Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.

As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 countries, 15,444 in the United States. Out of Starbucks' U.S.-based stores, over 8,900 are company-operated, while the remainder is licensed.

The rise of the second wave of coffee culture is generally attributed to Starbucks, which introduced a wider variety of coffee experiences. Starbucks serves hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, micro-ground instant coffee, espresso, caffe latte, full and loose-leaf teas, juices, Frappuccino beverages, pastries, and snacks. Some offerings are seasonal, or specific to the locality of the store. Depending on the country, most locations provide free Wi-Fi internet access.

In addition to drinks and food, many stores carry Starbucks' official merchandise, such as mugs, tumblers, scoops, and coffee presses. Several "Starbucks Evenings" locations offer beer, wine, and appetizers. Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are sold at grocery stores in the United States and other countries.

In 2010, the company began its Starbucks Reserve program for single-origin coffees and high-end coffee shops. It planned to open 1,000 Reserve coffee shops by the end of 2017. Starbucks operates six roasteries with tasting rooms and 43 coffee bars as part of the program. The latest roastery location opened on Chicago's Magnificent Mile in November 2019 and is the world's most prominent Starbucks location.

Detail information:

Headquarters: 2401 Utah Avenue South, Seattle, Washington
Website: https://www.starbucks.com/

Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by brothers Bruno and Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. It was acquired by Whitbread in 1995, sold in 2019 to The Coca-Cola Company in a deal worth £3.9bn, and has grown to 3,401 stores across 31 countries and 18,412 employees. The business has 2,121 UK restaurants, over 6,000 Costa Express vending facilities, and 1,280 outlets overseas, including 460 in China.

Coca-Cola acquired Costa from parent company Whitbread PLC for US$5.1 billion on 3 January 2019, providing a coffee platform across parts of Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Costa is the second-largest coffeehouse chain globally and the largest in the UK.

Costa branches sell hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes, pastries, and snacks. In 2020, the brand collaborated with three chocolate brands for limited-edition Christmas drinks. Costa moved its roastery from Lambeth to Basildon, Essex, in May 2017 with an investment of £38 million, increasing its annual coffee-roasting capacity from 11,000 to 45,000 tonnes.

Detail information:

Website: https://www.costa.co.uk/

Headquarters: Dunstable, England

Dunkin' Donuts LLC is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick-service restaurant. It was founded by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950. The chain was acquired by Baskin-Robbins's holding company Allied Lyons in 1990; its acquisition of the Mister Donut chain and the conversion of that chain to Dunkin' Donuts facilitated the brand's growth in North America that year. Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins eventually became subsidiaries of Dunkin' Brands, headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2004, until being purchased by Inspire Brands on December 15, 2020. The chain began rebranding as a beverage-led company and was renamed Dunkin', in January 2019; while stores in the U.S. began using the new name, the rebranding will eventually be rolled out to all of its international stores.

Dunkin’ Donuts is probably more well-known for coffee than it is for its doughnuts, and that’s saying something considering it is literally named after doughnuts. Recently, the company has started a rebrand to simply “Dunkin’” to reflect the increasing popularity of its coffee and other offerings besides doughnuts. With approximately 12,900 locations in 42 countries, Dunkin' is one of the largest coffee shop and donut shop chains in the world. Its products include donuts, bagels, coffee, and "Munchkins" donuts.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.dunkinathome.com/

Headquarters: Canton, Massachusetts, United States

Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian multinational fast food restaurant chain. Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast food items based in Toronto. Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 4,846 restaurants in 14 countries as of December 31, 2018.

The company was founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario, by Canadian hockey players Tim Horton and Jim Charade, after an initial venture in hamburger restaurants. In 1967, Horton partnered with investor Ron Joyce, who assumed control over operations after Horton died in 1974. Joyce expanded the chain into a multi-billion dollar franchise. Charade left the organization in 1966 and briefly returned in 1970 and 1993 through 1996.

On August 26, 2014, Burger King agreed to purchase Tim Hortons for US$11.4 billion. The chain became a subsidiary of the Canadian holding company Restaurant Brands International, which is majority-owned by Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, on December 15, 2014.

Tim Hortons' first stores offered only two products – coffee and doughnuts. Aside from its coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and doughnuts, the menu now contains several other baked goods, such as bagels. In the mid-1990s, the chain moved into specialty and premium items such as flavored cappuccino, iced cappuccino, and iced coffee.

Detail information:

Website: https://www.timhortons.com/
Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

McCafé is a coffee-house-style food and beverage chain owned by McDonald's. Conceptualized and launched in Melbourne, Australia, in 1993 and introduced to the public with help from McDonald's CEO Charlie Bell and then-chairman and future CEO James Skinner, the chain reflects a consumer trend towards espresso coffees.

Reports indicated that McCafé outlets generated 15% more revenue than a regular McDonald's and, by 2003, were the largest coffee shop brand in Australia and New Zealand. After McDonald's Australia experimented with automatic espresso-pronto machines in the last decade and failed to catch on, all Australian stores were subsequently renovated and converted to McCafé outlets.

