Starbucks Gives Free New Brew To Woo You Back

As a current barista, I can tell you that that's exactly what they're doing. Registered Starbucks Card users get free milk and syrup upgrades, free tall drinks when they buy a pound of coffee, and free refills on brewed coffee.
Hooray for free! And hooray for legs up.

The Starbucks give-away of their new Pike's Place Roast blend was a nice idea. It failed in its execution, however, because they did not have enough bags on hand to provide beans to each person who visited their tent in Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City.

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caramel macchiato to go

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New cup from Starbucks started today (as long as I heard from a shop). I'm not a big fan of Starbucks, but it looks quite a good job to me. Well, my question is how they can handle this new color scheme with their green logo, though.

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14359 15th Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98125 206-366-2707 http://www.starbucks.com/Retail/Find/storedetails.aspx?sid=6387&coords=98125|47.72090646043671|-122.31875522370451|13&fs=1 http://www.blogsiswatching.com

Freshly FREE & Reviewed, No "Venti Big" Deal

Sometime last week I saw a flyer online that was first delivered via email to those on the Starbucks mailing list. An event was goin' down on Tuesday, March 8th, 2008 at all Starbucks locations. Something big it said, "like venti big."

I didn't really think much of it, since I figured, it's Starbucks and they'd get press off the hype they were building. Eventually I'd hear about it I thought. Then last night I'm watching ABC Dateline and Terry Moran is interviewing Howard Schultz. So I make the connection and he was hyping up their new Pike Place Roast blend which is supposed to be brewed every 30 minutes and be the no frills,  basic cup of joe competing with what you would get at a McDonald's or Dunkin' Donuts. Starbucks is attempting to bring the essence of the brand back to what made them who they were as a company, the coffee.

So, this morning I actually found myself at the neighborhood Starbucks and was expecting this huge flood of people gettin' their fix of caffeine. After all, you can't beat FREE, right? Instead, there's no more than a hand full of people lounging. With no line whatsoever I walked up to the cashier and requested the new Pike Place blend. Now, with all the hype, it sure didn't live up to it. I mean, do something bigger than offering free cups of coffee for a mere 30 minutes, go beyond and offer it all day long. There would've been a steady stream of traffic and buzz with the promotion. Or maybe that was it, they just wanted people to buzz about how I got free coffee and you didn't (or maybe you did). Obviously, the goal on Starbucks part was to garner major press which they did a pretty good job in receiving.

So, I try the coffee, and it's just like any other cup to me. Was it better than where you usually order your cup of black coffee with no sugar or cream? I'd say no. Though I don't claim to be a connoisseur of the coffee bean, I do know the difference between a horrible and a good cup. In reality it was nothing more than just that, a cup of coffee that had that "best part of waking up" quality about it. All in all, I'm a sucker for free ish, I got what I wanted, Starbucks got what they wanted, and it was a done deal! Will I go back again? Sure! Next time I find myself spending a significant amount of time at a coffee shop, I'll be cooped up at a Starbucks. Or, maybe not, Tully's still holds me down with their "venti big" deal of free Wi-Fi!

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Although it's only coffee - of course I don't take coffee that lightly - I think this story just goes to show how easy it is for large corporations to get free adversing by issue a press release. Of course it is news, but the problem is that the media isn't critical in their approach. Is this coffee better? If so, why? And just what does "hand scooped" mean anyway? I guess gawker get's it right, but I wish someone could cover the critical side without being snide or cynical. Of course I never was a Starbucks fan and this wouldn't come close to winning me over (see my review of the coffee on my blog manseekingcoffee.com), but it is a slight improvement over what they currently serve and at the very least they have the right idea with their fresh grinding and replacing a pot. Unfortunately, this isn't a particularly big step forward.

frankly i miss the green, it never failed to give me a much needed smile at the beginning of my weekdays, although the burnt sour goop it contained another story. i'm not sure if the brown colored cups would provide the same effect, howeveri like where the 'boobie-cups' and passable attempt at coffee is going.

I thought this shot was better

http://www.flickr.com/photos/armchairmessiah/2399022335/

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This is Aurelio Villatoro a coffee grower from Huehuetenango, Guatemala. He along with Edwin from www.fincavistahermosa.com used to sell to sbux, now they sell direct to small micro roasters around the world. Pictured is Aurelio tasting pikes place blend.

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Thanks to publish my photo.

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Starbucks cups are different and they have a new coffee that's something to do with Seattle. I preferred the green. And the new cups don't have the "The Way I See It" quotes, so that's a bummer.

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Starbucks are everywhere. Here's one I walked by when I visit Tokyo, Japan. Fun juxtaposition of east and west.

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I didn't know what to think at first when I saw the new cups, but it's starting to grow on me

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