Starbucks Going National With Via Instant Coffee
After 20 years of development work, and six months of test-marketing in Chicago and Seattle, Starbucks is taking its Via instant coffee national today. Will coffee snobs be willing to pay $1 a serving for a drink that Consumer Reports recently called "good, not great?"
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls Via the "biggest investment we've made in a national launch," and the company sees the product as a chance to grab a piece of the $21 billion instant coffee market, though, in typical Starbucks fashion, the CEO insists Via is a unique category unto itself. According to Reuters:
Schultz said that due to the higher quality of Via, it would not compete with existing instant coffee products. He added that Via did not cannibalize Starbucks main business in markets where it was tested.
"This is not your grandmother's instant coffee," Schultz said. "The quality of Starbucks Via is a mirror image of the quality and taste of Starbucks brewed coffee."
However, in tests conducted this summer, Consumer Reports found that Via didn't quite live up to that promise:
The Starbucks instant and brewed coffees are similar in quality, but that quality is good, not great. The brewed coffees have the bitterness and darker roast we've found in previous tests of Starbucks Colombian; Via instant has more subdued flavors, is not as bitter, and has a slight cereal taste. ... Via is OK, but if you love the signature bitterness and darker-roast character of brewed Starbucks, you might not love it.
We'll reserve judgment until we try it ourselves. But at $1 a serving, vs. about 20 cents for instant Nescafe — or $1 for fresh-brewed coffee from the corner deli — we will have to love it if we're going to give it more than just a try.
Starbucks Debuts Via Instant Coffee In U.S., Canada [NYTimes.com]
We compare coffee: New brews McCafe and Starbucks instant [Consumer Reports]
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Comments:
instant coffee is only ever good for mixed drinks I dont care how long its been tested.
You are the harbinger of instant coffee, Kara Thrace.
I actually had some, and for instant coffee, it was OK. I think the best I've had was some Vietnamese brand of instant coffee. From what I understand, the instant coffee market is much larger overseas than here, which is strange, because Americans typically demand instant gratification and convenience.
Does Starbucks have commercials? If not, it should start and they should feature Katee Sackoff. She smokes, she drinks - why not both liquor and coffee?
They were handing out free trials in the drive thru this morning. They gave me a taster cup. It was extremely acidic and had a horrible charcoal filtered like backlash in the aftertaste. Would never buy this myself and I drive a minimum 72 oz of coffee a day. If you like abuse of your tastebuds here you go!
@Falcon5768: You'd be surprised. In my travels throughout Europe, a great deal of coffee was instant, and it was amazing. Instant cappachinos were better than the "fresh" kind from Starbucks. The only thing that you can't powderize is espresso. You must have freshly brewed espresso.
I'll save everyone some time: it's bitter, it's overpriced, I can make better coffee with the coffee beans I grow in my organic garden, etc. etc.
@GitEmSteveDave_ForgivesChris4ThePizza: Jesus. All we wanted was some decent goddamned coffee, and the women are still holding our behavior our heads some 50 years later.
@Mr_D: Coffee's proliferation has been more widespread overseas because it's been there longer. Coffee started gaining popularity among the Arab countries, then to Europe, then to the Indonesians, and then finally to America. There's a reason why the Europeans have led the way in different kinds of coffee and different methods of making coffee - they've had it longer, and presumably, their culture requires more craftsmanship when it comes to coffee. Americans typically rush a little more than Europeans do, even faster than the metropolitan Europeans, like those in London, Paris and Berlin. In Europe, more attention is spent on eating and drinking, so the coffee is prepared with slightly more care. It becomes part of a meal or a daily ritual, and not just something you get in the morning from the gas station.
Too, too expensive. Especially, since instant coffee isn't as convenient as it used to be. Today we have pod machines and Keurigs. I warrant that those work even faster than instant coffee.
@Mr_Human: Kind of apples and oranges. The pod machines and Keurigs take coffee grinds packaged in little packets to create one or two cups with precision. The goal is convenience through precision - you're only making one cup, so you save time by not having to measure the grinds.
The instant coffee that Starbucks (and other instant coffee brands) peddle are powder form, meaning all you do is mix it with water and you have a cup of coffee. Some brands even have powdered creamer mixed in, so all you have to do is add hot water and sugar. I wouldn't mind getting some of this stuff to take on vacation with me. I might not have electricity in the car to plug in my coffee maker, but whenever we stop at a restaurant I can get hot water in my thermos for a decent cup of coffee later.
@hypnotik_jello: Yes they are. I was differentiating between straight espresso shots (you know, they cup in those ridiculously tiny cups) and drinks that require espresso. You can definitely powderize cappuccino, but I tend to like fresh espresso if it's unadorned by the frou frou foam.
This stuff isn't bad, but if I'm going to pay $0.98/cup I'll just go to my local convenience store and get a small Green Mountain.
@GitEmSteveDave_ForgivesChris4ThePizza:
OMG those were great...or horrible. I can't decide which. I'm just happy I'm a housewife NOW and not back then!
@dubs29: Do you drink Starbucks coffee straight? Your description of the instant sounds the same as what I think of Starbucks coffee.
But, I like it in all the super-fat, super-sugar charged drinks. :-)
@catniplover: You mean you don't want to carry a large batch of hot coffee in your purse? It's so convenient! All kidding aside, I can't watch videos right now, so I want to laugh, but I can't.
