I’ve heard people say (mostly through twitter conversation) that Starbucks is testing Decaffeinated Iced Coffee in the Northeast. On Saturday June 18th, I was having a conversation with a twitter friend (Anthony) who happened to mention that he just got a Grande Iced Decaf Coffee. I thought that was really interesting. It is definitely not something that we have in Seattle. To be totally honest here, I don’t know if this is seasonal or a permanent offering, or a regional offering in the Northeast … I am hoping some of my readers might know? With his permission, I’ve attached a photo of his receipt showing the beverage.
He purchased his drink from the Starbucks in King of Prussia Mall.
King of Prussia Mall Starbucks #10171
609 West Dekalb Pike
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Decaf Iced Coffee is something that comes up over and over again as a repeat request on MyStarbucksIdea.com too:
- Decaf Iced Coffee – An obvious miss for those who are trying to limit caffeine but love Starbucks
- Decaf Coffee
- Iced Decaf Coffee!!!
- Iced decaf coffee during warm months
So as I mentioned, I can’t say much about this topic because mostly what I know is guess work. I was thinking that my readers might find this interesting too. What do you think of the idea of Decaf Iced Coffee at Starbucks? If anyone knows the 411 on this, please do tell!
Thank you again Anthony for sharing this info.
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Just called my store (Rand rd). Talked with a shift..she told me no, we do not have it here…they will do an Amerciano (decaf) and, she said, they do it in the NE if they have enough requests for it. So, that’s what is going on here. (Chicago area)
We have it at my store in Syracuse, but only at one out of five stores, it’s a limited test item.
@denise r – Have you tried an iced coffee from the Clover?
@Melody – didn’t you once mention that the Clover was how (the only way) iced coffee was done in some of the Seattle stores?
I went to a SB yesterday not my local one and it was busy but I thought I heard someone ask for a decaf iced coffee and they got it. I suppose it is hit or miss store by store. Something Seattle doesn’t have???? Find that so hard to believe.
All the stores in my district (Central NJ) have it, at least the ones where I’ve worked (which is a lot of them). The district just to the south does not, though. So I think it might be district-to-district (which of course is definitely not something obvious to a customer).
Oh, also, we had it last summer, as well, and we had it all winter. We don’t sell a ton–in the winter, we sold maybe a cup or two a day and lately, we’ve been going through about a pitcher, maybe a little more.
@CD & Denise – The Clover makes great iced coffee! I think this is one of the biggest things about it. It can brew double strength, and so you can try any coffee iced. Three Region Blend is surprisingly great iced. Kenya is a good iced. (Red) is very good iced. And of course, when the stores had Yergecheffe as part of the “Clover small batch” coffee – oh my gosh, Yergacheffe was amazing iced!
And I do really like the standard iced coffee that is available at Starbucks. But we definitely don’t have a decaf iced coffee in Seattle or the greater Seattle area.
I didn’t realize this was a “test” thing. We had decaf iced coffee last year, too, but only in the summer. When we got the information about our new iced coffee brewing routine, one of the rationales for it was that the demand for iced coffee is significantly larger in the Northeast stores than anywhere else. Maybe that’s why no decaf? My store is in central New Jersey.
@Kitenaire & @Jess – I’m trying to kind of figure out whether it’s a ‘test’ or a permanent summer offering for the northest or ??? It also makes me curious, I wonder why people in the NE drink so much more iced decaf coffee than the rest of us, as to make it profitable there and not in the rest of the country.
This must be a funny regional difference. I guarantee that if you went to any Starbucks on the west coast, there would be no decaf iced coffee.
But the east coast does get some cool things that the rest of us don’t: you’ve got B & W cookies too!
I cannot wait to try the new food items that are launching at Starbucks next month. So much interesting food and drink to write about soon!
Melody, sounds like you know more about new food items than I do! Hopefully I’ll find out soon. I can’t speak with any authority about the decaf iced coffee, because this is only my second summer working at Starbucks, but I want to say that the decaf has been around for awhile, judging mostly by how customers start to assume that it’s in around mid-May.
New food items?? Wow, have no idea that something is coming with this! Vegetarian choices perhaps?
Kitenarie – Maybe I assumed it’s a test, and actually the iced decaf coffee is just a repeating thing for certain NE stores?
