Starbucks VIA Iced Coffee

Bonnie: VIA iced coffee — Starbucks’ new instant, slightly sweetened brew to drink chilled — literally was just introduced to
all the Starbucks stores yesterday. Like their regular VIA, the iced version dissolves instantly in cold water.

I sampled it earlier this year when I attended Starbucks Coffee College in Seattle. “Coffee College?” I can almost hear you asking…

Yes, Coffee College — where I learned all about coffee from sourcing of the beans, to roasting with cupping (the way of sampling the quality of the beans), to the art of the barista with food and coffee pairings and much more in between.

Restaurateurs and authors are now beginning to pair coffee-growing regions and coffee roasts with foods – just like you do with wines. Oh, so much to learn.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz — who stopped by to chat with our group — said it best: “Just like wine…the more you learn the more you realize you don’t know.”

While visiting the original Starbucks store at Pike Place Market, we also learned about and sampled coffee from the Starbucks’ fairly new Clover brewing system, first introduced in ’08 and currently only available in a few stores. The Clover uses a vacuum-press technology (*think giant French press), that produces a higher-priced, richer-flavored, individually brewed cup of java. At the Pike Place Market, a Clover-crafted Peru Chanchamayo costs $1.95, 100% Kona $2.45 and Ethiopian Sun-dried Yirgacheffe $3.25.

The entire experience was heaven for a coffee aficionado like me.

As I was mentioning, our group also had a sneak peak at this instant iced coffee. I didn’t think I’d like it when I was told that is was presweetened, as I normally don’t add sugar to my coffee, or for that matter, to my iced tea. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the flavor of the lightly sweetened brew with only 50 sugar calories per cupful.

This is one sweetened beverage I can — and will – rave about.

Bryan: Is it weird that I enjoy hot coffee on a hot summer day? I recently went for a walk through my neighborhood’s annual SummerFest; a beautiful 85-degree day, sun shining and me with a large, piping hot Starbucks’ Pike Place Roast in hand, enjoying the stroll. Hey, coffee has become a part of my mornings, and I like my coffee boiling hot. So what, if my morning involved a sweltering saunter through an ongoing street festival? Why shouldn’t I be able to enjoy my coffee too?

Well, because sometimes all that heat is just too much. Heck, I live in the South, where tea became Iced Tea. Why shouldn’t the same apply to my morning beverage of choice? Enter iced coffee, sweet morning dew cooled over ice.

And where do I get my coffee, you ask? Well, “many places” is the answer, but at least one of those places more increasingly has become Starbucks. The coffee behemoth actually snuck up on me recently, opening a store literally right below my building. Though my workday coffee is gotten elsewhere, my weekend coffee has become Starbucks, and my weekends now involve hot summer days.

Luckily, beginning June 29, stores started to offer VIA Iced Coffee, a variation of the instant coffee (VIA) introduced last year. Iced VIA is essentially the same as its hotter, older sister (but don’t tell VIA that). Dissolve one iced VIA package in 16-ounces of cold water, shake/stir, add ice, drink up. What’s simpler than that? Who’s better than you?

I’m not really an instant guy when it comes to coffee, but I can handle it over ice. I would almost go as far as to say I like it. And hey, I like Starbucks’ motto, “Never be without great coffee”.

Only drawback: Iced VIA has not yet reached the depth of offerings that its hot sister has. While regular VIA is available in Italian Roast and Colombian, Iced VIA is only available as a medium roast blend, sweetened with cane sugar (though iced coffee in general always calls for a bit of additional sweetener to take the edge off).

Enjoy on a porch in the sun.

Eric: I wouldn’t refer to myself as a creature of habit, or for that matter a person with an addictive personality. I enjoy most things in moderation and believe that everything in life should be taken in small doses. Everything, that is, except coffee. I don’t view coffee as a drink as much as I view it as a morning necessity. For me, my morning cup of coffee has taken on the same importance as my morning shower – both help to wake me up, and while only one helps to jump-start my colon, both are critical as I start my day.

I also like to consider myself a purist in some respects. I drink my coffee black with no sugar or sweeteners, and I will rarely reach for a flavored variety. For that matter, I don’t frequent the Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts of the world; I brew my coffee at home in a French press. For these reasons, the first time I encountered Starbucks VIA iced coffee, I scoffed at it. Instant coffee is almost as appealing as low-fat ice cream. Both products exist, but do you really want to waste calories (and taste buds) on them?

I have to admit, I was won over by VIA iced coffee. Although I went into the taste test with little excitement, I left with complete satisfaction. Starbucks found an amazing balance between coffee and sweetener (sugar cane) that produces a 100-calorie, 16-ounce glass of tasty coffee; and it’s as simple as just adding water. I have no doubt in my mind that I will keep a few packages of this product on hand. On a warm summer day, I can’t think of any better way to start my morning….