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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Bistro boxes:
Protein Bistro Box
Cheese & Fruit Bistro Box
Chipotle Chicken Wraps Bistro Box
Sesame Noodle Bistro Box
Chicken Hummus Bistro Box
Chicken Lettuce Wraps Bistro Box
Tuna Salad Bistro Box
Salami & Cheese Bistro Box
All in addition to the classic lunch sandwiches, yogurts, paninis and fruit cups currently offered.
As for Refreshers(how exciting!):
Very Berry Hibiscus
Cool Lime
Ready-To-Drink Refreshers(Arizona only- I will mail you one Melody if you want):
Strawberry Lemonade, Orange Melon, and Raspberry Pomengranate
They are going to hit stores as well(Target, Circle K, and Safeway). It doesn’t specify if it is national or just the Arizona market as we are the only company stores that will have them.
I’m a little behind on the food boxes but I asked a barista tonight if they were getting any bistro boxes in, and they said they don’t plan on getting any new food in the next two months.
I am thrilled!! It sounds like the same Refreshers flavors that were tested in San Diego last year. And they were good!!!
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2010/09/28/melody-tries-the-starbucks-refreshers-test-drinks-in-san-diego/
It sounds like they’ll be in Southern California! I definitely need to fly down there next month.
Amy, it’s entirely possible that your baristas may not know yet. The promo info just hit the stores recently so the managers may not have had the opportunity to let them know yet.
I’m kind of bummed we’re not getting the Tuna Salad or Chicken Lettuce Wrap boxes. They sound great! A lot of our pastries are being redone too so that they are healthier (less preservatives and artificial flavoring) and apparently they taste really great. (Diele, I think you’ll find that it’s Salumi & Cheese Bistro Box. Apparently this is a real term for cured meats and not a typo like I assumed it was.)
I really want to try the Refreshers! I had a barista who moved to somewhere in southern California and she told me they were sweet but good.
Oh also, I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone mention the Iced Caramel VIA?
Michelle – I heard about Iced Caramel Via almost a week ago through one random tweet, but still there isn’t much buzz about it. I’m excited to try it. I’d likely want to try it with bubbly water, because I prefer to have my iced via a bit like a coffee cola.
Interesting. Thanks for the suggestion. When we get our partner samples I will try it with both kinds of water. (I am a diet coke junkie, so this may be JUST the thing to make me like iced coffee…I really just prefer my coffee to be hot)
I will try it with the. San Pellegrio. Sounds awesome!
this is weird to me, we’ve consistently had decaf iced coffee in my district since i was hired about a year and a half ago, i never realized it was a test product. if it is, it does really well because it is ordered all the time.
@dcp – I learned a lot from this thread. You must be somewhere in the northeast. Kind of what I learned from reading all these comments is that (1) decaf iced coffee is definitely not a west coast thing – I’ve never heard of it being available here, and apparently people on the west coast don’t drink it. (2) Iced decaf coffee is available year round in some northeast locations. (3) At a variety of places on the east coast, even including Florida (?), iced decaf coffee is a repeating summer only item.
And then the conversations in this thread about Bistro Boxes and refreshers is really fun! I can’t wait for the things coming up soon next month at Starbucks.
If anyone can email me an image of iced caramel via, I’d be appreciative: Sbux206@StarbucksMelody.com.
Melody, it looks exactly like the iced via package but with the word caramel under iced via with a few caramel cubes with the iced cubes. When we officially get a package in then perhaps I can send a picture. I know the workbook is confidential.
Woo! I’m finally reading this!! I loove hearing about the new stuff coming out!
I hope Tucson gets included in the AZ stuff coming out this time, unlike the original petites they tested! 🙁
I will ask around tomorrow.
(Comment 9957)
It says Arizona only, so I am assuming that means the entirety of Arizona. The minis(now petites) said select Phoenix stores.
The Refreshers information stated Cool Lime is Arizona only. I find that strange, but I am happy to be able to finally try them. I plan to try the Very Berry Hibiscus with passion tea instead of the water added. I really hope I do not find they contain corn.
(Comment 9958)
The barista I spoke to today, didn’t know anything about the refreshers but she also said she hadn’t looked at the stuff on the portal too far back, as she hadn’t been there in awhile. She was going to look though, so maybe I’ll find out more. I’ll check around at a different Starbucks this weekend.
It is under the test market section in documents. I am surprised more stores do not know. Our district manager emailed all the store managers and they passed along the information.
Honestly, Diele, I learned from this thread on an unofficial Starbucks fan website, that I was even allowed to check the portal. Lets just say my store had some issues and they’re finally starting to get fixed.