McDonald's isn't typically known for coffee, but the burger giant is one of the largest coffee companies in the world as well. The McCafé brand started in 1993 as an add-on to the fast-food restaurant change, so it is a relative newcomer to the coffee scene compared to the other companies on this list. It only makes their 10,000 stores worldwide even more impressive. Not every McDonald's offers the McCafé brand, but more are added every day. Given the growth rate over the last three decades, we wouldn't be surprised if they eventually became the largest coffee company in the world.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/full-menu/mccafe.html

Headquarters: Oak Brook, Illinois, United States

Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of coffee products. Founded in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza, they initially ran it from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso 10. The business is currently administered by the third and fourth generations of the Lavazza family.

Lavazza imports coffee from around the world, including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Uganda, Indonesia, the United States, and Mexico.

Lavazza received the award "Italy's Favourite Coffee," the company claims that 16 million out of the 20 million coffee purchasing families in Italy choose Lavazza. Among its offerings today are products such as: Qualità Oro, Qualità Rossa, Club, Caffè Espresso, Il Perfetto Espresso, Caffè Crema, Gran Aroma Bar, Super Crema, Crema e Gusto.

Lavazza is the oldest company on this list and also the first that isn't associated with a vast empire of brick and mortar stores. Lavazza is wildly popular and one of the most famous coffee brands anywhere in the world. Lavazza's popularity comes from its impressive selection of high-quality coffee beans and coffee-brewing gear.

Detail information:

Website: https://www.lavazza.com/en.html
Headquarters: Turin, Italy

Peet's Coffee is a San Francisco Bay Area-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer of JAB Holding Company. Founded in 1966 by Alfred Peet in Berkeley, California, Peet's introduced the United States to its darker roasted Arabica coffee in blends including French roast and grades appropriate for espresso drinks. Peet's offers freshly roasted beans, brewed coffee, and espresso beverages, as well as a bottled cold brew. In 2007, Peet's opened the first LEED Gold Certified roastery in the United States. Peet's Coffee is sold in over 14,000 grocery stores across the United States. As of November 2021, the company had 200 stores in the United States.

In September 2015, Peet's announced that it was adding all-day breakfast options to its menu. It would implement the change in the Chicago market and eventually be added at all locations. Peet's Coffee started formulating the blend in 2014 and first added it to its coffee bar menu in summer 2015. In July 2016, Peet released a complimentary bottled cold brew coffee line to 400 locations in the San Francisco area, including Peet's Coffee

Peet's Coffee doesn't have an impressive array of stores – only 200 locations – but its coffee is sold in 14,000 stores worldwide, making it one of the biggest coffee brands. Unlike the other companies discussed so far, Peet's is entirely focused on the United States, where all but one of its stores are located. Still, the sheer number of stores that carry them makes them one of the largest coffee producers despite their relatively narrow geographical scope.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.peets.com/

Headquarters: Emeryville, California

In 1979 (43 years ago), Gloria Jean's Coffees was founded by Gloria Jean Kvetko in Long Grove, a small town outside Chicago, Illinois, United States. The firm began as a small coffee and gift shop in the Chicago area and grew to over 50 locations throughout the US.

Gloria Jean's Gourmet Coffee Pty Ltd is an American-Australian retail coffeehouse chain company that operates more than 1,400 coffee houses in 40 countries, including over 460 in Australia.

In 2014, Gloria Jean's was purchased by Retail Food Group for AU$163.5 million. Despite their global presence, they are lesser-known than other brands, mainly because almost half of their locations are in Australia. Still, strictly by the numbers, Gloria Jean's is one of the world's most famous coffee chains.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.gloriajeans.com/

Headquarters: Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia

Tully's Coffee is an American specialty coffee manufacturing brand owned by Keurig Dr. Pepper, which acquired Tully's brand and wholesale business in 2009.

At the time of the Keurig wholesale acquisition, Tully's name and retail-store rights were retained by the now-defunct original retailer and wholesaler chain of coffee shops based in Seattle, Washington, which had originated Tom "Tully" O'Keefe in 1992. Its stores served specialty coffees, espresso, baked goods, pastries, and coffee-related supplies. The U.S. chain closed permanently in September 2018. The coffee-shop chain also had overseas licensing agreements in Japan, where the brand name is used for over 600 Tully's coffee houses, which since 2006 have been owned by Ito En, Inc.

Tully's coffee shops were well known for once following an expansion strategy of opening stores adjacent to those of the considerably larger coffee chain Starbucks, also based in Seattle.

Tully's is an interesting case. At one point, Tully's would have been near the top of this list, but recent supply-chain issues have reduced Tully's to a shadow of its former self. In the last 2 to 3 years, Tully's has closed a significant fraction of its locations resulting in a dramatically reduced presence worldwide. Still, they have more than 300 open locations and are one of the most famous and recognizable brands, primarily due to their past prominence.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.tullys.com/

Headquarters: USA

Caribou Coffee Company is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. Caribou Coffee was founded in Edina, Minnesota, in 1992. As of May 2015, the company operates 603 locations worldwide.

Caribou Coffee founder, John Puckett, worked as a management consultant for Boston-based firm Bain & Company, helping develop ideas and strategies for other companies when he decided he wanted to become an entrepreneur. After a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska, he and his wife decided to raise money and start a coffee company.

In May 2013, Caribou Coffee announced plans to close 80 stores in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, with 88 others in those locations converted to Peet's Coffee & Tea during 2013–2014. Caribou has slowly grown to be one of the largest and most recognizable coffee companies globally. They serve snacks, baked goods, and other beverages.

Detail information:
Website: https://www.cariboucoffee.com/

Headquarters: Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, U.S.