Anyone else ever surprised to find something they've gotten used to has only been available in their area? I haven't tried the Starbucks instant stuff, but I had no idea Chicago was a test market. I figured it had been around everywhere for a while now.
Guess I wasn't paying too much attention to it.
The beauty of Via is it's amazing over ice. You don't have to use hot water at all. You can also dissolve it in milk for a milky coffee beverage.
$1/cup for instant coffee?? No thanks.
@GitEmSteveDave_ForgivesChris4ThePizza: Wow, Harvey almost left his wife for the Girls Down At The Office. She lucked out.
@winstonthorne: That's not the point. This is instant coffee. All you do is add water and go. It's not made for people like you who have the time to go to the convenience store in the morning.
This can't taste anywhere as bad as the swill I get here (all the coffee near me in DC sucks). If I can reduce my cost to about $1 per serving (versus the $1.59 I pay now) I'd gladly buy this and just carry a thermos of water with me in the morning, or buy a water boiler to keep in the office (we don't have a water cooler).
Excellent tag
They need a better copywriter. "Mirror image" often means "total opposite".
Personally, I think it's pretty good... for instant. But there's no way I'm gonna pay what they're asking for it.
This is a really interesting article about instant coffees in the US and in Europe. For people complaining about instant coffee itself: Well, the instant coffee in the US is more or less crap.
But in Europe, instant coffee has been perfected to nearly gourmet standards. 90% of Brits drink instant coffee, and 60% of the French drink instant coffee regularly. The thing is, it tastes better over there, very much like real coffee. Here, not so much.
Starbucks in general seems to be a matter of personal preference - some people love it, some people hate it. Hey, that's the beauty of the free market.
But if it actually tastes like Starbucks coffee, I'd say that's pretty good - most instant coffee tastes completely disgusting, so even if you think Starbucks is mediocre that's a win.
I really liked the VIA - we're in the test market and I already have a stash in my desk. It's cheaper than a trip to the coffeeshop and when it gets cold it will be nice having a pick-me-up at work. I HATE instant coffee. This does not taste like instant coffee.
@pecan 3.14159265: They have commercials airing for Via (I saw one last night and thought, "really?") but alas, there is no Starbuck in them. Woe.
One point I'll agree with the article: It's okay - not GREAT. But where I differ is the mention of Nescafe. That stuff is f'n nasty.
@pecan 3.14159265: You're backwards -- instant coffee is far more popular overseas than in the U.S. It's one of the few areas where Americans HAVEN'T led the way in instantification. :)
I've had it and it's not bad, especially for instant.* I think it's an acceptable substitute if one can't get out for a coffee or make a good one at home. As for the price... well, the Bux never has been an economy brand.
*Full disclosure, every now and again, just for the sake of nostalgia, I get some regular instant coffee. Ahh! That raspy, vaguely coffee-like, flavor-assault brings back such memories!
I don't drink coffee, so when people come visit they either get instant coffee or Senseo coffee. I will buy their preference. So if I had houseguests coming who told me they liked this dollar-a-cup instant Starbucks, that is what I would buy. And I wouldn't mind the pricepoint, because it'd just be a few of them for guests who are suffering from my lack of coffee maker.
Most people like the Senseo, though, so I just keep a stash of pods so people can pick what they like.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Huh? That's pretty much what I said. How was I backwards? I was pointing out that instant coffee is more widespread in Europe because more care is taken to prepare it, and instant coffee isn't the swill you gete in the US.
Isn't Tasters Choice better? If I remember right it is better than Starbucks to start with, so it must be better than their instant.
Didn't realize this wasn't national already - we've had this stuff in Ann Arbor, MI for months.
Via is awesome if you keep a few in your purse. When you find yourself at a diner or restaurant with weak-ass coffee just pop open a packet and pour it right in. It turns any bad cup of coffee into good coffee.
I'd be willing to try this instead of the swill we have at the office (Keurig machine BLECH) but not at $ 1.00/serving. That's just nuts. I'm not paying anymore than $ .70 a cup for regular coffee.
there's only one good use of instant coffee: frappes
any other use is not condoned by this coffee drinker.
20 years to develop? I'm pretty sure freeze drying has been around for over 100 years. Was Starbuck's lacking in research assistants they couldn't figure it out?
I use instant coffee to make my own little frappaccinos. Ice, skim milk, instant coffee, a shot of raspberry syrup, some Hershey's syrup, blend it. Tasty!
@pecan 3.14159265: Most definitely. Here in the US, I get my instant coffee fix from the Asian supermarkets, they have a great selection of tasty instant coffees.
@Mr_D: I've spent some time in Asia and noticed the same thing; instant coffee is everywhere. I always chalked it up to the fact that there are water coolers, which provide both cold and near boiling water, virtually everywhere. Instead of having to brew a pot of coffee, just get some hot water from the cooler, add a stick of instant coffee (which was premixed with sugar and creamer) and away you go. Interestingly it was clear that espresso type drinks (lattes, americanos, etc) were catching on, but I don't think I had brewed coffee the entire time I was over there.
@I_have_something_to_say: Wait. Ever? What kind of swill do you drink that's 70 cents a cup? My small coffee at a regular coffee shop is $1.35!
@Bitter_Old_Punk: Good coffee should be brewed with water just off the boil. Boiling water scalds the beans and causes the burnt, bitter taste of the coffee in their stores.
Their beans are good to buy for home brewing.
I always thought their coffee was horrible. Tastes burned and slightly bitter, I shall pass and stick to the cheaper brand.