Starbucks Reinvents Instant Coffee

Each 3.3-gram packet of VIA makes an 8-ounce cup of Joe.

In the beginning, the Lord divided the bean from the water and created Nescafé. For generations, it was the standard of instant coffee, until Prince Howard of the Dark Brew tasted the Nescafé and said it should be made better. His flavor engineers labored mightily for many years, until they perfected a system of microgrinding beans of pure arabica (taking care to buy them only from farmers using sustainable agricultural practices and humane conditions for the workers, because the Dark Prince was highly image-conscious), so that a mere tenth of an ounce of extract would produce a full cup of coffee no less flavorful than the coffee brewed throughout his kingdom of Starbucks.

Which is how VIA Ready Brew came into being, ready for its rollout next week in Seattle and Chicago. Instant coffee has long had a poor image in the US (a paltry $700 million in sales), but it's a $17 billion market in the rest of the world, thus a tempting target for Starbucks. The initial flavors--a robust Italian Roast and a smooth Columbia--stand up surprisingly well to their fresh-brewed counterparts.

Will consumers pay a buck for a shot of instant? Hard to say, but 10 or 15 years ago the whole notion of $5 coffee was absurd. The "affordable luxury" of a latte seems less affordable today, but the desire for instant gratification remains.

UPDATE: Howard Schultz wrote an essay for Huffington Post titled "Staying Real in an Instant." Read it here.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ronald in Food on February 19, 2009 5:00 PM

Comments [rss]

marcelebrate

One more thing. While the single serving format is convenient for the initially intended purpose, I would consider larger scooping containers if this really takes off. It's less wasteful and more convenient if drinking larger quantities.

I can imagine people living far away from any Starbucks or other coffee shop (is that possible these days?) enjoying this as their daily coffee, provided they are able to pick it up at their local grocery store.

mguiste

Roland: Love your post, forwarded it to just about everyone else on the VIA team.

marcelebrate: I do hope you get a chance to try it. Well, actually you will--it will be available in some Seattle stores as a sample starting this week, and for purchase on 3/3. We are debuting in both Seattle and Chicago. Will be interesting to see if the reaction is different.

cakespy: I know! I had that same reaction! Luckily, the first time you smell or taste it, any association with other instant coffees are quickly removed.

My new favorite thing? Doing shots of Starbucks VIA: taking a full pack but only one ounce of water. Very intense coffee flavor, lots of kick.

Matthew Guiste

Starbucks

marcelebrate

Well consider me convinced. I just picked up some of these at Starbucks and wow. I'm very impressed. I'm drinking the lighter, Colombian roast right now (they also have an Italian). This blows away all other instant coffees I've ever had. While that, in itself, doesn't say much, I can even say this is actually an enjoyable cup of coffee.

Would I rather support my local coffee shop and have the real thing? Of course! But this might be a good alternative for people stuck for a weekend at the Folger's drinkin' in-laws. Or, as I mentioned, to throw in the backpack during a backpacking/camping trip.

Nice work Starbucks (and all the people who worked on the product before their acquisition).

I'll dial down my cynicism next time. ;-)

.m

cakespy

This news kind of surprised me. I guess I would be curious to try it, but it is hard to shake the Sanka image from my head when I think about instant coffee beverages.

marcelebrate

I'll try it and if it's not bad, I'll start bringing it to the woods with me. But I'm not too lazy (or cheap) to spend $0.75 more for a real cup of coffee.

Seems like Seattle would be the exact market to NOT try something like this on. Though I suppose the people that drink Starbucks regularly (especially here) probably aren't truthfully concerned about their coffee quality anyway. So maybe they have their market figured out after all.