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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:
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?
