I just went to a great coffee tasting this afternoon, so I can’t resist and I feel like I have to write a short blog post about it. Tomorrow, I’m leaving for a brief trip to California, so there won’t be any new updates until early next week, when I’m home in Seattle again.
We tasted Indivisible Blend, the most recently introduced Starbucks coffee, with three different food items. We tried it with the following:
1) The Brown Sugar Walnut Petite Tart
2) the Starbucks brownie
3) the Starbucks flatbread offering. (As you may recall, the flatbread is only available at a limited number of Starbucks stores.)
About one week ago, I dropped by the Starbucks at 2200 Westlake Avenue, as it is close to a grocery store where I sometimes do my grocery shopping. The register partner (Kristen) invited me to attend the store’s weekly coffee tasting event, which is held every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. Since that is in the middle of the work day, I didn’t think I would ever be able to join this coffee tasting, however as luck would have it, I had an unusually light work day today, and I made it to the coffee tasting. (I was actually late, but called them and let them know I was coming, so they held it for a few minutes for me.)
Kristen prepared Indivisible Blend in a French press for today’s event. By the way, this Starbucks store does not have Reserve coffees, and it is not a Clover store. I’m totally impressed by the coffee passion. The store manager, Shannon, told me that she is absolutely committed to her store’s coffee roots.
I was thoroughly impressed with how perfectly the Brown Sugar Walnut tart went with the Indivisible Blend. The sweetness in the petite treat brought out sweeter notes to the coffee. The coffee had a full, round flavor, and went wonderfully with this item.
Both Shannon and Kristen loved the pairing of the brownie with Indivisible Blend. I thought that the texture of the brownie brought out a certain smoothness to Indivisible Blend, but I was more of a fan of the Brown Sugar Walnut tart.
The flatbread pairing was a surprise, and tasted great. Shannon went to Olive Way (one of the few Starbucks that offers this as a menu item) and was able to get a small amount for this tasting. Indivisible Blend coffee has a bit of a tang to it, and the flat-bread was a nice complement to this coffee in a similar way that one might imagine that cheesy bread pairs with tomato soup. I was surprised at how successful this savory pairing worked out.
My favorite was still the first pairing, but of course it is all subjective!
That was it! I love a good coffee tasting, and this was a perfectly done coffee tasting, presented in a knowledgeable fashion. Kristen walked us through all four standard steps of a tasting, and was knowledgeable as we worked through them. Those four steps are: 1) smell the coffee 2) slurp 3) locate the coffee in your mouth and 4) describe the flavors.
If you’re in the area, drop by for a coffee seminar any Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Here is the store’s address:
Starbucks (store #10303)
2200 Westlake Avenue
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 223 2173
Thank you Shannon and Kristen!
By the way, I only had my phone with me, and so I took just a few photos. Sorry there aren’t more.
Here we are just getting started:
If you’re looking for the Brown Sugar Walnut treat, here’s what it looks like in the pastry case. Also, I included a picture of our coffee tasting samples:
In the past, I’ve written out my thoughts on tips for a successful coffee tasting, and I still suggest looking at Melody’s Top 10 Coffee Tasting Tips.
As I meet partners in real life, I frequently hear the comment at how they enjoy reading coffee tastings. A store manager (whom I don’t know all that well) recently shared with me that she has tried some of the pairings described in previous articles. It’s funny but I don’t see that many people comment on these articles, yet in real life, partners repeatedly tell me that they enjoy reading coffee tastings! Please don’t be shy in the comments! Please tell me if you like these articles now and then.
Again, I’ll gone from blogging until early next week. I’ll catch up with you all soon!
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Oh how I LOVE LOVE LOVE the flat-bread option (but I’m not a fan of the pesto sauce which can overdo the light flavor). And I often see tasting signs but have never taken a store up on the offer. After this post I think I’m going to hunt one down at my local Sbx! THANKS!!!
I’m sure everybody loves your blog posts on coffee tasting, Melody! Its not just about educating people on the right way of drinking coffee, its also a good preview for those who wants to try or buy a bag of the newer blends that are used in the tasting’s sessions. I’m sure now there are those who are already thinking of buying the Indivisible Blend after reading this post! Anyway, good post as always… =)
So far the Cranberry Orange Scone is winning the taste tests with Indivisible around here. Raspberry Loaf did not work. Maple Scone was pretty good. I am looking forward to getting a Brown Sugar Walnut Tart the next time I try Indivisible. Thank you for sharing the idea!
I totally love the fact that this SB did a coffee tasting with such passion and not even having a Clover or Reserve coffees. Kudos to them. I liked reading as I always do about the food pairings.
Me too purple 1. Im glad to see such coffee passion in a non-high profile store.
I like them too – gives me some new ideas for pairings sometimes (and sometimes makes me jealous of some of the food available in the US :)) I don’t usually comment cuz I don’t have much to say beyond ‘Yum!’ or ‘Wish I was there…’
I also like hearing about customers who get that passionate about coffee tastings – don’t get me wrong, I love my customers – they’re super great. But I hear so often – ‘just give me whichever coffee you want – doesn’t matter to me’ that I’d love to hear the opposite just once in a while.
Rebecca Someday I need to see what you have in Canada. I’m on my Kindle, sorry short and sloppy. What I notice, I think, is that threads where people have a debate or have strong views receive the most comments. For example, there’s a dress code thread somewhere with many comments. But in real life, partners say to me that the love the coffee tastings. Well, I guess it all means that I’ll happily just continue writing a bit of everything. I’m thinking outloud here. I don’t expect any replies to this comment.
