Via Ready Brew

Starbucks Breakfast Blend Via Ready Brew (launches in the Fall in the US)

by Melody on July 29, 2011

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Today (July 25, 2011) I tried Breakfast Blend Via Ready Brew for the first time.  This is the newest entry in the current lineup of Via Ready Brew offerings, which already includes  Colombia, Italian Roast, Iced Via, a promotional Iced Caramel Via Ready Brew, and other flavored Vias.  To date, I think the “Tribute Blend” promotional Via Ready Brew offering has been my favorite one.  I tasted the Via using the “cupping” method of tasting and comparing coffees.  It would take me a whole blog post to describe exactly what a coffee “cupping” is, so rather than re-write that here, if you need a refresher about “cuppings,” take a look at this article:

An introduction to a coffee cupping – Arabian Mocha Sanani

I dropped by 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea Starbucks today, and tried out the coffees with a very knowledgeable partner there.  She prepared some Breakfast Blend whole bean to be cupped side by side with Breakfast Blend Via Ready Brew.  For a little more comparison, towards the end we also compared the Italian Roast Via Ready brew with the two Breakfast Blends.

Before I talk further about the Via, I have to comment again that I still think this is a beautiful store.  It has been open about two years, and still strikes me as very unique and visually interesting to look at.  Here are a few store photos that I took today:

 

The friendly barista Amanda prepared the whole bean coffee and set up the cupping table:

After about three to four minutes of brewing the whole bean Breakfast Blend, Amanda removed the crust so that it can be “slurped” for tasting:

 

 

 

 

We were joined by “Matty” who is a partner at another store who happened to drop by this store:

We discussed what we were tasting, and we all agreed that the whole bean coffee was the best.  The two Breakfast Blends were definitely the same blend and shared a similar thin-bodied mouth-feel, and some of the same tasting notes, but the Via was a less complex coffee.  Both Breakfast Blends had the characteristic hints of banana in them and a fresh flavor (the whole bean coffee was almost juicy to me), though the Via seemed to have a slightly salty finish to it.  At the end we threw in the Italian Roast to compare and the difference was dramatic.  Italian Roast Via tastes very roasty.  It is heavier in the mouth and has a greater flavor of the roast profile than the Breakfast Blend.

Overall I thought the Breakfast Blend Via was pretty good.  Maybe it wasn’t an “A+” but it was a solid “B.”  You could taste that it was the quintessential lighter breakfast profile, and it had some Latin American origin flavors.  Right now, the Breakfast Blend Via is a UK and Ireland Via offering only.

And when we were all done, here is what the cupping table looked like:

What do you think?  By the way, I think I heard somewhere that Starbucks will be discontinuing the Cinnamon Spice flavor Via.  Apparently it didn’t sell well.

Speaking of changes in the Via lineup, in the Q3 quarterly conference call on July 28, 2011, Howard Schultz mentioned that both Breakfast Blend Via and House Blend Via would be coming “in the Fall.”  I haven’t tried the House Blend Via yet, but as soon as I get the chance to try that, I’ll share that here too. So coming soon – Breakfast Blend and House Blend!

If you liked this article, I also suggest that you read the previous article about Italian Roast Via Ready Brew Now Offered in a Jar in the UK.

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Melody tries the new Starbucks Caramel Iced Via Ready Brew

by Melody on July 6, 2011

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Iced Caramel Via by Starbucks is here!  It’s a limited summer promotional flavored Via Ready Brew.  I have to be honest, I was a little surprised to be able to purchase it today (July 5, 2011).  I didn’t know that it was launching in local grocery stores before the  actual Starbucks stores.  However, today I happened to swing by my local Safeway store, and I saw it on the shelves, so I picked some up.  It is $7.99 for a box of six packets.  Each packet makes a 16 ounce serving of Caramel Iced Via.

By the way, Via Ready Brew has been such an interesting topic that I have a whole category on it, in case you want to check out any of the past articles:

So of course, I got home and tried it right away.  I used a glass that I knew was 16 ounces, and I had some cold water in my refrigerator.  It was indeed pretty good.  I liked it better than the plain Iced Via.  Somehow I don’t think that Iced Via will ever be my ‘go to’ summer beverage, but it is refreshing for an occasional change of pace.  I notice that it tastes dramatically better when the water is really cold.  I threw my glass into my freezer for just a few minutes, and when it was really chilled, it was very good.  Be sure to use very cold water and/or chill with plenty of ice.

