It is time to take a look at the many snack foods available at Starbucks.  I am not referring to the items found in the pastry case, but rather things tucked away in hidden corners, in baskets, in cans, in plastic, and other kinds of wrappers. In my humble opinion, much of looks like road trip food!  I decided that I would try most of it, and share my findings here.   I ran into my local Starbucks and began snapping photos of the snacks. I purchased a number of the items that I had not yet tried. There are so many snack food offerings that I didn’t quite try every single one of them, but I think this blog post gives you an idea of the kinds of things that are currently available.

In no particular order, here is the round up:  (Keep in mind that these offerings change often).

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Sahale Barbeque Almonds with Mild Chipolte & Ranch: I am not a huge fan of these although not adverse to them either. They might hit the spot in a moment of a weird craving but it’s not a combination that curls my toes. The flavor of almond gets a little lost in the spiciness of the chipolte and ranch flavors.  (I apologize for the blurry photo.  I will try to go swap that out for a better one later).

Dark Chocolate Bars with Via Ready Brew – I previously blogged about these and highly suggest you check out that blog post. If you like dark chocolate, you might love this. I wanted more coffee flavor and though Via flavors would have paired better with a milk chocolate bar.  Here is the round up on the Via Dark Chocolate Bars.

Milk Chocolate Bars – These chocolate bars say manufactured by TCHO Chocolates on the backside of them.  That is a very high quality chocolate company based out of San Francisco, California.  This is heaven.  Yum.  I “had to” buy one of these to write this blog post (oh yes twist my arm).  Keep in mind that chocolate is a perfect thing to pair with coffee.  These chocolates will be delightful with a nice Latin American coffee like Organic Shade Grown Mexico, Guatemala Antigua, or even better, when Casi Cielo returns in January this would be an excellent pairing.  I hope that these chocolate bars stick around.  You can do no wrong with a simple, high quality, chocolate bar.  This gets an A++.  Also be sure to check out their website here, and you can follow TCHO Chocolates on twitter too – @TCHOChocolate.

The butter flavor popcorn and the salt and pepper flavor popcorn:  I have had the butter flavor popcorn many times. It’s delicious and addictive.  It tastes just like classic popcorn should and it IS probably the thing you want to buy right before going to the movies!  Try this!  The butter isn’t too overwhelming and there is just the right amount of saltiness.  The butter flavor gets an A+.  The salt and pepper flavor has too strong of a pepper flavor for my tastes.  Whichever one you like, be sure to use dental floss afterward.  Popcorn is the beginning of many periodontal abscesses.  By the way, I reviewed the popcorn previously in a blog article from May of this year:

Popcorn at Starbucks

Two Moms in the Raw Gojiberry Granola – Avoid this item.  I’d love to know what Starbucks partner at the headquarters thought this would be good idea.  What customer walks up to the counter and says, “I’ll have a double tall latte, and oh by the way, do you have any birdseed to go with that?”  Flavorless. Funny aftertaste.  Chewy and hard to eat.  Ewww. #fail.

Bananas – Whole bananas are often available at the register.  This requires no explanation. Well, this should require no explanation!  Bananas are delicious, and a source of potassium in the diet too.

Apple Organic Peeled Snacks – These are usually found in a basket somewhere in the store, and it is just as exactly as it says it is: Peeled apple slices.  I bought these to write this blog post because although I’d seen them many times in the stores, I hadn’t gotten around to trying them before now.  The packaging says these are a “natural source of Fiber”.  I feel healthier already.  These are good and I can easily eat a whole package of them.  It’s nice that there are no surprises with them: It tastes like apple.

Mango Organic Peeled Snacks – These snacks are also found in baskets and are side by side with the Apple Organic Peeled Snacks.  Munching on these as I wrote the blog post, again this was my first time trying them.  These are good but taste just a little sweeter than the apple peeled snacks.  They’re good but I think I like the apple ones just a little better.  This is all highly subjective.  If given the choice of eating an apple or a mango, I would pick the apple.

Madeleines – These are a coffeehouse staple that have been around for years.  A little buttery, but a delicious perfect small treat.  Pairs perfectly with a nice cup of coffee.  Once upon a time the Madeleines came in a chocolate flavor too, and that was my favorite of the two!  But the chocolate flavor ones have long since been discontinued.  But if you are looking for a small munchy snack to go with your latte or your cup of Christmas Blend, this is a fine pick.

Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips – Have some salsa handy for these!! These are absolutely surprisingly delicious.  One bag goes a long way, and about half way through the bag you will find yourself saying, “hey where’s the salsa?”  So grab a bag of these, and take them home.  They are delicious without salsa too, and if you are craving chips in a Starbucks this might be the perfect answer.  They are not spicy, have a lot of flavor, and just enough saltiness.

There are still a few more snack that I have missed but this gives you an idea of things to look for in a Starbucks to snack on, not found in the pastry case.  What is your favorite?

((The first 7 people who both comment on this blog AND tweet this blog post (MUST include @SbuxMel in the tweet) will win a $5 Starbucks gift card.  Contest is limited to Canada or the United States.  There are strictly seven cards only.  All details must be followed. Must be over 18.  You may not leave a spam comment, or write just “great post” for example.  Melody subjectively has the right to deem a comment spam.  This contest ends at 9:00 a.m. PST on December 6, 2010 regardless of whether there are seven gift card winners.))