best coffee product type coffee owner starbucks country united states related brands focus brands markets worldwide previous owners afc enterprises website www.seattlesbest.com seattle s best coffee a wholly owned subsidiary of starbucks is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in seattle washington . seattle s best coffee has retail stores and grocery sub stores in 20 states and provinces and the district of columbia . sub stores can also be found within many other businesses and college campuses including subway restaurants . seattle s best coffee is generally cheaper than that of its parent and is marketed as more of a working class coffee compared to the more upmarket starbucks . 1 not in citation given contents 1 history 2 distribution partners 3 see also 4 references 5 external links history edit seattle s best coffee began as a combination ice cream and coffee shop called the wet whisker in coupeville on whidbey island northwest of seattle washington in 1969 . 2 founder jim stewart purchased green coffee beans from local roasters to be roasted and sold at the wet whisker . by the end of the second summer the shop had roasted and sold nearly 500 pounds 226 kg of coffee . by the end of the following year the vashon island wet whisker was sold and jim stewart along with his brother dave opened another ice cream and coffee store on pier 70 on seattle s waterfront . the shop was called stewart brothers wet whisker . in 1982 stewart brothers wet whisker began serving espresso based beverages alongside other coffee products . in 1983 the name again changed from stewart brothers wet whisker to stewart brothers coffee . shortly after business began to expand and new shops opened in bellevue washington and in seattle s historic pike place market a year later . in 1991 the company was renamed seattle s best coffee after winning a local competition . one of the highest volume coffee shops in the 1990s was the seattle s best coffee on 4th and pine at the westlake center in seattle . a manager was hired kim whittle and within 3 years she took that location from 700 000 to 1.3 million . the sales were not espresso machines or even bulk beans 85 % of the sales were in cups drip lattes mochas italian sodas and americanos . this location was rumored to be one of the highest volume coffee shops in the world . around 1995 seattle s best coffee was purchased by a group of investors who own torrefazione italia . they formed a new company made up of both parties called seattle coffee holdings . in 1997 seattle coffee holdings changed its name to seattle coffee company . seattle s best coffee at market market in metro manila philippines in 1998 afc enterprises purchased seattle coffee holdings and began franchising the seattle s best coffee brand . during afc enterprise s ownership seattle coffee company s vashon island roasterie was upgraded and the company s organic coffee line was established . afc enterprises sold scc to starbucks in july 2003 retaining franchise rights in eleven countries hawaii and u.s. military bases . starbucks closed the vashon island facility october 23 2003 and moved production to their kent washington roasterie . the historic vashon island roasterie building jim stewart s original 1952 roaster and roastmaster peter larsen while no longer affiliated with sbc or starbucks continues operations as the vashon island coffee roasterie . distribution partners edit the borders bookstore chain signed a contract with seattle s best coffee in 2004 to convert borders in store cafes to seattle s best cafes . by 2006 approximately two thirds of borders domestic superstores had completed the seattle s best conversion . seattle s best parent company starbucks corporation has contracted with borders competitor barnes & noble to sell its products in barnes & noble s cafes . borders has since completely shut down due to bankruptcy . starbucks also owns and operates locations within chapters and indigo books and music bookstores in canada . seattle s best coffee cafes and kiosks can also be found on all 21 ships in the fleet of the cruise line royal caribbean international under the name latte tudes or cafe promenade . the presence of the seattle s best outlets on royal caribbean is also tied in with all other free of charge coffee items on the ship also being exclusively supplied by sbc . the oasis class ships also have starbucks outlet with the regular land price list sbc is for free included in cruise cost on february 16 2010 burger king announced that they would add seattle s best coffee to their menu in over 7 000 restaurants . 3 on may 12 2010 starbucks announced a rebranding of seattle s best coffee with a new logo and plans to expand seattle s best coffee distribution from 3 000 locations to 30 000 by the end of the 2010 fiscal year . 