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Yes, Starbucks leads the other big coffee distributers in terms of ethical practice and social responsibility but it has used its muscle to stop ethiopian coffee farmers from trademarking their own brands of coffee which is thought to have stopped the country from earning an extra $88m a year in export earnings.
Ethiopina coffee farmers earn $1.10 per pound of coffee after deducting costs. Retailers can make $160 on a pound of coffee.
Starbucks' annual profits are around $8bn (£4bn), which is not too far off Ethiopia's Gross Domestic Product. So let's not get too carried away with the Starbucks love-in, eh?
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