The king of coffee shops, Starbucks is the second biggest fast food chain in the world, with over 38,000 global locations. But although there are now almost as many Starbucks outlets as there are McDonald's restaurants, there was once a time when that famous green logo wasn't ubiquitous, and the start of autumn wasn’t signified by the arrival of pumpkin spice lattes. Founded in 1971 by three university friends, Starbucks started out as an unassuming coffee bean shop in Seattle. So how did that single spot grow into a global empire?

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover how Starbucks conquered the world – and learn some fascinating facts about the company along the way.