Alicante Spices Enhance Your Starbucks Coffee Experience

Speciality coffees have proliferated in recent times. The experience of having a coffee has evolved beyond just a morning caffeine fix, with numerous condiments and products enhancing the flavour.

Not only with cream or whiskey (the famous Irish coffee), but now you can also try the 'Alicante coffee' with spices processed in the Alicante province, giving a unique twist to the brew. The Alicante-based spice company Carmencita has formed an alliance with the American coffeehouse chain Starbucks.

Since mid-October, Starbucks customers in Spain can find three emblematic spices from Carmencita - cinnamon, cocoa, and vanilla sugar - to personalise their drinks. "Three simple, natural, and deeply recognisable ingredients that enhance the coffee's flavour and turn it into a sensory experience," the Novelda-based company assures.

The three products - cinnamon, cocoa, and vanilla sugar - are gluten-free certified for coeliacs and come with a comprehensive allergen control programme. This pioneering plan in the sector ensures the food safety of all its products through audits, cross-checks, and continuous internal analyses.

This agreement between Carmencita and Starbucks stems from "mutual recognition of very demanding quality standards." Both companies "share the same philosophy of respect for the product and its origin, as well as a clear vision: to offer the consumer the best, with maximum control and care in every detail."

At Carmencita, the traceability of each spice begins at the source. The company's quality teams personally travel to producing countries - from Sri Lanka to Ecuador - to select raw materials and ensure they meet the strictest criteria. Additionally, the firm has a management system certified under ISO 14001 and IFS standards, ensuring compliance with the highest international standards in quality and food safety. Only in this way is the authenticity and purity of the flavours preserved.

At Starbucks, this pursuit of excellence translates into a rigorous coffee selection and roasting policy, a commitment to environmentally responsible practices, and the continuous training of its baristas, ensuring a consistently high-quality experience in every establishment worldwide.