by Melody on June 24, 2010
Those who are vegetarians have been asking Starbucks for more vegetarian food options. This is a common theme at My Starbucks Idea. Coming soon (I believe on June 29, 2010) Starbucks is introducing two new food items, designed for the vegetarian diet. I bet that even those of us who are not vegetarians are going to enjoy this. The two new food items are the Hummus Plate and the Ratatouille Sandwich. I believe that the Hummus Plate counts as “vegan” too, for the vegans. However since the hummus involves cooked garbanzo beans, I guess this still isn’t the solution for the raw food enthusiasts at Starbucks.
The photo that accompanies this blog post features the Hummus Plate. I don’t have any images for the new Ratatouille Sandwich, but I hear that it will feature roasted zucchini, eggplant, red peppers, spinach, and provolone on focaccia bread. This sounds like a vegetarian item, though I don’t think it is “vegan”.
I’m sure I will try these items just to try them, but it’s not what I gravitate towards when I want food. Nothing quite beats the Perfect Oatmeal – It’s hot, it’s the right size, and quick and easy. I assume it’s vegetarian too, though that’s not why I buy it. When I want real food at Starbucks, usually that means I get the Perfect Oatmeal, or sometimes the Vivanno Smoothie. I assume the smoothie counts as vegetarian too. But I might get these two new items for a change of pace too! If anyone has any more information on them, I’m all ears.
by Melody on May 26, 2010
Your local Starbucks has amazing snacks. As I write this post, I’m dunking Lucy’s Cinnamon Thin cookies into my cup of afternoon Sumatra. Delicious. We are now continuing our walk through the “snack aisle” at Starbucks, and stop to talk about these cookies. I think they’ve been available for a while, but I only just recently tried them. Our last visit down the snack aisle brought us the joy of popcorn, though that’s not quite as dunkable in a cup of coffee. 
To be fair, I didn’t try dunking the buttered popcorn into my black coffee, but it just doesn’t sound like a good pairing.
Lucy’s Cinnamon Thin cookies are fabulous. There are about five little cookies in the tiny bag. The packaging states that the cookies are gluten free, and the cookies contain no milk, eggs, or tree nuts. Truthfully, this packaging was the reason why it took me so long to try these cookies. I had seen them hanging around my local Starbucks and thought, ‘well, why would I try those? I’m not on a special diet‘. Silly Melody. Each little bag of cookies is only $1.50.
But let me explain again why these Lucy’s cookies go great with coffee: I can’t believe what perfect dunkers they are. The little cookies are really nice and crisp, so when you submerse it in your coffee, it’s not going to immediately fall apart in your cup. The cinnamon flavor is strong but not overwhelming, and tastes delicious. The size is perfect too. Because they’re just a bite-sized cookie, you can even dunk it right into your coffee in your own personal tall tumbler – which of course has a more narrow opening than for-here ware or even a paper cup.
These days even many biscotti are too soft to effectively dunk, and crumble apart easily when dunked into your coffee. Starbucks has very cute bite-sized little cookies in the pastry case right now, but again those are not crisp enough to dunk into coffee. I’m not suggesting that the Lucy’s Cinnamon cookies are the Gluten Free equivalent of a Cinnamon Brick: Not the case. I bought several bags – nearly overdosing on cookies – to be sure that they tasted just as yummy dry as dunked. Definitely true that they are quite good when eaten alone too. However these cookies have a special place in my heart when paired with coffee. Now I just have to figure out which Starbucks coffee pairs best with a Cinnamon flavor. In all honesty, it probably isn’t Sumatra!
by Melody on May 14, 2010
There’s popcorn at Starbucks now! Did I miss the flood of customers pounding on the doors of MyStarbucksIdea.com begging for popcorn at their local Starbucks? It never crossed my mind, until I actually saw it in the store, that Starbucks should sell popcorn. Yes. I really am talking about popcorn. Even stranger, it is Starbucks-branded popcorn. Did some mad coffee roaster in Kent throw some popcorn kernels in the roasting oven and listen carefully to it popping? I was in total surprise to find popcorn at Starbucks. And even more stunned to realize that the butter popcorn is totally and absolutely addictively delish.
