Starbucks Releases First 'Ethically' Purchased Coffee Brew

Starbucks has been facing tough competition from McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts after they launched a variety of new coffee blends which compete with Starbucks' once strong hold on the specialty coffee market.

The Seattle-based coffee giant responded by expanding its food selection to include breakfast sandwiches, reinstated founder Howard Schultz , and now is touting an "everyday" coffee blend.

"We are returning to the very best elements of our heritage and bringing back the simple romance and excitement of coffee," Starbucks Chairman, President and CEO Howard Schultz, said in a statement.

"Pike Place Roast takes us one step closer to achieving our goal of transforming the in-store experience by restoring the connection our customers have with our coffee," he added.

Schultz said the new brew was created after the Seattle coffee giant received input from over 1,000 customers. The Pike Place Roast will be the chains first coffee that will bear a mark confirming it was "ethically" purchased from sources.

Though Starbucks are usually transparent about where its coffee comes from, company executives did not reveal further details on the new blend only confirming the beans are sourced ethically and certified by Conservation International.

The new brew is named after Starbucks' original store-location in Seattle's famed fish market.

Free cups of the new coffee, which the company said has a smoother flavor and finish, will be available starting at 9 a.m. on the West Coast and noon on the East Coast at all its roughly 7,100 company-operated U.S. stores.

"No crazy names or sizes. No second language required," McDonald's says on its UnsnobbyCoffee.com site, playing on Starbucks' use of fancy names for its beverages.