This starbucks instant isn't bad in a pinch.  On vacation and bought some.  I expected crap but it is pretty good for what it is.

Columbian better than French to me.

Quotepristak - 7/1/2011  8:35 AM

This starbucks instant isn't bad in a pinch.  On vacation and bought some.  I expected crap but it is pretty good for what it is.

Columbian better than French to me.

Agreed on all accounts. I rent a room out of my house to a girl who works at Starbucks. She doesn't drink coffee herself, and since October she has come home every week with a free pound of whatever coffee I want. She has started bringing home the VIA packs, and I don't mind them at all. I even bought a coffee mug from Starbucks that holds 8 VIA's on the outside of the mug in these little slots. I love it.

I'm always on the go so the VIA really isn't bad. I saw them doing the promos where they ask customers to taste two cups (the instant VIA, and brewed coffee), and make them guess which one is brewed.

I actually got to participate in one. I came through about 1000 and she said I was only the second person that day that had been able to tell the difference. Very little difference in taste.

I agree the taste isn't bad, but the aroma is definitely instant.

It sounds like we are applauding it for being mediocre and not bad.  Does it retain the signature Starbucks burnt flavor?

Coffee is a lot like cigars.  Different tastes for different folks.  My wife is a Starbucks fan, she loves the taste.  I on the other hand I can not stand Starbucks coffee.  However, do enjoy a cup of Pete's coffee or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

I'm not a Starbucks fan either, but I'm saying that if this were the only coffee available, I would probably have a cup.  Peet's Major Dickason's is my all time favorite.

I use to give Starbucks enough money to open my own franchise but stopped "cold turkey" after discovering French Press...4 minutes total time to make the best tasting coffee ever is worth it to me and using the beans I like...I have a mug that is stainless steel and holds 32 ounces..4 minutes from start to finish and I'm in heaven.  This amount of coffee at Starbucks was costing me $10 a day for a few years.  Had I been able to stretch my imagination and discovered FP just two years ago....do the math...$50 a week X 52 weeks X 2 years is a buttload of money....$5200 for coffee.  Now I just spend $20 a month on great beans and the total cost over two years is just $480...what am I doing with all the money I saved?  Taking a Transatlantic Cruise of 18 days from London to Ft. Lauderdale.

QuoteCigary - 9/2/2011  3:33 PM

I use to give Starbucks enough money to open my own franchise but stopped "cold turkey" after discovering French Press...4 minutes total time to make the best tasting coffee ever is worth it to me and using the beans I like...I have a mug that is stainless steel and holds 32 ounces..4 minutes from start to finish and I'm in heaven.  This amount of coffee at Starbucks was costing me $10 a day for a few years.  Had I been able to stretch my imagination and discovered FP just two years ago....do the math...$50 a week X 52 weeks X 2 years is a buttload of money....$5200 for coffee.  Now I just spend $20 a month on great beans and the total cost over two years is just $480...what am I doing with all the money I saved?  Taking a Transatlantic Cruise of 18 days from London to Ft. Lauderdale.

I envy you that cruise.  I've always wanted to do that, and someday I shall.

I really like the Via coffee for my campouts. It's totally easy, and light enough to take in the back country

About a year ago my office switched to the cheapest coffe they could find (I think it is actually the grounds thrown out from OTHER offices!:-0 ), so I've been buying and drinking Starbucks Via ever since.  When I find it on sale on Amazon or at the Starbucks on-line store, it costs me about 40 cents/cup.  The Italian roast tastes best to me, followed by the French roast.  I don't care for the Columbian one.

My office - as a perk for all the long hours and crazy demands we endure - supplies Keurig machines with cups from Timothy's, Green Mountain, Dunkins, and a few others.  I rarely drink coffee at home any more, except on the weekends.  Then it's usually an espresso or cappuccino made in our el cheapo Mr. Coffee espresso machine.  

I have never tried a french press, but have always been curious.  It sounds invitingly sexual ...  

Quotekola - 9/2/2011  5:32 PM

My office - as a perk for all the long hours and crazy demands we endure - supplies Keurig machines with cups from Timothy's, Green Mountain, Dunkins, and a few others.  I rarely drink coffee at home any more, except on the weekends.  Then it's usually an espresso or cappuccino made in our el cheapo Mr. Coffee espresso machine.  

I have never tried a french press, but have always been curious.  It sounds invitingly sexual ...  

   

Quote87North - 9/2/2011  6:36 PM

Quotekola - 9/2/2011  5:32 PM

My office - as a perk for all the long hours and crazy demands we endure - supplies Keurig machines with cups from Timothy's, Green Mountain, Dunkins, and a few others.  I rarely drink coffee at home any more, except on the weekends.  Then it's usually an espresso or cappuccino made in our el cheapo Mr. Coffee espresso machine.  

I have never tried a french press, but have always been curious.  It sounds invitingly sexual ...  

   

    Why don't you ask Mrs. Kola if she'd be down for that!

Quotekola - 9/2/2011  6:32 PM

My office - as a perk for all the long hours and crazy demands we endure - supplies Keurig machines with cups from Timothy's, Green Mountain, Dunkins, and a few others.  I rarely drink coffee at home any more, except on the weekends.  Then it's usually an espresso or cappuccino made in our el cheapo Mr. Coffee espresso machine.  

I have never tried a french press, but have always been curious.  It sounds invitingly sexual ...  

We have a similar situation at work - Starbucks machines that grind and brew a cup at a time.  I'm not a fan of Starbucks, but it is free.