Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington, in 1971. As of early 2019, the company operates over 30,000[5] locations worldwide.

Starbucks has been described as the main representative of "second wave coffee," a retrospectively termed movement that popularized artisanal coffee, particularly darkly roasted coffee.[6][7] Since the 2000s, third wave coffee makers have targeted quality-minded coffee drinkers with hand-made coffee based on lighter roasts, while Starbucks nowadays uses automated espresso machines for efficiency and safety reasons.[6][8