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Did you know Starbucks sells instant coffee?  I didn’t either, not until I visited Seattle at least.  It’s a relatively new product only available in Seattle, Chicago and London (you can also order online here).

Being from NY, the concept did not make sense to me.  Why would I use instant coffee, there is a coffee place (most likely Starbucks) open right across the street!  Then I read the back of the package…”It took more than 35 years, but we’ve created a way to bring you the bold taste of Starbucks coffee in any cup.”  Ohhh!!!!!!  I get it!  They’re just trying to make sure I never drink any coffee besides Starbucks ever again!  Case Closed.

Ok, Ok, back to the review.  The package comes with three individual servings of instant coffee.  So if you’re away from home, you can bring them with you to have coffee on demand (provided there is hot water, milk and sugar around).  I did notice a big difference between traditional instant coffee (top) and the starbucks (bottom).  The granules themselves are MUCH smaller, a factor Starbucks claims comes from their top-secret process for making the instant coffee taste better.

If you watch the videos Starbucks has online (especially the London one), people keep saying the coffee is smooth. I suppose they’re right.  I would say this cup of coffee reminds me of one of those Keurig or Flavia machines.  The coffee is better Folgers and almost satifsying.  It just isn’t strong enough for a serious coffee drinker.

My biggest peeve is that the directions tell you to add 8 fl oz of hot water to the packet.  The smallest coffee at Starbucks is 12 fl oz and I constantly see people ordering the larger sizes.  Therefore, one would need at least two of these instants in the morning to fill their normal brew size.  Since the packets aren’t strong enough to replace the traditional cup, you might as well throw in the last packet that comes in the $2.95 package.  Wow.  My hat is off to you Starbucks, you’ve figured out how to get people to spend even more money on coffee…Genius.

In an effort to escape the unusually cold April in Boston (and to visit a college friend), I traveled across country to Seattle two weeks ago.  It was the first time I had been, so clearly I took advantage of every tourist attraction possible.  My friend Sara did a fantastic job as tour guide and had lists of things for me to see and do (have I mentioned my friends are awesome?).

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I’ve been anxious to try Starbucks’ latest venture to return to personalized service, the Clover, ever since reading about it in Wired a few months ago.  Therefore, I was ecstatic to discover my local Starbucks (which, for the record, might be my favorite branch ever) was going to be debuting this coffee contraption.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Clover, it is essentially the $11,000 version of your office Flavia coffee machines.  The extra $10,800 is a bit pricey, but the coffee isn’t from a packet either.  In addition to using freshly ground beans (measured out precisely to the tenth of a gram), the machine boasts customizable temperature and brew time settings.  Starbucks also offers an additional coffee selection specifically used with the Clover.  Swoon.

As you can probably tell, I’m a coffee fan.  My entire family has it pulsating through their veins.  Now I’ll be honest though, I’m not a huge fan of Starbucks’ drip coffee.  I find it bitter and unappealing.  I much prefer their lattes and teas.  This is why the Clover piqued my interest; coffee, made freshly for me, in front of me and with really cool technology!

And yesterday was the big day (which was celebrated with balloons outside the shop).  I sauntered in on my way home and checked out the offerings.  After a few seconds of debate, I selected the El Savador Pacamara, a coffee from Latin America with hints of lemon and dark chocolate (cool, huh?).  I should note all of the “Small Batch Coffee” offerings had a fruit influence, a bit more variety would have been appreciated.  The barista measured and ground the beans in front of me as we made small chat about the new item.

About a minute later, I had a fresh cup of coffee in my hand.  Stop. Sniff. Sip. Burn Tongue. Oops, I got a little too excited and forgot that coffee is served hot.  A few minutes later I repeated the exercise.  Freshness, not bitter, not unappealing, and not $4 like the Wired article said (it was ~$2.50 for the tall).  In fact, I rather liked it.  I was able to taste the distinct flavors and I did not need sugar to mask bitterness.

Did Starbucks make the right choice in purchasing the entire Clover operation?  That is still a question to be answered.  The coffee was superior to the usual drip that had been sitting around, but I question the Clover’s versatility.  This Starbucks was located in the outer part of Kendall Square in Cambridge, it’s never ridiculously crowded and the baristas are genuinely friendly.  I feel this particular one corresponds to Starbuck’s vision of returning to their roots and focusing on the customer.  Here, the Clover fits.

I question its usability in metropolitan places like Manhattan and Chicago.  A place where there is a Starbucks on every corner and people have finished their coffee before they’ve paid.  A place where I always have had to wait in line to get coffee…imagine what the extra minute per person would do to those lines?! Disaster.

Although at $11,000 each, I’m sure they would not be set up in all those locations just yet.  For now, I’m still excited to have the Clover in my neighborhood so I can try out the other coffee flavors and see if they also live up to the hype.

*Yes, I realize this line has probably been used to death