Starbucks Via: Mediocre Instant Coffee
I tried out the new overhyped Starbucks Via Instant Coffee they introduced yesterday and today. The marketing material is over the top. It’s just fine-ground dehydrated coffee. When you rehydrate it, it’s lost most of the essential oils that make for good coffee.
Now you can enjoy our bold and roasty-sweet Italian Roast in an instant. Just tear open a pack of Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew and add water. Let the coffee brew 10 seconds, stir, savor and enjoy. It’s not instant coffee the way you know it. This is genuine, dark-roasted Starbucks® coffee. 100% arabica and ethically sourced. Isn’t it wonderful? There’s now an instant coffee that you can start a whole new tradition with.
I noticed a couple problems with the coffee:
- It tasted good with milk and about 5 oz of water. With 7-8 oz, it was extremely watery. Maybe hotter water would help?
- The grounds formed a suspension in the water, the didn’t seem to dissolve very well. I stirred thoroughly.
The NY Daily News says it doesn’t taste very good, and bnet calls it a tough sell. At $0.99 per coffee, the price isn’t right for the casual drinker (their grande drip coffee is $1.70). I would recommend sticking to heartier fare–like the latte!
Broad Street Festival & Food
Today at lunch I came across something interesting–a street fair on Broad Street in downtown Manhattan, NYC. It’s officially a Community Day Festival. There were lots of street-food vendors, small trinket sellers, and a shop selling reggae music! I got a nice shishkabob for lunch:
Here’s a picture of a “sweet roasted corn” stand:
Ghost Goblets: Wine Glasses inside Tumblers
You have to check out these wine glasses from Cocktail Vibe. A set of four handblown glasses can be bought for just $74.95; the unique design features a glass sculpture holding your drink inside of a clear tumber; absolutely unique!
I know the above reads like ad copy, but these are the most innovative glasses I’ve seen in a while. SO COOL!!
