Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Debuts at Starbucks and Teavana Stores in the U.S. and Canada

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) today launched Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea, which was personally developed by Oprah Winfrey in close collaboration with Teavana’s leading tea teaologist. Oprah's personal tea passion and the deep expertise of Teavana have resulted in a distinctive blend featuring a bold infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos. Customers can now enjoy the blend as a handcrafted latte or loose-leaf tea in participating Starbucks stores across the U.S. and Canada. The loose-leaf tea and brewed tea is available in Teavana stores across the U.S. and Canada.

As part of this new core offering, Starbucks will make a donation for each Teavana Oprah Chai Tea product sold to benefit educational opportunities for youth through the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation provides funding for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa and is dedicated to helping its graduates attend colleges and universities. The foundation will support additional youth education through Girls Inc., National CARES Mentoring Movement, Pathways to College and the U.S. Dream Academy. For more information on these organizations, please visit www.oprah.com/SteepYourSoul.

“This is a momentous day for Starbucks and Teavana collectively, and we are honored to share Teavana Oprah Chai with our customers,” said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “This distinctive and remarkable tea developed personally by Oprah Winfrey, someone whom I admire and that shares so many of our core values and beliefs, will help introduce even more customers to the ritual and comfort of a great cup of tea.”

“For years I have been steeping my own tea as part of my morning ritual, and I am very excited that starting today, Teavana Oprah Chai is available in Starbucks and Teavana stores across the country,” said Oprah Winfrey. “This new partnership came from an organic space as the mission of our two companies are naturally aligned – we both want to inspire and nurture the human spirit. The best part is, a donation from every sale will go to support youth education starting today.”

Starbucks customers can now enjoy Teavana Oprah Chai Tea in multiple formats, including:

• Handcrafted Teavana Oprah Chai Tea Latte: A bold infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos. Lightly sweetened and finished with steamed milk or cold milk poured over iced. Starbucks will donate twenty-five cents (U.S.) from every beverage sold to benefit educational opportunities for youth through the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. Available at participating Starbucks® stores in the U.S. and Canada and Teavana® Fine Teas + Tea Bars in the U.S.
• Brewed Teavana Oprah Chai Tea: A bold infusion of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves, blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos. Starbucks will donate twenty-five cents (U.S.) from every hot or iced brewed tea to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. Available at participating Teavana® stores in the U.S. and Canada and Teavana® Fine Teas + Tea Bars in the U.S.
• Teavana Oprah Chai Loose-Leaf Tea: Available pre-packaged in a reusable storage tin in participating Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada - $14.95 (U.S.). Also available as a scooped loose-leaf tea at Teavana® stores in the U.S. and Canada - $14.98 (per 2 oz.). Also available in Teavana® stores, 8 oz. and 16 oz. reusable storage tea tins. Starbucks will make a $1 (U.S.) donation for each 2 oz. loose-leaf tea and $1 (U.S.) for each storage tea tin sold at participating stores. All donations benefit the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.
• Teavana Oprah Chai Tea Gift Sets:
  • Small Set: Includes 2 oz. tea plus a double wall glass tumbler and stainless steel filter - $39.95 and a $1 donation per set. Available in participating Starbucks® stores in the U.S.
  • Large Set: Includes 8 oz. tea with two cups and a tea pot - $119.95 with a $4 donation per set. Available in participating Teavana® stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Starbucks Opens Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar in Chicago

In addition, today Starbucks and Teavana opened a Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar in Chicago. The new tea bar is located in Chicago’s Southport neighborhood at 3428 Southport Avenue, and features a carefully curated assortment of handcrafted tea beverages, premium loose-leaf teas, tea-inspired food offerings and beautifully made tea merchandise, making the ritual of tea more elevated and accessible for customers. Starbucks plans to open additional Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bars in Los Angeles and additional stores in New York City later this year. The Tea Bars will also feature Teavana Oprah Chai.

