Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Starbucks Instant Coffee - A Review

Coffee is my drug of choice; the only other beverages I drink are water, milk and an occasional beer. I drink coffee before bed, when I wake up and throughout the day. I don't like instant or decaf and yes I can tell the difference. You could say I am a coffee snob.

A while back Starbucks was offering free samples of their new instant coffee and because it was Starbucks I requested a sample. It arrived yesterday one packet of Colombian Roast and one packet of Italian Roast. For this review I am using the Colombian. If anyone can make a good instant coffee it is Starbucks.

It smells good, more like real coffee than instant. However it still has that "instant coffee foam" on the top, but it dissipated after a few moments. The color is deep and dark and looks like real coffee in the mug.

A teaspoon of coffee sans cream, sugar and it tastes more like real coffee than instant, but I need sugar and cream.. The color looks good with cream, the taste is good, but not as good as home brewed.

This is a great instant coffee for those that drink instant. It would also be good to have on hand for coffee emergencies or if going backpacking or camping.

Overall I give this coffee 4 stars out of 5.

Starbucks did a good job, but it is still instant coffee.

10 comments:

bethany said...

One of the networks did a segment on the new instant - they did a blind tasting with people on the street.

Starbuck's instant beat out it's regular brew - even by the camera crew (who didn't know they were a part of the blind tasting...)

I thought it was intriguing...

Ms. Missive said...

At first I was a little put off by it simply because there's no way it can be passed off as the "real thing". BUT BUT.... those little packets of instant coffee have a MASSIVE amount of caffeine. That makes it a-okay in my book.

Not to mention they're super convenient.

I also give it a 4 out of 5.

Robyn McIntyre said...

Thanks for risking your taste buds for this. I think I'd rather get my caffeine from a soda than instant coffee. I might try it in a pinch, but I'd have to be awfully desperate.

Gayle Hedrington said...

Hi Bethany, I wish I'd seen that... wonder if I can catch it on the net. Thanks for the info

Gayle Hedrington said...

Ms.Missive, which one did you try. I haven't tried the Italian Roast yet.. I am thinking that is more robust. Will try it tomorrow..

Robyn, it really isn't that bad, I'd take the instant over the soda.. :)

Ms. Missive said...

I have both the Italian and Columbia. The Italian is definitely darker and has a stronger taste but both have a decent amount of caffeine.

Gayle Hedrington said...

Lol... caffeine of course is important... didn't think about that. Thanks

The Belle in Blue said...

Here's my coffee story. I got hooked on Folger's Café Straight Up Latté, forgetting that there's a worldwide conspiracy to discontinue every single product that I really like. For a while, every three weeks I would drive 60 miles to a small town in the next state, the closest place that still carried it according to my desperate Internet search, and I'd buy out the grocery store's entire stock. Then the rotten place quit selling it too. E-mails to Folger's (some containing not-so-veiled threats) didn't do me any good. While I was online again, searching for a hookup to a Folger's black market, I came across a "frugal homemaker" site that offered homemade versions of expensive national brands in all kinds of food categories. Hallelujah! There was one for Straight Up Latté that did indeed taste just as good as the real thing! I e-mailed the site owner to thank her and offered to send her a copy of one of my books in gratitude, but after telling her the whole story of my desperation, I guess she thought I was a bit too crazy and didn't respond! LOL

Gayle Hedrington said...

LOL Belle in Blue. I thought I was the only one caught up in that conspiracy, everything I like too get's discontinued. The latest is Loreal liquid make up.

P.S. if they don't discontinue it they change the formula..

The Belle in Blue said...

Exactly. It takes me weeks to find the right shade of lipstick in a formula that doesn't taste funny or feel like paste on my lips. I'll buy four or five tubes of it immediately because I know they'll discontinue that shade soon!