Edit on 7-6-11:

The flavor was very light.  Nothing about it was an overly sweet or heavy caramel flavor.  I know that Via has “natural flavors” but it lacked the buttery notes of real caramel, like when a person enjoys an apple dipped in caramel.  It was a light flavor reminiscent of the caramel notes in a carbonated soda.  One thing I still need to do is try this with carbonated water – I expect that will be good!

Feel free to weigh in on this new Via.  Have you tried it?  Or just weigh in on Via Ready Brew generally.  Do you hope to see more flavored Iced Vias available?

Edit on 7-7-2011 -

I heard from a Starbucks corporate-person-friend that Caramel Iced Via Ready Brew actually did launch in the grocery stores in June of this year.  This was one year after the launch of the unflavored Iced Via, which launched June 2010. Interesting!

 

Here are the pics from today!

 

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Now available: Starbucks Via Ready Brew in a jar!

by Melody on April 6, 2011

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Starbucks has begun selling Via Ready Brew in a jar.  As far as I know, only Colombia Via and Italian Roast Via are available in a jar, but I assume that soon more varieties will become available.  The jar is a fairly small size and on the lid it states that there are 24 servings in it.  I notice that the packaging is non-translucent plastic packaging, likely to prevent any flavor changes due to sun exposure.  (That can happen to instant coffee in a glass jar, I think.)

This larger packaging is something that customers have long requested on MyStarbucksIdea.com.  For those who don’t remember, right now Via comes packaged in single serve packaging, where one single stick of Via makes an 8 ounce cup of coffee.  I have numerous previous blog posts about Via.  Click here to go back and look at previous articles on Via.

Here’s an example of the customer requests on MyStarbucksIdea.com for Via in a tin or jar:

Via in large containers

I realize that some people are reading this confused and thinking, ‘Where this product is for sale?‘  This product is already for sale in the UK and Ireland.  Let me say, I have >no clue< why or how the UK received this product before the United States.  What I can say is that I highly doubt Starbucks is going to keep this as a product exclusive to that market.  That just would be so unlike Starbucks!  They seem intent on spreading Via Ready Brew everywhere! ;) (Who knows.  Maybe Starbucks will prove me wrong, but I’m willing to bet that it’s coming soon to more markets.)

On a personal note, I almost have mixed feelings about this.  I feel like a lot of the magic of Via is in the packaging.  I really love the ease and convenience of a stick of Via.  What a hassle-free easy way to make a single cup of coffee at home.  At it’s always fresh because it’s unopened until the moment of use.

Don’t laugh, but I would rather see the flavored Via products in a jar than the regular Via varieties.  I use the caramel and vanilla flavored Vias as ice cream toppings, and it might be nice to scoop it out.  It seems like it will be almost impossible for Starbucks to really control the quality of the flavor of the cup of coffee with Via in a jar.  The risk here is that a customer will buy a jar of it, open it up and have a cup, place it on his or her kitchen shelf and forget about it, and then months and months later, and use it again.  The second use of it, many months later, may have some deterioration of flavor quality because it’s been exposed to oxygen.  I’m not really sure how this packaging in a little jar will hold up weeks and months after its first opened.  Nonetheless, this packaging will probably make people who cook with Via very happy campers!  I just was chatting with a barista the other day that says he puts the Colombia Via in his favorite home-made chili recipe!  Cooking with Via is a big thing!

I owe a big thank you to my twitter follower @Sbutler66 who generously offered to mail me this jar.

I took a photo of the Via near a 3-ounce cup so that you can size-up how small this packaging really is.

What do you think of Via in a jar?

 

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Starbucks Tribute Blend Via Ready Brew: Your hardest decision is what cup to use

by Melody on March 16, 2011

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Tribute Blend Via Ready Brew by Starbucks is here and it’s flavorful and easy to use.  In fact the great thing about Via is how incredibly convenient it is.  I have to admit that I’ve become of fan of Via partly because it’s so quick and easy.  Tribute Blend combines Aged Sumatra, sun-dried Ethiopian coffee, and Papua New Guinea.  The Aged Sumatra gives it a lot of body, and the sun-dried Ethiopia adds some berry notes to the coffee.  The whole bean version of this coffee has a lot of berry aroma.

But I want to talk about the Via Ready Brew version.  In the Via version of this coffee I pick up more of the Sumatra flavor than any of the other flavors.  The body of the coffee is pretty good considering it’s an instant version.  In the whole bean version, I smell a lot more of the berry aroma when the beans have been freshly ground.