To learn more about Teavana Oprah Chai, please visit www.Teavana.com or www.SteepYourSoul.com.

About Starbucks Corporation

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.

About Teavana

Founded in 1997, the company offers new tea enthusiasts and tea connoisseurs alike its "Heaven of Tea" retail experience where passionate and knowledgeable "Teaologists" engage and educate them about the ritual and enjoyment of tea. The company's mission is to establish Teavana as the most recognized and respected brand in the tea industry by expanding the culture of tea across the world. For more information, visit www.teavana.com.

About Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation provides funding for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa and is dedicated to helping its graduates attend colleges and universities. In December 2000, during a visit with Nelson Mandela, Oprah Winfrey pledged to build a school for girls in South Africa. In January 2007, the doors opened to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa. Through the Foundation, Oprah has contributed to the empowerment of scores of girls and their families.

About Girls Inc.

Girls Inc. inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold through life-changing programs and experiences that help girls navigate gender, economic, and social barriers. Research-based curricula, delivered by trained, mentoring professionals in a positive all-girl environment equip girls to achieve academically; lead healthy and physically active lives; manage money; navigate media messages; and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. The network of local Girls Inc. nonprofit organizations serves 136,000 girls ages 6 - 18 annually across the United States and Canada.

About National CARES Mentoring Movement

The National CARES Mentoring Movement, a community-engagement movement, was created in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina with the goal of ensuring that our nation’s impoverished children are encircled by caring adults and offered a sure pathway out of poverty. Willing and present to help bring struggling children to promise is a growing army of CARES mentors, recruited, trained and deployed to schools and youth-serving organizations in desperate need of tutors, role models and inspiration. Research shows that mentoring is a low-cost, high-results solution to a deepening crisis, and when done well can redirect even the most challenged youngsters’ lives. Working through 58 local CARES Mentor-Recruitment Affiliates across the nation, National CARES, has recruited more than 125,000 mentors. Presently, three million children are receiving mentoring services in the United States, and there are 15 million children in critical need of greater adult guidance and love. Deepening its commitment to secure and advance vulnerable youngsters, National CARES is building group-mentoring, consciousness-changing, replicable programs designed to override the crises that children in unstable communities face each day and that are derailing their lives. The National CARES Mentoring Movement’s innovative Rising Initiatives focus on the social, emotional and academic development of children and the wellness of the adults who mentor, parent and guide them. Linking arms and aims with committed partners, and employing evidence-based programs and strategies, National CARES assures that all of our nation’s children will soar and realize the full measure of their promise and dreams.

About Pathways to College

Pathways to College provides motivated teens with the information, guidance and support they need to become the best high school students, college applicants, and college graduates they can be. Pathways has developed a successful strategy that links college access with school improvement. At each participating high school, up to 100 high-potential students with a broad range of academic accomplishments are identified and paired with committed teachers who work with students after school hours as a structured teaching/learning team. Pathways students are also coached to be intentional, productive school leaders who model success for their peers and demonstrate that a college degree is an achievable goal, thereby positively and demonstrably impacting their school’s climate. Since establishment as an independent non-profit in 2003, nearly 2,500 students have been enrolled and 100% of graduates have been accepted by at least one college.

About U.S. Dream Academy

Established in 1998, U.S. Dream Academy is a national afterschool and mentoring program that helps our nation's children reach for their dreams. We empower those children most at risk of incarceration to maximize their potential by providing them with academic, social and values enrichment through supportive mentoring and the use of technology. The vision is to create an army of young men and women with positive dreams for their lives, equipped with the tools to make those dreams a reality. U.S. Dream Academy’s newest initiative is focused on accelerating the reading levels of 3rd grade students using innovative and research based reading strategies combined with positive youth development principles. We seek to increase the protective factors and academic performance of our students to ensure successful graduation from high school. Academic achievement decreases the risk of future incarceration significantly.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140429005550/en/