VIA

Practice, Made Perfect

13 July 2010

Posted by Emily A., global lease accounting

It’s 5:24 am on a Tuesday morning and I need my coffee. I need my Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew.

As I stumble downstairs to the kitchen, the first thing I do is prepare myself a cup of what I think is the best thing on earth. On early mornings like this, my body craves that great taste of coffee, that awesome aroma, that warmth – minus all that caffeine. I don’t need that extra kick since I know I’ll be diving into a cold pool in a few minutes as I log in a few thousand yards of swim practice with my friends. Truly that is enough to wake me up anyway!

And the best part is it stays warm in my tumbler until hours after I get out of the pool. A sip of it is my little reward for a job well done. As my coffee pot collects dust at home, I get to enjoy rich, bold and easy Starbucks VIA® Decaf Italian Roast each and every day. It’s roasted a bit sweet, so it pairs well with my much-needed chocolate caramel protein bar after my hard workout. And for someone like me who is always on the go, but still wants that same great taste without all the caffeine, this is just perfect in everyway.

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The Security of Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew

23 June 2010

Posted by Cat C., product manager

I will never forget the first time I saw Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew. I was getting my Americano at my local Starbucks and a new display near the cash register caught my attention. It read “soluble coffee”. The packaging looked sharp, but I couldn’t believe that Starbucks would sell an instant coffee. I thought, “No way … that would never happen.”

But when I asked the barista what it was, he explained that it was a proprietary combination of microground and soluable coffee that actually tasted like a fresh-brewed cup of coffee from Starbucks. I must have looked completely bewildered, because the barista immediately made me a cup to taste.

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Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew – My Way

10 May 2010

Posted by Jason S., coffee engagement manager

As part of my job I get to talk about coffee – a lot. One coffee I have talked about probably more than any other over the last year has been Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew. I have shared with people around the world what an amazing, versatile coffee it is.

I love to camp and my first camping trip drinking Starbucks VIA® is a great memory. I went camping with my son and best friend, Eric, at Wallace Falls State Park outside Seattle in March 2009. I remember a couple of things from the trip – the weather and the coffee. The weather was particularly wacky. We had sun, rain and snow over the course of the weekend. We also had great coffee. I typically bring a coffee press on camping trips, but this time I was very thankful, especially considering the poor weather, to have great coffee in an instant.

I also love to barbeque, and I was excited when I created a steak rub that included the coffee. My rub includes one packet of Starbucks VIA®, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, sea salt, onion powder and garlic powder. I rub the steak with a little olive oil and then lather on the rub. The coffee adds just the right touch of roasty, smoky flavor to the steak.

It is great to see what a success Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew has become already. Having a great coffee that has so many uses for me has been invaluable. It’s hard to imagine my life without it.

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Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew in the Streets of Vancouver

25 February 2010

Posted by Sharon S., regional marketing manager, Starbucks Coffee Canada

As Vancouver geared up to welcome the world to their city, so did Starbucks. This was the perfect opportunity to showcase Starbucks VIA® Ready Brew. As we took to the streets, we thought of it simply as a chance to get people to try it and love it. We soon discovered Starbucks VIA® has already made its way around the world and become a favorite among many Starbucks enthusiasts.

On our first day of sampling, the team served a huge variety of folks and encountered a lot of interesting characters. As people started arriving, we began handing out Starbucks VIA® packets along with Vancouver street maps, which generated many appreciative smiles. One gentleman exclaimed “I took a trip to Nicaragua and brought a ton of VIA with me. I couldn’t live without it.”

The next morning it was rainy and cold with a lot of conversation about the weather, but once the team got people sampling Starbucks VIA®, the conversation quickly shifted to this new way to enjoy coffee.

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