Who makes Kirkland Signature Espresso Blend Whole Bean Coffee, Dark Roast (2.5 lbs)?
As of September 28, 2026, evidence points to Paris Brothers, Inc. as the manufacturer of Kirkland Signature Espresso Blend Whole Bean Coffee, Dark Roast (2.5 lbs), but no tier 1–3 source names the link directly.
The common claim
What’s commonly claimed, and what the evidence supports
Top-ranking answers still call the Espresso Blend 'roasted by Starbucks' — accurate on-label from at least 2022 through 2023, but stale: the 'Custom Roasted by Starbucks Coffee Company' credit was removed from the bag and from Costco's listing when the product was relisted in early 2024. The evidence now points to a successor: Costco's own Business Center catalog names Paris Brothers, Inc. (a Kansas City specialty-coffee company trading as Paris Group) as the manufacturer of this bag. That is an internal retailer field rather than an editorial statement, so the attribution is graded probable rather than confirmed.
Evidence & sources
Each source is graded on the six-tier evidence rubric, where tier 1 is strongest. Sources are archived, so a citation still works if the original page moves or goes behind a paywall.
Tier 4
Costco's Business Center storefront (costcobusinessdelivery.com) serves the same US catalog data as costco.com and, unlike costco.com, can be fetched and archived. Its page for the 2.5 lb Espresso Blend (shortDescription 'Kirkland Signature Espresso Blend Whole Bean Coffee, Dark Roast, 2.5 lbs') embeds catalog JSON whose only two values in Costco's manufacturer field (mfName) both read "PARIS BROTHERS INC". Read 2026-09-28 and verified present in the Wayback snapshot created the same day. The same field on the Business Center French Roast page carries the same value, while the Decaf House Blend page carries a different one — the field discriminates between Kirkland coffee SKUs rather than echoing a single vendor of record. As an internal catalog field rather than an editorial statement it can still name a supplier of record rather than the plant, so it grades probable, not confirmed. It resolves the route this record previously logged as unretrievable: the costco.com listing (item #4000232153) has never been captured.
Tier 4
Corroborates capability and identity (not the Costco link): 'Paris Brothers, Inc., the Kansas City-based specialty food and beverage company founded in 1983, has announced it is doing business as Paris Group ... Paris Brothers, Inc. continues as the company's legal entity.' President Joe Mario Paris: 'We roast tens of millions of pounds of coffee a year ... we build private label programs for national retailers.' The trade description lists 'specialty and commercial roasting, contract manufacturing, private and white label program development, packaging'. The article does not name Costco or Kirkland Signature.
Manufacturer history
An attribution goes out of date when a supplier changes. We date each change and keep the earlier source.
| Period | Manufacturer | What the record says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Paris Brothers, Inc.Current | Current attribution (probable). See the evidence above. | Evidence ↑ |
| 2022 or earlier → 2024 | Starbucks Coffee Company | Label-verified era: Costco's own listing for the espresso blend (item #100493949, 2.5 lbs) carried 'Custom Roasted by Starbucks Coffee Company' in its product features across the captured window of October 2022 through December 2023, and the online listing was formerly titled 'Kirkland Signature Roasted by Starbucks'. Food Republic describes the Starbucks arrangement as long-standing before that window. The credit disappeared when Costco relisted the product (item #4000232153) in early 2024 — the same order-of-events as the House Blend — with no comment from either company and no successor identified. | Costco Wholesale ↗ |
Frequently asked
Is Kirkland Signature Espresso Blend coffee still roasted by Starbucks?
Who roasts Kirkland Espresso Blend coffee now?
Did Kirkland Espresso Blend change when the Starbucks credit disappeared?
Who is Paris Brothers, Inc.?
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