As to food, and tests, July should be fun: I’ve heard from a number of sources now that Starbucks is going to enter into another phase of testing Refreshers:
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2010/09/28/melody-tries-the-starbucks-refreshers-test-drinks-in-san-diego/
^ First test in San Diego
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2010/11/09/new-refreshers-test-beverages-with-unroasted-green-coffee-strawberry-citrus-and-orange-melon/
^ Second test of Refreshers, a few stores north of Seattle, different flavors.
^ This makes me very happy. It seems like Starbucks is itching to launch Refreshers nationally, given that they are doing round 3 of major testing on them! About 2000 stores in the hot sun belt, up to I think central Calif, will get Refreshers some time in July. I am ecstatic. I will take a trip to find them!
As to food, there are new “Bistro Boxes” coming. I’ve heard about them now from several people. Apparently the Bistro Box info is right on the portal. ?? The descriptions sound like they will be amazing.
That is really weird.. This seems like the most obvious thing in the world. I mean how hard is it for a barista to just make a shot of decaf and put it over ice as opposed to a normal shot? Why isn’t every store in the world doing that? They are all more than capable?! I just got an iced decaf the other day. In Europe they have been around for a long time. Im totally shocked you guys don’t have this. This is what you are talking about right? Or is it the drink thats made a brew dripped right over the ice? I’m a little confused, there are two different types of iced coffee (shot & brew).
Bistro Boxes? Can’t seem to find it on the portal? Not looking in the right place? What specifically will be in the boxes? Very interesting.
@purple1 – The “Portal” is something that only Starbucks partners have access to. After partners read about what’s coming, often they’ll tweet about it, mention it to me, or post about it in the other many Starbucks blogs out there, which is how it eventually gets to my ears. 😉
@Melody Maybe it’s because of Dunkin Donuts? Dunkin Donuts is very popular in the Northeast and I assume that iced coffee is a popular item there, since espresso drinks are less of their thing traditionally. So, to compete with Dunkin, Starbucks is offering decaf iced coffee. And in general, I guess we sell a lot more iced coffee around here than elsewhere. I’m not sure, that’s just a guess. Our sales went down a bit when the hot weather came up, even though customer counts went up, because a lot of people who drink lattes, mochas, white mochas, etc during the winter switch to plain brewed iced coffee during the summer (I know I did, pre-barista days, and do now).
Agree with Mark David – seems like an easy enough thing to do.
Looking forward to the Refreshers!
I work at a Sbux in Boston and we have iced decaf. And it comes in a similar case (as far as brewing iced coffee) as the regular stuff. My guess is that iced coffee is just way more popular in NE, as Jess said because of the DD iced coffee as well.
Wevew always had decaf iced coffee in Connecticut. It’s not a test. It’s been here for years.
@Eric and Jess – I kind of forget about the ‘dunkin donuts effect’ on Starbucks. DD is SO big out there, but you can’t hardly find them on the West Coast. You are right that Starbucks has to respond with local products in that market that compete with DD. I always thought that Pike Place Roast was in direct response to DD. I was in the Boston area in 2008 visiting my sister, and we went to a DD, and their coffee tastes a lot like PPR to me!
A question for the NorthEast Partners…is it Decaf Terazza or Decaf something else?
It is Terraza blend. I’m not a fan of the decaf though…
@CD: no, I havn’t had any Clover iced..yet. doesn’t seem too appealing. I am SURE it would be good but am not sure how ‘distinguishable’ it would be from brewed Sbux iced. ??? I guess I have to try it to see!
as for the bless-ed Yergacheffe, it will never be iced for me. that would just seem sacrelig…… excellent I’m sure….but, just not right. not Yergacheffe;)
I believe most Starbucks in Boston have had it for a while. I had it a few times last summer and I had it more recently, last Thursday night. I hope it is available in more areas 🙂
And I agree about the clover iced coffees- there is not a better iced coffe than kenya or ruwanda. they are simply amazing 🙂
My home store in Chestnut Hill, a Clover store, offered the decaf iced coffee from the pitcher as well as from the Clover. I also found it at a store near the University of Pennsylvania. Since that’s 3 stores including King of Prussia, it’s a safe bet that decaf iced coffee is available in all Philadelphia area stores.
And Amy, I do like Iced Kenya.
