Starbucks to sell instant coffee — $1 a cup

[Roon]

Starbucks Corp., the company that brought $4 lattes to the masses, said Thursday it plans to introduce a line of instant coffee.

The Via soluble coffee product, which the company plans to unveil on Tuesday, marks Starbucks latest bid to appeal to a broader range of coffee drinkers amid a sagging economy that is sapping interest in its pricey, high-end coffee drinks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29168867/

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. YUCK! nt

[Norrin Radd]

2. Starbucks also needs to make their coffee taste like

Tully's. ;)

[crikkett]

3. ROFL - laughable n/t

[Thickasabrick]

4. That is just gross - this is a really dumb idea - I thought they were

bringing the original guy back because of all the dumb ideas that didn't work.

[marmar]

5. A cup of Starbucks brewed coffee tastes bad enough.....Instant Starbucks could induce comas......

The only 'Bucks drink I like is a tall soy latte, because it's 2/3 steamed sweet soy milk and takes the bitter bite out of those overroasted beans.

[geckosfeet]

6. Wow. The schmuk that came up with that will be gone in 6 months.

I never thought that I would see a WORSE marketing idea than "new coke", but this does appear to be it.

[Art_from_Ark]

37. Actually, I think "New Coke" was a success

It got people clamoring for the "Classic Coke", which I think is really what the Coca-Cola Company wanted.

And if I didn't know better, I'd swear that "New Coke" has been resurrected as "Zero" :crazy:

[NYC_SKP]

7. Fuck Starbucks, fuck chains everywhere, but especially Starbucks....

I've seen to many small coffee houses chased out, I've read too many articles about how the Starbucks empire cozied up to city and county managers.

And their overpriced coffee sucks...

Viva Blackwater Cafe!!!

Viva House of Shaw!!!

Of course you've never heard of them, they aren't CHAINS!!!

:patriot:

[tabbycat31]

9. I'd be skeptical of Blackwater Cafe

I don't think of coffee when I hear the term Blackwater.

and I'm not a coffee drinker. I like hot chocolate, and I've gotten it many places, but 7-11 has the best.

[NYC_SKP]

16. LOL, it's a name based on the rivers nearby...

The folks that own, work, and hang out there are at the opposite end of the spectrum from the other Blackwater.

:hi:

[tabbycat31]

23. okay

I would not support anything from the other Blackwater.

[doc03]

12. We had a very good local coffee shop in our mall for years,

then comes Starbucks. With their lease they demanded that the local shop move into a side hallway and also demanded no other business could advertise that they sold coffee. After about a year the local shop went out of business. A few months ago Starbucks announced they were going to close their store, the funny thing is they are stuck with a 5 year lease for around $5000 a month. The mall won't let them out of their lease so with the bad local economy they lose money if they stay open or they close. I stopped at Starbucks 3 or 4 days a week and would usally buy decaf then a couple weeks ago they come up with another bonehead idea that Starbucks will no longer brew decaf after noon. If I want one of those $4.00 lattes I can buy them at the pizza shop down the hall for a dollar less. They lost this customer for good.
:puke:

[NYC_SKP]

18. Thanks for the story, I've been bashed here for bashing Starbucks...

but the story you retell is typical, SOP for them.

:hi:

[Barack_America]

8. Why would I walk my ass all the way over to Starbucks for instant coffee?

:shrug:

[luvspeas]

10. about 15 years ago...

in WI, my friend brought over this catalog for this great coffee from Seattle. It was really expensive, so we got an order together to save on postage and get to try it. Since then I have been dumbfounded by what Starbucks has done, and I can't say I have never had Starbucks since, but I will go ANYWHERE else possible before I step foot in the place. I'll even go to McDonald's without guilt if that's the choice. Occasionally though, someone wants to meet there for a work meeting, or I'm at a hotel without a good coffee maker, and I go, but it sucks.