4 the rebranding of the seattle s best coffee logo from the detailed vintage logo to the clinical generic design for the new mass market was met with much criticism with the new logo being likened to a label for eye drops a blood bank sign and a gas station logo . 5 on february 8 2011 delta air lines and seattle s best entered into an agreement to offer seattle s best coffee onboard all domestic international and delta connection flights beginning march 1 2011 . 6 see also edit list of coffeehouse chains coffee portal seattle portal companies portal food portal references edit wikimedia commons has media related to seattle s best coffee . wong elaine may 13 2010 . why starbucks rebranded seattle s best coffee . adweek . retrieved october 30 2012 . http www.whidbeyexaminer.com news 204912541.html associated press february 16 2010 . burger king adds seattle s best coffee to menu . nbcnews.com . retrieved october 30 2012 . seattle s best coffee reinvents its business model and brand as part of major growth strategy . starbucks newsroom . may 12 2010 . retrieved october 30 2012 . grunbaum rami may 15 2010 . seattle s best logo makeover not so hot . the seattle times . retrieved february 18 2012 . delta air lines and seattle s best coffee team up to serve freshly brewed premium coffee onboard all flights . starbucks newsroom . february 8 2011 . retrieved october 30 2012 . external links edit official website v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box johnny rockets krystal mcdonald s roy rogers shake shack smashburger sonic steak n shake wayback wendy s whataburger white castle asian l & l hawaiian barbecue manchu wok panda express pei wei asian diner pick up stix sarku baked goods au bon pain auntie anne s bruegger s cinnabon corner bakery cafe dunkin donuts einstein bros. great american cookies honey dew donuts krispy kreme mrs. fields nestl toll house panera bread pretzelmaker pretzel time shipley do nuts tim hortons t.j. cinnamons wetzel s winchell s beverages argo tea biggby coffee caribou coffee bean & tea leaf coffee beanery dunn bros gloria jean s jamba juice juice it up orange julius peet s planet smoothie robeks seattle s best coffee smoothie king starbucks teavana tropical smoothie cafe tully s frozen desserts baskin robbins ben & jerry s braum s bruster s carvel cold stone culver s dairy queen dippin dots fosters freeze friendly s golden spoon graeter s h agen dazs handel s kiwi yogurt maggiemoo s marble slab menchie s pinkberry red mango rita s sweet frog tastee freez tcby tropical sno tutti frutti yogen fr z yogurtland hot dogs hot dog on a stick nathan s famous portillo s wienerschnitzel mexican style tex mex baja fresh cafe rio chipotle del taco el pollo loco freebirds green red burrito moe s pancheros qdoba rubio s taco bell taco bueno taco cabana taco del mar taco john s taco mayo taco time wahoo s fish taco noodles fazoli s noodles & company sandwiches arby s atlanta bread blimpie capriotti s charley s cos cousins d angelo daphne s erbert & gerbert s firehouse subs great wraps jason s jerry s subs jersey mike s jimmy john s lenny s sub mcalister s deli miami subs mr. hero newk s eatery penn station port of subs pdq potbelly quiznos rax runza sandella s schlotzsky s steak escape subway togo s tubby s tudor s biscuit world which wich seafood arthur treacher s captain d s h. salt esquire ivar s long john silver s skippers seafood & chowder house defunct bresler s ice cream brigham s burger chef carrols d lites druther s henry s hamburgers hot n now hot sam pretzels naugles red barn sandy s zantigo v t e starbucks corporation corporate directors barbara bass bill bradley mellody hobson kevin johnson olden lee howard schultz james shennan clara shih javier teruel myron ullman craig weatherup assets and products 15th avenue coffee and tea ethos water evolution fresh hear music pasqua coffee seattle s best coffee starbucks coffee tata starbucks tazo tea company teavana torrefazione italia verismo by starbucks see also original starbucks starbucks israel v t e coffee in seattle coffee roasters caff umbria caff vita espresso vivace seattle s best coffee starbucks tully s coffee victrola coffee roasters zoka coffee roaster & tea company coffeehouses bauhaus books coffee caf allegro last exit on brooklyn monorail espresso original starbucks top pot doughnuts trabant coffee and chai people howard schultz technology coffee equipment company retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title seattle % 27s best coffee & oldid 742883949 categories starbuckscoffee houses of the united statesfood manufacturers of the united statescompanies based in seattlefood retailers of the united states1968 establishments in washington state food and drink companies established in 1991retail companies established in 1991coffee brandscoffee in seattlehidden categories all articles with failed 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