Wow! I am on the portal daily. I always check out the test market stuff to see what we may have(skinny peppermint mochas, etc.). Plus as a shift you have to access the portal daily for ims, action items, partner self service to view vacation hours, etc.
I’m often mistaken for a shift. I think it’s the former retail manager in me. My DM actually offered a shift position to me and I turned it down. I came to Starbucks for a low pressure job while I got my teaching credentials, and I just happen to really like it, but in order to be a teacher, I can’t be anything more than a barista at Starbucks. But I did manage to find out that I can log on to the portal as well and get some pretty cool information.
We have had decaf iced coffee for about a year an a half at the store I work for. we literally brew it then throw almost all of it away most days because it is rarely ordered, we might sell 2 a day. I am in the north east btw.
Do you have a 5 oz. Bag to brew one pitcher only? Or the 9 oz. Bag to brew two pitchers?
May be a dumb question but how long does iced coffee keep for…apparently longer than regular coffee?
(9998)
In my store, it’s either all or nothing. We either sell none of it, or we sell a ton of it. Hayley, the iced coffee has a different keep time if it’s kept in the fridge vs. on the counter, so the regular iced coffee has a shorter hold time because we keep it on the counter for easy access. The decaf is in the fridge so that it lasts longer, since it’s used less frequently.
4 hours unrefridgerated. 8 hours refridgerated.
@Diele and Kitenarie – i definitely learned a lot from you two in this thread. Thank you.
Wow 75 comments!!! Amazing. Anyway, noticed in the last few days that there are many people that order iced decaf coffee.
Thanks @diele and @kitenarie! I am always hesitant to try to make my own iced coffee…have to rely on Starbucks expertise for that!!! 🙂
I am excited to try the new iced coffee blend whole bean at home. Not sure if this has been mentioned but Starbucks is bringing out a new iced coffee blend for the prepared iced coffee and for sale. It sounds like it is Gazebo Blend like it was ages ago.
@Diele – I’m totally confused … Is this a new coffee, or I really thought that the “Summer Iced Blend” was just repackaged Gazebo Blend.
Just in case you haven’t seen one of the 1990s era Gazebo mugs – For fun, here it is!
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2010/07/10/summer-essentials-sunscreen-floppy-hat-shorts-gazebo-blend-by-starbucks/
It is replacing the old iced coffee(terraza) we use to brew for our iced coffee. I haven’t heard officially if it is Gazebo.
I will have to check out those mugs!
I really hope it is the Gazebo. I love the Gazebo blend! It’s so good iced! I remember last year when it came out, the packaging made the words “Summer Blend” more prominent than “Gazebo” (I may still have a package from last year to check), so hopefully that’s promising for Gazebo being the new iced coffee!
@Melody, I never do anything halfway. I think I drive my shifts crazy because I always ask a billion questions until I’m satisfied. I’m a big believer in the “buy-in” concept. Like, if I understand it, I’m more likely to do it right. Plus, I’ve been a barista in some way or another on and off since i was 16, so… I’ve got a lot of coffee background. LOL
From what I understand from my peers who have been around longer than me, our ‘new’ Iced Coffee is actually just a new name for Terraza which was just a new name for Gazebo.
Really? I thought Terraza was a combination of Italian and something else (can’t remember what for the life of me)… Terraza came out while I was at BN in the cafe.
@Michelle @Kitenarie @Diele – Confusing!
Did you know that the “Pike Place Special Reserve” coffee (NOT the same coffee as Pike Place Roast) which Starbucks only brews for stores AT Pike Place Market (1912 Pike Place and the 1st and Pike Starbucks) was once called “Pike Place Blend” YET for some reason Starbucks decided that when Pike Place ROAST was launched that Pike Place Blend should be renamed Pike Place Special Reserve to reduce confusion with the new Pike Place Roast, which was launched on April 8, 2008. That, my friends, gives me a headache.
Last year, the 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea Starbucks briefly experimented with a Gazebo Blend cold brew. I wish I had done a blog article on it. Gazebo was great as a cold brew too. In fact, I like cold brew coffee. I used to vote any cold brew threads at MSI down, until I actually had cold brew from 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea. But now that 15th has turned back into a Starbucks with a logo, they have fewer rare things there.
Leave it to corporations to take the same thing and just change the name to make it more interesting to people…
I’d never heard of cold brew coffee before. I just looked it up online – I’m wondering if I can make it in my french press… it might be worth trying tonight and leaving for when I wake up!
@diele we use a 5oz bag brewed on a quarter batch to make one pitcher
also, for summer phase 2 there will be Starbucks iced coffee blend (same as terrazza) available as whole bean. the packaging on the iced coffee that we brew will change (if it hasn’t already) to say iced coffee blend. it is the same as terrazza, the name just changed. you can find this info on the portal i believe.
