I'm at the ripe old age when "nobody likes you" (from that one song by Blink182), but I have to admit, I've never really seen the appeal in coffee.

Still, if my friends beckon, I will heed their call to check these out along with them.

Does it have flavor crystals?

Mediocrity brewed that much quicker. Mmmm!

@Ratty: "Mediocrity burned that much quicker. Mmmm!"

Fixed it for ya.

Will the instant coffee also taste burnt?

All of you poseurs who have bought into the whole "Starbucks Quality Experience" look like fools. 20 years in the making ? So they were planning to introduce this shit at just the right moment since...Reagan was in power ?

How can this CEO EVER have any credibility on any subject ever again?

Mmmm McStarbucks.

I have to applaud this company. If there's one thing they know, it's brand marketing.

@Snarkysnake: People that don't think critically about things are super excited about this 20 year formula.

@downwithmonstercable: BTW I signed up for a free sample. I've never had instant coffee. I'm wondering what it's like compared to regular.

That explains why Mrs. Olson has all that new bling - she sold out!

@downwithmonstercable: Sanka

"Sign up to receive a COMPLIMENTARY SAMPLE and StarbucksStore newsletters." Well, its free except for the crap junk mail you'll be getting crammed into your mailbox.

Is the "proof in the cup" because that crap doesn't dissolve?

Seriously, I'd be willing to give it a try for fun...but, for $1 (USD) it better have crack in there too for me to make a habit out of it...

And this is returning to the "Core Business?" I'd hate to see Schultz go out on a limb.

You have diluted your brand to the point where it's almost valueless & now you introduce Instant Coffee? Maybe yours is amazing but this is probably not the best time to attempt to change deep-rooted customer perceptions that Instant is shit.

I'm not as horrified by this as most Seattlites are. Mostly because I prefer standard slow-brew to espresso. I had a phase of instant that I went through, but haven't had any in quite a while so I also got the web freebie.

"It's not your mother's instant coffee. The proof is in the cup."

How good can instant coffee be? Stop trying to flatter yourself starbucks

@dohtem: That was not my first reaction. This is almost certainly a branding disaster. Starbuck's pretends to care about coffee; about the beans, the temperature of the water, about when a pot needs to be refreshed... And now that market a chemically contrived coffee substitute? This is like a long time orchid grower selling plastic flowers just to get by in a sour economy.

@valarmorghulis: My friends think I am a heathen because I live in Seattle and almost never drink coffee. And when I do it's usually in white mint mocha or frappucino form.

@B: Well played, heh.

For the record, I've been all over South America, including Columbia, land of Juan Valdez himself. You will be hard pressed to actually find a real cup of coffee there. Almost all of it is instant Nescafe!! I guess it probably has something to do with the price since it is all exported, but still. Incredible!

@Hoss: That's strange... I see the exact opposite.

Looks to me like they are hoping their fiercely loyal customers that can't afford their regular $3-$4 cup will still plunk down $1 for Starbucks instant coffee. (You know, the type those McDonald's McCafe commercials make fun of.)

Hot water?! We don't need any stinking water..!!

just snort it off a desk or your hooker of choice..

I wrote for a sample. It isn't fair for me to fully snark on it if I haven't tried it----but I'm pretty sure it will taste flat and disgusting. :) We'll see.

Maybe if it sold for 50 cents a cup they might get sales at target---but no one is going to buy 12 servings for 10 dollars---this is the same pricing that you probably get with a half pound of starbucks beans.

This could be really big in other parts of the world where they don't exactly have the same coffee culture that we do. We have a ton of coffee options in the US, and even places like McDonalds will brew you a fresh cup if you ask them nicely.

When we were traveling through S. Korea a couple years ago, my mom had the hardest time getting a cup of coffee. She drinks a lot of coffee, particularly at the end of a meal, and she's medium picky about her coffee quality. A handful of places had mysterious brewed stuff that was entirely undrinkable, even by "Waffle House standards." Most places made some instant packet abomination that more closely resembled tea than coffee. I'm not a regular coffee drinker, but they tasted nothing like coffee even to me.

There are certain markets where Starbucks could take their brand and really make a killing with instant coffee, and they might even end up IMPROVING the coffee in some of those places.