I work in one of the king of prussia stores (there are 3 company owned and 2 licensed all in town) so I was quite surprised to see it mentioned on here! So fun. Anyway yes it is available in all of NE. We got it last summer. I will double check but think it is deaf terraza (although name has officially been changed to iced coffee blend). It comes in 5oz pre-ground packages so we can brew smaller amounts and have less waste.
(apparently I need to try an iced Clover Kenya…)
@Coutney and @Kop partner – I defnitely learned a lot from this thread. When I started it, I really didn’t realize that iced decaf coffee is a normal NE Starbucks offering – and it sounds like there are a lot of stores that have it. Thanks for your help.
@DeniseR (yes indeed)
@Mark David,
I believe you are confusing iced decaf coffee with an iced decaf Americano. Every store can make an iced decaf Americano. That is what would be offered to a customer requesting iced decaf coffee when that store doesn’t carry it. An iced brewed coffee and an iced Americano are NOT the same.
Denise- yes try it! IF you get it, order it to be in a bigger cup. I get a grande in a venti cup so there is enough ice to make it cold. If you don’t have a clover near you, I make kenya in my french press and then have it iced. That is almost as good as the clover.
Melody & purple – We got info on the bistro boxes yesterday. If what we’re getting up here is the same as what you guys are going to get? They look delicious. I think they’ll be a big hit!
Michelle what is in the bistro boxes?
Michelle – From what Ive heard, the Bistro Boxes sound like a great improvement to the food offerings.
What is so special about these boxes? Am getting curious as to what kind of food offerings will be in them? And are they for national distribution?
I found that many of the Starbucks in Boston have decaf iced coffee. If they don’t – they offer a decaf Iced Americano at the same price. Great for those of us who want to cool down without the caffeine!
@Purple1 – I know only a little, but just know that they sound like an improvement and a revamp of the sandwhiches. One is a bistro box with tuna. I have heard that one is a vegetarian asian noodle one with peas, noodle salad and tofu, and one of the bistro boxes has cheese and salami. Most of what I’ve heard has been bits and pieces and I’m not sure if I’ve got enough info yet for a blog post. I’ve heard that the US versions of the bistro boxes come with a tiny piece of chocolate, but Canadian versions of the same boxes do not. Apparently they’re like tiny little lunch boxes. One may be a chipotle chicken box with some pita bread?
Melody,
I guess I’ll just have to walk over there this afternoon and see. I’ll let you know how they serve it in the Bay Area where I live.
Also, I asked my friends on FB, I’m sure the SB coffee lovers will come out and let me know.
~Allie
Melody,
Update: According to my SB Melodee, here in the East Bay of SF Bay Area, who has worked for SB 8 years: we only get Iced Decaf Americano. No decaf iced coffee.
~Allie
I guess I’ll stick with my decaf iced mocha in the afternoons.
I’m in south Florida and we’ve brewed it for over 2 years all year because of customer demand.
Melody & purple – Yes, they will be a very big improvement over the current lunch options. From the sounds of things, our boxes are a bit different. (I don’t remember reading about a tuna box) The current protein plate, fruit and cheese plate and hummus plate are all being revamped too. (I think this is the chicken, hummus and pita Melody referred to) I really think the noodle one sounds fantastic, but it contains nuts and so I won’t be able to partake.
About Decaf Coffee,
We cannot enjoy enough Decaf Coffee if Japanese Government does not revise the law.
I am a hi-test drinker but I will check and see if we have the iced decaf in South Jersey.
I remember they used to have an Asian noodle salad. It wasn’t bad.
My store is testing refreshers so I am super excited to try and supply any information. I also can not wait for the bistro boxes to launch. I read in the promo materials that select areas were testing decaf iced coffee. I look forward to trying it. We could definitely get the smaller packaging to just brew one pitcher at a time to reduce waste.
To see on the portal, go to the summer 2 promo materials. It is in there(don’t just reach bistro boxes). I believe everyone has access to promo materials.
Mmmm the bistro boxes sound lovely. I still haven’t seen/heard anything about them yet, so I sure hope we get them. My store just changed managers though, so we’re in a bit of a transitional phase. I’ll let you know if I hear anything. 🙂
It is a national roll out. I am headed in for a 8 hour pre-close so I will post the list of official names to entice your tastebuds!
@Diele – I can’t wait to see the official list of names. My tastebuds are already enticed. 😉
Getting excited as well. I assume you are speaking of the bistro boxes or the refreshers?