@Jordan Is your Starbucks iced coffee blend in the light blue packaging? We just got a new iced coffee blend a few weeks ago here in Japan.
kitenaire-
I make iced coffee in my french press very frequently. I use kenya because I think it’s the best bold coffee to ice. When I make it, I do not refrigerate the french press. What I do is make the french press and just put a little extra coffee (I don’t use 2x the amount because I do not put that much ice in it). Then let it sit out for a few hours. I usually make it the night before and let it sit out all night in the french press and have it the next morning. In my opinion, it tastes better than refrigerating it but everyone is different. Last summer, I tried making it using the gazebo blend but I prefer the bolder taste of kenya and espresso roast is a good one to use too.
From the description I read on the new iced coffee made it sound like Gazebo. I know for a fact they are not the same as we made a big thing about the two in 2007. I remember the unique coloured packaging and making the coffee of the week signage. We should receive our promotional items Wednesday or maybe even the following Wednesday. I have never been a fan of terraza so here’s hoping for a change!
Diele, I’m with you. I’m not a big fan of the Terraza either. We actually have a customer who stopped drinking iced coffee entirely because it tasted metallic to her. So I’m hoping for a change as well.
@Jordan, @Kitenarie @Diele – Wow this is a phenomenal discussion.
I am surprised that Starbucks would just discontinue a coffee that has been around since 1991. I am hoping that the new Iced Summer Blend IS Gazebo blend. I like Terraza too, but I think Gazebo is more versatile, and is good hot or iced. Terraza tastes terrible to me hot – Just very plain.
I realize this is random, but has anyone here actually sent an email out to coffeeeducation@starbucks.com on this? It would be a great question for Jason or June at the coffee department in the SSC. I hope they’re still monitoring that email address. I think Jason used to respond to emails, but I’ve heard rumor he’s leaving coffee (not leaving Starbucks, going to another location) which makes me hugely sad.
I didn’t even know that e-mail address existed! It probably is a good question to ask them!
I actually just came here to mention that I set up a cold brew for overnight – even though I’ll be working at my store in the morning, I feel like this was something worth trying! Hopefully I did it right!
I have my new materials already, when I’m in the store next (Wednesday) I’ll try and remember to look at the new page for the Coffee and Tea Resource Manual.
For what it’s worth…the newly updated Starbucks app (as of yesterday) shows Gazebo as the summer offering on the coffee tab.
For medical reasons, I drink mostly decaf coffee (sometimes I cheat). Here in NE FL, decaf espresso drinks are easy to find, but “reg” decaf coffee is hit or miss. Some stores have it, others do not. Still, others only have it in the morning (weird, right? You would think it would be more in demand in the pm). So, yes, I would love to be able to get a decaf iced coffee somewhere other than my kitchen. I will say, though, that a skinny, decaf mocha latte over ice is a thing of beauty.
You guys have skinny mochas? I heard they were testing them. How is the sugar free mocha compared to the regular mocha?
I finally worked with my manager today and she told me about the bistro boxes and she’s pretty excited about them. I asked about the Refreshers, and she had no idea what I was talking about, so, I don’t know what that means.
Also! We’re getting Trenta for Summer 2 on July 12th. I don’t know if that’s everyone but it’s definitely us, and we are officially allowed to share with customers, so I figured I could tell you guys here too! This is a central NJ store.
Refreshers are a test market for Arizona and Souther California I believe. If you go on the portal you can see what they are. I was in the test market for trenta and it is funny to think stores don’t have them. We have had them for at least a year and a half.
@Lisa C – Welcome to the blog. Not sure if you were just stopping by once, but I hope you will come back. When you say that you like a skinny decaf mocha at Starbucks, do you mean just non-fat milk (and no whip) or do you mean that your Starbucks has a sugar free mocha sauce? Thanks!
Does anyone know how long the refreshers test will be going on? And I hope that a couple of people send the canned refreshers to me. 😉
I told my manager that I read it on my travels on the internet, so maybe it was a test market thing and I just got my hopes up for nothing… LOL.
We were supposedly getting Trenta cups by May. We’ve been having people ask for them for a really long time. And it’s even harder because there are some Philadelphia stores that have them, and we’re close enough to Philly that someone could realistically order a Trenta in Philly in the afternoon, and come by our store later that evening and be surprised that they can’t get it, so it’s nice that we finally have an official date.
Melody, when I was at BN still, we had a test run with a sugar free mocha and it was TERRIBLE. I sure hope that the one their testing now is an improvement.