Initial Reactions to New Starbucks Brew

Required Eating

Posted by Erin Zimmer, April 8, 2008 at 2:45 PM

So is the new 'Bucks jolt juice as smooth as they say? We asked some coffee drinkers at the Starbucks branch in Rosslyn, Virginia, and heard a lot of mixed sentiments. Too strong. Smoother. Watery. Worse than Dunkin'. Worse than McDonald's. Free. Old-school. People, make up your minds!

"No good. Pretty strong. I had to put a lot of cream in it to make it OK. I'd call myself a Starbucks drinker, but not this." —Sam
"I like it. It's smoother. Normally Starbucks coffee seems to cater to the non-black-coffee drinkers. Too burnt-tasting normally. But this I could take black." —Malcolm

"Kinda watery. I haven't had McDonalds in a while, but I think I like theirs better." —Imran
"Good. Yeah, good. Not a big coffee drinker, but hey it's free." —Dan
"Tried it without anything first, and it was just okay. It's called 'roasted' now, and it definitely has a roasted flavor. Personally I still like Dunkin' because they make it sweet and blond." —Michael
"I like it strong, and that's strong. My daughter drinks those caramel macchiatos, but I like mine black." —Nancy
"I like mine mild. My favorite thing to order here is the Venti Mild Colombian. For a mild drinker, it's still a bit high." —Carl
"Real strong. Wow, it's almost got an old-school taste." —Frank
"It's decent. But you know what, they never should have gotten rid of the organic milk." —Fred

Reactions taken from the Starbucks located at 1525 Wilson Boulevard, Rosslyn VA 22209

About the author: Erin Zimmer, our Washington, D.C., correspondent, is a new media analyst and frequently writes for Washingtonian, DCist, and other local publications. While Georgetown's food columnist, she investigated the cafeteria's omelet station, Hoya coffeeshop's cultish pumpkin muffins, and what exactly the basketball players ate.

19 Comments | Tags: beverages, coffee, Starbucks

19 Comments:

As a non-black coffee drinker, I've never felt that Starbucks catered to my ethnicity. That's an interesting take.

unarata at 3:14PM on 04/08/08

i think they meant black coffee, not ethnicity :)

tamariga at 3:16PM on 04/08/08

Oh my! It's soooo mind boggling to be in the virtual presence of such worldly coffee drinkers. Such poignant observations. "Hey, somebody want's my opinion on something! I'm so jazzed!!" Starbucks, DD, McD's------do you really spend this much time worrying about this? Do you assume the people who have to listen to your blathering ad nauseam think you have these amazing sophisticated palates? Well, do you??? We just think you are ass clowns.

finsbigfan at 3:37PM on 04/08/08

@unarata and tamariga: Heh. Yeah. That's where a well-placed hyphen comes in handy. It originally read non-black coffee drinkers and now reads non-black-coffee drinkers. I believe the Malcolm probably meant "people who do not drink black coffee."

@finsbigfan: Even more mindboggling is that you chose to comment on a thread you found "assclownish."

Adam Kuban at 3:42PM on 04/08/08

Oh, by the way AK, my son works at Starbucks, so I do tend to read things written about the company. He enjoys his job as they do work around his school schedule. He said to me just last week that he is amazed at the professional, well-dressed, educated people who actually try to impress him and his co-workers with their worldly knowledge of coffee. Wow, I guess they can't just get their caffine fix without trying to impress a 19 year old. Hope it makes them feel important.

finsbigfan at 3:54PM on 04/08/08

@finsbigfan: Strange. I usually just get a drip coffee, black, hold the coffee connoisseurship. I don't know if I'd have the right words on the tip of my tongue to yap about coffee. I have been around coffee snobs, though, and they can be annoying, but I think the folks here that Erin talks to were asked their opinions and weren't trying to impress the Starbuckers.

Adam Kuban at 4:03PM on 04/08/08

I'd say everyone was unsnobby overall. Majority seemed in it for the free part, and that probably wiped out part of the snob demographic. A few were well-dressed though, and potentially well-educated.

Erin Zimmer at 4:23PM on 04/08/08

I find that so hilarious. No one with a wordly knowledge of coffee would even step foot into a Starbucks.

Volage at 4:42PM on 04/08/08

I would guesstimate that 95% of coffee drinkers who step foot in Star, DD, or McD's wouldn't know the difference in a blind tasting. But they will still bore us all to death talking about it.

finsbigfan at 5:25PM on 04/08/08

Good grief! It's a cup of joe, for Pete's sake!

passy at 5:31PM on 04/08/08

Passy, Amen to that!!!

finsbigfan at 5:34PM on 04/08/08

Most well-educated people I know are pretty poorly dressed.

Seth Lavin at 5:41PM on 04/08/08

Well, living in a beach town in Florida well dressed does not mean Prada or Balenciaga.(did I even spell that right??)

finsbigfan at 6:16PM on 04/08/08

unarata, that cracked me up so hard.

RE: new "mild" coffee? It's not as burned tasting as their dark roast, but it's still pretty damn bitter. Though for a free cup, I'd say it's pretty decent. I think the bitterness would double if I had to pay through the nose for a soy latte (sorry, dairy makes me hurt.)

lorelei76 at 9:08PM on 04/08/08

finsbig fan: are you a dolphins fan?

ccbweb at 1:16AM on 04/09/08

Yeah, don't laugh too hard.

finsbigfan at 7:37AM on 04/09/08

The comments just to go show that there is no such thing as a single unifying tasting coffee. People want different categories of things... the only reason sbux made a splash in NYC with the CEO at the event was because his net worth was dropping fast.

Still gonna drink it occasionally and still have no idea what 'good' coffee is and do not care.

I am just glad they handed out those free coffee on wednesday cards. weeee!

foodinmouth at 2:35PM on 04/09/08

I didn't think they could really change that much; I mean, it's a cup of coffee, not a particularly sophisticated recipe, but... wow. I got a large this morning, and I was just wired! It even tasted pretty good too!

Normally I tend to shun Starbucks, but if every coffee wakes me up like that one, I think I'll have to change my ways...

robotnations at 12:42PM on 04/10/08

How do you get a cup for free?

faeriedude208 at 2:06PM on 04/13/08

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