Melody I have to say part of the charm of this wonderful blog is that you cover so many parts of the SB experience. This gives the reader perhaps a view of SB they might not see and those of us that read your blog get to see comments and views that we might not consider. I remember the blog about dress code. Anyway, off the topic but had to say continue happily doing what you are doing and thanks.
Melody: Thank you so much for visiting our humble neighborhood store. It was great having your participation with, knowledge of, and passion for coffee! We love what we do at 2200 Westlake and it’s awesome that you walked away with a sense of that.
For anyone that wants to come in, yes we have our regular coffee club, but I will make time whenever to have a high-level coffee tasting with creative food offerings. Pairing food with coffee is my passion and I would love to share it.
Again, thank you Melody for being a part of our fledgling coffee group and make sure you come back to get your free drink!
@Melody – Well, right now we have free butter tarts 🙂 To continue celebrating our 25th anniversary…
And you’re right, it’s always the controversial and/or polarizing posts that draw out lots of discussion and debate in comments, but I don’t think it means the more informational/casual ones are not worth your time. I have actually used several of the tastings suggested here (including the butter tasting, which FYI, none of us liked, but all were glad to have experimented – my DM and I even did it at the start of one of our OPS days…it’s now a bit of a joke around my store – “Sure Beccs, I’ll try this, but does it have butter in it?”) So, keep the tastings coming!!
@Shannon – You’re welcome! It was my privilge to join in. And I did get the Starbucks survey receipt done too. I was so highly satisfied with my experience!
@Rebecca – That is just what I mean. In real life, I always have partners say that they browse through the tasting category and try them, but for comments, the best thing is a good debate! What does your butter tart look like? Can you take a pic and then post it on the blog’s facebook page?
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/category/coffee-tastings/
I’m a casual coffee drinker who appreciates coffee tasting articles. It makes me learn more about what’s new in coffee and which ones to try out.
I have to add one comment: I have had the ‘brown sugar walnut tart’ probably every day since they came out. I have no idea how I was ‘turned onto’ them…they’re not that appealing looking. In any case, I think they are perfectly delicious, in a very simple (for a treat) kind of way…just the right amount of everything. They seem to be a pretty big seller around here,too.
I did have one incident when I was at a store where I did not know this particular barista and I asked for a ‘walnut tart’…she looked puzzled. I added..the walnut petite tarts….. (which, btw, were sitting right next to us). She finally said “oh, you mean the brown sugar tart…there is no walnut in them’…..I pointed to the ones….. I said ‘those’? yes, she said, absolutely NO walnut in them, just brown sugar. Having had them everyday, I knew she was wrong but got my order and left. When I came home I called another store and asked: what is the official name of the…bla bla bla. She told me, as I had said: ‘walnut, etc’ and that yes very definitely there was walnut in these.
Long story longer, I then called back to the store which had given me with the WRONG info….only because it was a “nut” 😉 issue and this barista kept insisting to me: no, not nuts in this. The person I talked with agreed with me that I was correct and they knew what partner I was talking about and assured me that the partner would be made aware.
So, that’s my ‘walnut brown sugar tart’ story….and it is very very good!
@denise-I think of you when I see those tarts. The chocolate ones don’t seem to sell as well as the brown sugar walnut. I haven’t tried either of them yet – I tend to skip the pastry case. Hopefully they’ll stick around so you can continue to get your daily “fix!”
Thanks for writing this review! I really enjoy learning more about coffee. I love how Starbucks has coffee tastings. How do you find out about them? I would be very interested in checking one out someday! My wife works for Starbucks and is always talking about different types of coffees along with all of their complexities. I was recently surprised to learn that coffee is almost twice as complex as wine! Thanks again for the post.
Hi Perry! It takes an incredible commitment on the part of the store manager to really make regular seminars come to life. I’m on my Kindle. sorry short and abrupt reply. Here in Seattle, I’m familiar with many stores around me- Olive Way Starbucks does coffee tastings every other Monday at 6. Roy Street does them Mondays at 11. The Westlake & Denny store does them Wednesdays at 3:30. Those are the only regular ones I know about. I just came back from Orange County and no store had signs announcing coffee seminars that I saw. And I went to some friendly stores, but regulars tastings or even scheduling regular sampling where a partner walks through the lobby with a French press requires a motivated crew of baristas.
denise – I’m so glad you called that store to make sure the partner was corrected. Does it not say something about walnuts on the tag? (we don’t have that particular item here) I am allergic to nuts and I am always horrified when people can’t tell people about the allergens in things. (true story, I went to an Applebees and ordered a salad that contained almonds. I explained I was allergic to nuts and asked for the salad without. It came out with some slivers of almonds in it. I sent it back and the manager came out and told me they went through it in the kitchen and couldn’t find any nuts, but if I felt more comfortable they’d make another… We felt more comfortable leaving and eating elsewhere)
I had someone ask me about a pastry yesterday, I said that while I couldn’t guarantee that anything in our case hadn’t come in contact with nuts, I am allergic and I eat that particular item on a regular basis. I would never want to promise people they’d be safe just in case something happened, because I know how scary an attack like that can be!
Sorry, that was all off topic. We also don’t have Indivisible Blend, and while I’m not a great Blonde fan, I’d still like to try it.