If you are going to make Via at home, you’ve got two big decisions. ;)   (1) Where do I get some hot water? and (2) What mug should I use?

Let’s first deal with, ‘where will I come up with hot water?’  One option might be your very old tea kettle:

Another option might be your reliable microwave:

Of course the much more difficult question is, ‘which mug do I use?’  When I open up my kitchen cabinets, and I see sight that looks something like this:

There are way more choices about which mugs to use than which way to make hot water!  This might be a tough choice.  Maybe I should use the Sumatra mug since there are some Sumatra beans inside Tribute Blend:

But I’m not sure why but this mug just isn’t calling out my name.  Maybe the tiger isn’t looking too friendly today.  Next choice might be the Clover mug:

Alas, at 16 ounces, that’s just a little too big for making Via.  One packet of Via brews roughly about eight to ten ounces of coffee.  I’ll just have to look at more coffee mug choices.  There’s this old Seattle coffee mug with the Space Needle on it:

The old 1994 Seattle city mug suffers from the same problem as the Clover coffee mug.  It is too large.  That feels like it is about 18 ounces, though I’m not sure of its exact size.  On to the next choice.  Maybe I should use my very newest mug which is brown with a siren logo on it, or maybe I should just a very ornately designed 1990s era mug?

In the end, I finally decided to use my new logo mug because it is about the right size, and has the beautiful new logo on it just like the little package of Tribute Blend Via!

I poured the Via into a cup of hot water:

And moments later, I had a great cup of coffee:

So what do you think of Tribute Blend Via (or whole bean Tribute Blend for that matter)?  I know that I really do enjoy how easy it is to make one single cup of coffee, and I like the flavor of Tribute Blend.  I taste of lots of Sumatra, and you can’t go wrong with a cup of Sumatra!

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Friday Open Thread – Starbucks French Roast Via time!

December 31, 2010

Starbucks French Roast Via Ready Brew officially launches on Tuesday, January 4, 2011.  It’s the newest addition to the ever-growing line of Via Ready Brew flavors.  You can now buy Colombia, Italian, Decaf, four flavored Via (Mocha, Caramel, Cinnamon Spice, and Vanilla), and Iced Via Ready Brew.  Briefly, Christmas Blend Via was available but that [...]

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Brand new chocolates: Starbucks Via Ready Brew dark chocolate bars!

November 14, 2010

Starting November 16, 2010, Starbucks will be selling some new chocolates in their stores!  The twist is that the new chocolate bar has Via Ready Brew in it! Wow! Previously I had guessed that this chocolate bars were produced by TCHO chocolates since Starbucks does have an existing partnership with them.  I have been told [...]

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Announcing the arrival of the newest Starbucks Via Flavor: Christmas Blend

November 1, 2010
Thumbnail image for Announcing the arrival of the newest Starbucks Via Flavor: Christmas Blend

This holiday season at Starbucks, you will be able to buy Via Ready Brew in Christmas Blend flavor.  For those that do not know, the Christmas Blend whole bean coffee is a blend of beans including Aged Sumatra which gives it its quintessential spicy, bold flavor.  My understanding is that this new Via will be [...]

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Truly a miscellaneous Starbucks Melody blog post. Via launch day.

October 5, 2010

Today is the launch of the Flavored Starbucks Via.  I’ve mentioned it in previous blog posts.  There are four flavors: Caramel, Cinnamon Spice, Mocha and Vanilla.  I went into my local Starbucks downtown and saw them actively sampling the Vanilla Flavored Via.  Starbucks says that 60% of their customers add flavors to their coffee and [...]

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Melody tries Starbucks Mocha Flavored Via Ready Brew on video!

September 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for Melody tries Starbucks Mocha Flavored Via Ready Brew on video!

Flavored Via Ready Brew is coming soon to a Starbucks near you.  It arrives October 14, 2010.  There are four flavors of this new Flavored Via: Cinnamon, Vanilla, Mocha, and Caramel.  I was able to get my hands on a couple of packages and I made a video for you.  Please keep in mind, I [...]

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What do you think of new Starbucks flavored Via Ready Brew?

September 5, 2010
Flavored Starbucks VIA Ready Brew

Starbucks has announced that coming soon they will be adding flavored Via Ready Brew to the current line up of Via Ready Brew offerings available in store.  This new flavored Via will be offered in four flavors: Mocha, Vanilla, Caramel, and Cinnamon Spice.  Gossip is that this new product goes on sale in stores in [...]

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