[Lady Effingbroke]

11. lol. I can make crappy instant coffee at home for about 5¢ a cup

[underseasurveyor]

13. Instant?

EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW x(

[zagging]

28. You have a problem with instant?

Mr. Bookman would have a problem with you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zePQavforA

[underseasurveyor]

29. Never was a Seinfeld fan either

Same as instant coffee x(

[zagging]

32. I never saw it other than some reruns and on Youtube

But Mr. Bookman channels Jack Webb in Bizarro world pretty nicely. Seinfeld can barely keep from busting a gut when Bookamn is riffing. Me, too.

[Avalux]

14. Instant coffee? I'd rather drink acid. n/t

[zagging]

17. Ever had a black coffee from starbucks?

Sour rank acidic swamp water. The only reason they've gotten away with it for so long is because everyone laces that rancid brown bilge with 500 calories of sugary cover.

[Avalux]

20. Yes and it sucks. I hate Starbucks.

I was told they mix low quality beans in with the good ones and roast them dark - stretches the dollar. Why it tastes so bad.

[zagging]

22. I am of the opinion that

It's not cool to drink hot cocoa every day so they put a spritz of funky bituminous dreck in the bottom of the cup, spiked it with high fructose corn products, and called it latte or whatever dressed up European sounding moniker the saps would go for. They thought it was a caffeine buzz and all along it was a high velocity sugar bomb.

[proud patriot]

15. Okay so there is this starbucks on my way to work

It's driveway is on the right , just before a
right turn I have to make to get to work .

Everyday there is at least $75.00 worth coffee
in cars lined up at the drive -thru .

It's very aggravating to be behind a bunch of
Starbuck fiending people ....

[Lost in CT]

19. Is this an Onion piece? nt

[Roon]

21. It seems like it..

doesn't it?

[Skink]

24. There's a hundred and fifty two Starbucks in the San Antonio Austin area.

[enlightenment]

25. Activated charcoal is cheaper -

and it tastes better than anything Charbucks sells.

[amitten]

26. I seriously dig my Folger's. Laugh all you want, but it's like 100x

better than a cup of Starbucks (unless you get a latte or other blended drink).

[Bobbie Jo]

27. add $3 if you want hot water.

[kentuck]

30. Sanka ?

Just a dollar a cup??

[4lbs]

31. Well, coffee is the one instance where I'm a 'snob'.

I buy French Roast beans at CostCo and grind them as I use them.

The great thing about grinding beans as you use them, is that the beans are meant to be stored at room temperature. So, I just leave the bag and grinder near the coffee maker.

Nice, rich, hearty, strong, coffee. Yum! :D


Instant coffee and decaf.... Ack! Might as well have me drink vinegar.

[greyl]

33. Way to fuck up what branding they had left. nt

[Hannah Bell]

35. Typical trajectory. The elite fad of today = the McD's of the future.

What was important was to replace independent cafes with a quasi-monopoly.

Every niche in the economy will eventually be occupied by big capital.

[Kool Kitty]

34. I just want them to bring back the salted caramel

hot cocoa. I loved it.

[Greyhound]

36. Another evil empire built by MBAs with no clue about the business they run. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

38. I'm like Herr Schlendrian in Bach's Coffee Cantanta

I can't understand all the hubbub about coffee and coffee houses :dunce:

[Raine]

39. YECH instant coffee

their brewed charred coffee is bad enough. :puke:

[MajorChode]

40. How to make better coffee than Starbucks for less money

The golden rule to making coffee is freshly roasted beans and grinding just before preparation.

You'll need a few basic items if you don't already have them.

1) A tea kettle

2) A french press

3) A decent quality burr grinder (expect to pay $80 or more for a decent one)

4) A thermal carafe

As far as coffee goes, you should go with a reputable roaster. The stuff you get at the grocery store is shit. Some Costco stores have a roaster right inside the store, which isn't bad, but I would recommend you go with a top end roaster like Intelligentsia. One pound of their house blend goes for $13 and it's worth it. You can buy two pounds from them, freeze one pound and use the other right away. Buying two pounds at once costs about $32 with shipping and will make about 90 cups of coffee which works out to about 36 cents per cup.

