what coffee maker does starbucks use

The High-Quality Coffee Machines that Starbucks Uses

Starbucks is an insanely popular coffee chain all over the world, and they churn out millions of drinks every day.

This means that their coffee machines have to work insanely hard, but what coffee makers can really keep up with the demand each store has?

Starbucks invests in extremely high-quality coffee makers, and some of them aren’t available to the public.

What coffee maker does Starbucks use?

Today, Starbucks uses the Mastrena High-Performance Espresso Machine in the majority of their stores, and this company manufactures this coffee maker specifically for Starbucks.

It’s not available to the public, and Starbucks also uses the Verismo coffee maker and the Clover coffee maker at their stores. These are all high-end machines with high price tags, but they’re well worth the results.

If you’d like to know more about these machines and why Starbucks chooses them, you’re in luck.

We’re going to break down what makes these machines special, more about Starbucks itself, and the types of coffee beans that go into these machines below.

A Brief History of Starbucks

Starbucks was first founded in 1971 by three partners, and they opened their first shop in Seattle in the Pike Place Market area.

The goal was to open a coffee shop that specializes in selling top-quality roast coffee beans and equipment.

It was originally named Pequod, and this comes from the famous book Moby Dick, and the brand then underwent another name change to the chief mate of the Pequod, Starbuck.

In 1982, Howard Schulz joined the Starbucks family, and he saw the potential of incorporating espresso bars when he went to Milan, Italy.

Starbucks now owns over 20,000 stores in various countries, and it continues to expand year after year to turn into a powerful global brand.

Starbucks Coffee Beans

Starbucks uses the highest quality coffee beans available, and they use a large number of coffee beans to help them create their complex flavors.

To make coffee, the coffee bean plays a huge role in the market, and Starbucks makes a point to support many farmers to help them take care of their beans and crops.

There are several factors you have to consider when you think of the unique tasting coffee Starbucks offers.

They currently have over 20 different roasts of varying strengths ranging from Blonde light roasts with a very mild flavor profile to the Medium roast that is great for everyday drinking, and the Dark roast coffees that are stronger and perfect for people who need more kick.

You can also pick out a host of seasonal flavors, and these coffee flavors are only available at specific points throughout the year.

Starbucks may only blend them for specific seasons like Christmas or Fall, and coffee growers may only have them for a limited time. A few of the roasts Starbucks offer are:

Starbucks Sumatra Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee

Right by the Indonesian Island, there are islands where they grow coffee that work well for producing Arabica coffee.

These coffee beans will grow in very rich soil, and this gives it a very full-bodied and smooth taste with slight hints of herbal flavor. You can savor this taste without any milk, cream, or sugar.

Starbucks Caffe Verona Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee

This coffee bean got its name from the city of Verona. At first, it was called Jack’s Blend, but it has now changed to the Caffe Verona Dark Roast.

You’ll get a very rich and decadent flavor with a bold, robust taste and a trace of dark cocoa.

Starbucks French Roast Whole Bean Coffee

During the 1970s, French roast was a very popular type of coffee at Starbucks. It has a very dark roast bean that is grown in Latin America and in the Asia Pacific.

They have a very intense flavor profile with a low acidity content, and they have a strong aroma.

Starbucks House Blend Coffee Beans

The House Blend from Starbucks first came around in 1971, and it is just over 50 years old.

It’s a very fine blend using Latin American coffee beans, and you’ll get hints of cocoa and nuts with a very dark chestnut coloring when you drink it.

The Starbucks Coffee Machines

For their coffee production in the 1900s, Starbucks used standard espresso machines like the L. Marzocco Linea machine.

The espresso machine comes with portafilters, so it required very skilled baristas to use it correctly.

As the company approached a multi-billion dollar entity, they switched out their espresso machines with the standard automatic ones to make it easier to serve more people at once.

Mastrena High-Performance Espresso Machine

Starbucks used coffee machines in 1999 from a Swiss-based company called Thermoplan, and you can now find these machines everywhere today.

The majority of stores use the Mastrena High-Performance Espresso Machine today, and you won’t find these machines in offices or homes.

This machine gets manufactured specifically for Starbucks, and the first model got introduced in 2008.

This machine comes equipped with a computerized menu that makes cappuccinos and lattes to make the work much faster for the baristas. You can easily operate it with the touch of a button, and this is much easier on baristas.

Thermoplan AG currently dedicates 40 employees to develop and research the espresso machine, and they have another 140 employees in place to produce and assemble the machines for Starbucks when they need them.

Clover Coffee Maker

The Clover Coffee Maker has an $11,000 price tag attached to it, and Starbucks bought the Clover brewing system from the coffee equipment company.

Clover coffee machines are very popular in Starbucks cafes, and they deliver a brewing process that ensures your coffee is fresh every time.

This coffee maker comes with vacuum press technology built-in, and they weigh and grind the beans before pouring them into the chamber when you order.

Next, they pour hot water into the chamber before the barista beats the fresh coffee to extract the flavor. The Clover then steam presses the grounds before it gets to you.

Verismo Coffee Maker

You’ll get a very classy look with a lightweight design with the Verismo Coffee Maker.


It uses pods to allow you to brew espressos or lattes, and you can choose from a large variety of pods, including espresso pods, milk pods, tea pods, and coffee roasts, and blends. You can get the Decaf Pike Place Roast, Classic Veranda Blend, Caffe Verona, and Sumatra.

This machine can brew a 10-ounce cup of coffee in a single go, uses high-pressure extraction to make espresso shots, and brews coffee in 15 seconds. It allows you to personalize your coffee to your exact tastes too.

Why Starbucks Picked a Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine

A bean-to-cup coffee machine differs from a traditional one because it has an inbuilt grinder that will grind the coffee beans fresh for every cup of coffee they sell.

Since coffee beans lose their freshness as soon as you grind them, waiting until you want a cup of coffee to grind them ensures that they stay as fresh as possible.

The Mastrena High-Performance Espresso Machine will monitor your coffee cup and regulate the settings to ensure you get optimal quality. So, this makes it one of the best coffee machines in the world, and Starbucks owns the exclusive rights to it.


Bottom Line

As a company that believes in offering high-quality products, it’s no wonder that Starbucks owns the rights to and uses one of the best coffee machines in the world.

They use it to serve coffee to millions of customers in thousands of coffee shops around the world every day.

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