with Starbucks' patented Clover brewing system. The systems will be installed in locations serving the line, but according to the Huffington Post, the company doesn't yet know which stores will participate.
Linnenman said Starbucks is looking to expand the Reserve line into espresso.
According to Starbucks, unlike traditional drip coffee machines, the Clover brewing system makes a single cup of coffee at a time. It is used to brew several different types of coffee, including the Reserve line.
"I think people are getting more and more used to choosing a coffee by the cup," Linnemann said, according to the Huffington Post. "Once they get used to waiting just a little bit longer, we were really finding that those customers appreciate a more complex cup of coffee."
The Starbucks franchises are hoping customers are willing to pay for a Reserve coffee. The Reserve coffee costs $7 a cup and $40 for an 8-ounce bag. Last year, the chain introduced their most expensive coffee ever, Costa Rica Finca Palmilera.
According to Starbucks, there are more than 40 coffee varieties in the Reserve line, hailing from different parts of the world. Starbucks plans to add an average of 10 new coffees to this list each year, but according to its press release, it will only be available in select markets.