Coffee should NOT be stored in the bag once it has been opened. I use an airtight canister that is opaque (it's best to store coffee out of the light)

You should use 10 grams of coffee per every 6oz cup. So for an 8 cup french press, use 80 grams of coffee. A standard coffee scoop measure is 7 grams. Do NOT use less coffee if you don't like it as strong. If you want to make it weaker, thin the coffee down with hot water after brewing.

A medium grind is a good starting point. You may want to use a finer or coarser grind. If you do so, increase or decrease the steep time. A finer ground needs less extraction time and vise versa. All of this is personal preference so experimentation is a good thing.

Bring the water to a boil. By the time you bring the water off the heat source and pour it into the french press, the temp should be 205 degrees or perhaps a little less which is about right. Pour the water over the coffee and give it a good stir. Put the top on the french press but do not plunge. Wait 4-5 minutes, press the plunger slowly, then pour the coffee into a thermal carafe.

You will get a bit of mud in the bottom of your cup. If you don't like it simply toss the last couple of sips. It's still better than paper filtered coffee which absorbs many of coffee's essential oils.

Follow these directions and you'll be throwing rocks at your local Starbucks.

[Lost in CT]

41. Hell four scoops of Folger a carafe of water and push button

makes better Coffee than Starbucks.

[MajorChode]

45. Folgers makes dishwater

Although I don't do business with Starbucks, their brewed coffee is not all that bad, at least compared to Folgers or any other preground coffee.

[Lost in CT]

47. I disagree.

Folgers is decent in a good coffee maker.

For a first cup to get you going even chock full o nuts isn't bad

(Maxwell House on the other hand is right out)

[MajorChode]

48. The problem with any preground coffee is...

after grinding the coffee flavors immediately start to diminish no matter how they are stored. There are something like 300 chemical compounds contained in coffee. Some of these will persist so even Folgers will retain some flavor. However, it is nothing like the experience of freshly roasted coffee that is freshly ground and freshly brewed. When prepared by methods that don't use a paper filter, you will retain even more of the full flavor. Once you have had the experience of properly prepared coffee, there's just no going back to Folgers or any of the other preground.

[MadHound]

42. So Starbucks is adding another line of crappy coffee-like drinks to their already sucky selection

Hopefully this will continue the drive to screw Starbucks into the ground. Sorry, but they make overpriced coffee drinks, their coffee itself tastes burned and horrible, and now they're adding instant as a cheap alternative. Not terribly bright.

I had to laugh long and hard when my local college town got a Starbucks. It was closed within a year and hasn't been back since. Our local chains simply kick ass, making great coffee at reasonable prices.

[jmowreader]

43. You're not supposed to drink it AT Starbucks

The marketing geniuses who came up with this one (according to the article, the product has been in development for 20 years--which is very strange because the technology for making instant coffee has been around for a very long time) wanted to bring the "Starbucks Experience" to you wherever you may be...open an envelope, dump it into a cup, add water, voila...you are instantly transported to a charming European sidewalk cafe.

The only problem with this grand plan is Starbucks coffee is awful, and dehydrating it can't make the experience any better.

[ifuseekamy]

44. In related news...

Charf*ck's is testing their own flavored horse piss. It will be unveiled in the spring.

[Kitty Herder]

46. Wait a minute..... $1.00 for a single cup of instant coffee?

Who the fuck is going to buy that? I think a big jar of store-brand instant coffee sells for around $6.00 and I'm not sure how many cups you can get out of it, but I'm thinking it's like 100 or so. So that's about 6 cents a cup. Instant coffee is gross whether it's made by starbuck or Western Family, so why buy the Starbucks brand?

[blues90]

49. just brew your own coffee and use a thermos

The hell with swarbucks and their take over that did in all the independant coffee shops. I wouldn't drink their over priced swill , I would quit coffee first.

JUst another place with star in their name , how about falling star.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

50. Ummm, isn't regular coffee cheaper than instant?