Over the nine months of blogging at StarbucksMelody, we’ve covered coffee and pastries. We’ve talked about 3 Region Blend, Mexico Chiapas, Verona, Sumatra, Christmas Blend, and Casi Cielo. But now it really is time to talk about the popcorn launched on May 4, 2010. It comes in two flavors: (1) Butter and (2) Salt and Pepper . The butter popcorn is the one that is toe-curling good. Okay, to be honest, I haven’t tried the salt and pepper version because that sounds like an odd combo, and so far, trusted tweeps and real-life green apron friends are giving the salt and pepper version a thumbs down. However, everyone is raving about the butter flavor. It’s so good. It’s light, but very buttery, with the right amount of salt flavor, and few kernels at the bottom. Run, don’t walk, and get some popcorn. I imagine this is a hit if you happen to be at a Starbucks located very close to a movie theater.
I did a quick search on MyStarbucksIdea.com and looked to see if there has been a crowd of people demanding popcorn at Starbucks. Here’s what I found:
more kid friendly snacks
Coffee infused chocolate covered popcorn
serve more snack foods
New snack – already produced and marketed
This delicious new snack is available for $1.25 a bag. Look for it in the ‘snack aisle’ of your local Starbucks.
And now for a Public Service Announcement: Don’t forget that healthy gums are pink and stippled. Be sure to brush and floss daily. Get your teeth cleaned once every six months, or once every three to four months if you have periodontal disease. Don’t miss your regular dental check ups! Popcorn easily gets caught in deep periodontal pockets! Many a periodontal abscess started with that innocent bag of popcorn. I wonder if I end up with a gum abscess out of this, can I send Howard the bill? LOL (j/k)
by Melody on April 3, 2010
What is “orange”? It’s a fruit with a peel with a stipple feel to it. It’s a county and a city in California. It’s a county and a city in Florida. It was a syrup at Starbucks, once upon a time. It was a cupcake flavor at Starbucks, once upon a time. It is one of the few words in the English language with no true perfect rhyme to it. It is a football stadium in Miami, Florida. It is a noun. It was a syrup at Starbucks, several years ago … Oh yes we said that already.
Well, it’s a well-missed syrup. On My Starbucks Idea, on a regular basis, participants come online just to lament the loss of an orange syrup. Here’s an example of what I mean:
Bring the orange syrup back!!
I remember when there was an orange syrup in the stores, and I loved it though I never once ordered it in an espresso beverage. I would buy a San Pelligrino and ask for an Italian Soda, with whip cream and then there was an orange drizzle on top of the whip cream. I loved it. One hot summer, I’d say about four years ago, I drank a lot of orange Italian Sodas. Thank you Oak Tree store for always taking the time to make them perfectly.
The photo in this picture comes from twitterer @RachelGab. It’s not actually her photo. Eons ago, I was chatting with her and I think the topic was generally cupcakes. She mentioned that Starbucks once had an orange cupcake, which I did not remember. Through the magic of Google, Rachel pointed me in the direction of an exact photo of the orange cupcake that was previously available at Starbucks. All I know is that I want one. Yes, cupcakes are so wonderful! Unfortunately, not really sure who has the copyright for this lovely pic of this orange Starbucks cupcake, but it’s such an enticing looking treat, that I want to show it off.
If you want to read about the most recent vanilla cupcakes sold in a Starbucks, here’s a previous blog post on that topic:
Vanilla Cupcakes return to Starbucks
The current seasonal syrup at Starbucks is dark cherry – You can read about that here:
Welcome to Dark Cherry
And back on the topic of orange. I like the orange flavor. It’s not just because Disneyland sits in Orange County, California. I like oranges. A small part of me is a little jealous that some international markets currently have an orange syrup. According to the Starbucks Malaysia website, a Honey Orange Latte is a current promo beverage in Malaysia.
Any other orange syrup fans here? Discuss this or any other Starbucks topic! As always, I love your comments, and I’m immensely thankful to all of you who leave a comment now and then. Here’s the other cupcake photo of the amazing orange cupcakes at Starbucks:
Those who are vegetarians have been asking Starbucks for more vegetarian food options. This is a common theme at My Starbucks Idea. Coming soon (I believe on June 29, 2010) Starbucks is introducing two new food items, designed for the vegetarian diet. I bet that even those of us who are not vegetarians are going to enjoy this. The two new food items are the Hummus Plate and the Ratatouille Sandwich. I believe that the Hummus Plate counts as “vegan” too, for the vegans. However since the hummus involves cooked garbanzo beans, I guess this still isn’t the solution for the raw food enthusiasts at Starbucks.
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