@Margaret Powell: true, but people don't drink Instant Coffee instead of Brewed for the price- they drink it due to the convenience, same reason people buy gas station coffee/starbucks drip/McMocha/etc - i can brew a better cup of coffee myself at home for much less, but that takes a few minutes setup/brew/clean...
actually, tomorrow morning, i'm going to time how long it takes me to grind/brew/clean, vs. hot water+instant

It's weird that you're all attacking this but not attacking instant coffee in of itself.

If it's instant coffee - and if it tastes better than the rest of the instant coffee out there - then what's the problem?

20 years ej....more like 20 days....to save the company from a financial nightmare...

The only time I drank coffee was when I was overseas, and it was instant Nescafe coffee. That stuff is pretty alright, which is huge, since I adamantly dislike coffee. I'm a tea drinker, and overseas, their tea looked like coffee and gave me the strongest caffeine rush I've ever had. Ugh.

Extra bold? So it's grated charcoal in a packet?

@Snarkysnake: i worked though college - 4 yrs - at 'the bucks' ; when there were no frappucinos, no "mild" blend; you had regular and decaf, or espresso drinks - none of this new flavor every season sh*t either. you did the basics, and you did it well. i cant go to a starbucks anymore - not since like 2000 - they re-steam the same milk over and over, burn the espresso - its embarassing. i used to be proud to work there instead of McDonalds - now im ashamed of where the company went.

@Fermina Daza: I came here to post the same thing. It probably had some of that "mesquite" flavoring added to give it that "sat on the burner for 2 hours taste".

@bohemian: Who knows? With this economy McStarbucks may be showing up as early as Q1 2010.

@admiral_stabbin: Yeah, this product has "novelty" written all over it. I'll try it once for fun, but I doubt it will replace caffeine pills as my chosen cheap instant pick-me-up. 64 pills for $8 or or $12 for 10 packets, decisions decisions...

The end of times is near...

Now I will buy a bag, use it and then replace the coffee with the crappiest stuff I can find to impress my friends...

@Gstein:

It takes me four minutes to make my instant coffee in the morning. Three to nuke the water, and one to dump the coffee, creamer and sugar in my cup.

Althought, now that my mom gave me a superfluous Mr. Coffee she had sitting around, I might actually brew something.

The whole point is that we want something Fresh not something that "tastes" like it is fresh. I thought that this was the raison d'etre of Starbucks and other specialty coffee retailers.

The whole reason they were able to experience high growth rates, at least on some level, was the fact people did not want crappy coffee any longer.

I say fail.

Given the option of caffine pills versus instant coffee, I'm going with the pills and sipping them with some hot cocoa.

@Snarkysnake:

They said it took 20 years to develop - they didn't say they developed it. I'm guessing they bought the recipe or patent from someone else who was working on it for years.

Redi-pack? so you can enjoy it with redi-whip on top? Guess that is easier than learning to brew coffee.

@HogwartsAlum: Agreed, if you have any sort of morning routine, a drip machine takes the same amount of time or less than instant. Instant's more for people who lack space or travel a lot, or aren't allowed to have a real coffee machine.

@badgeman46:

Ugh! Nescafe! The first swig of that shit makes me vomit instantly. Thanks to Disney and the captive hold they have (and flavorless mopwater they serve calling it coffee!) when you're on their properties.

I didn't know anyone who actually drank Starbucks when I lived in Seattle. We all drank Tully's or got our coffee from the drive-thru kiosks.

@Fermina Daza: That, my friend, is the flavor of authenticity!

/sarcasm off

LOL LOL LOL -instant death of brand is more like it .

LOL LOL LOL -after the curiosity seekers try it who is the customer ?

LOL LOL LOL -I thought Starbucks was selling the experience .What-your kitchen refrigerator and tea kettle whistling ???

LOL LOL LOL -1$ for a serving of instant coffee ,pffttt-a jar of Folgers does what about 3 dozen servings ?

LOL LOL LOL ... LOL LOL LOL

@slater: I own a trash can for that.

My guess is that you could get the same flavor if you took twice as much Folgers crystals, set it on fire, then added a cup of water.

@Hoss: Agreed. This is like the anti-brand for Starbucks. More on-brand would be them inventing a way to brew your own high-quality coffee in a travel mug or something. Or pushing the DIY french presses more than they already do.

@slater: That's why it's being sent to my UPS store box.