Starbucks Tribute Blend is here! New this year, customers can now buy Tribute Blend in the K-cup format. This year’s is delicious. (Yes, I know I am a little late to write about it – it launched March 5th this year.) I have bought some for home already, and yes, I genuinely like this coffee a lot. A pour over of it in the morning is fabulous. Just so you know, Starbucks first launched Tribute Blend on March 8, 2011, in celebration of its 40th anniversary.
Tribute Blend has four coffee components to it: Aged Sumatra, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, and Sun-dried Ethiopia. The four coffees representing all three growing regions, and are coffees that are iconic to Starbucks. Aged Sumatra is the key component to Starbucks’ well-loved Christmas Blend. Colombia has been a Starbucks favorite for more than 20 years. It was spotlighted in the first annual shareholders report (see pages 6 – 7 of the 1992 annual report), and while it’s not readily available now in stores, it returns often as an international offering, and a rare promo coffee. (Starbucks Colombia also can often be found as a grocery store only item.)
On March 11, 2013, I went to a coffee event at the East Olive Way Starbucks in Seattle. Coffee masters Josh and Deb made the Tribute Blend with a pour over. I want to say, we had an engaging conversation as to how brew method affects the flavor of the coffee. One person at the coffee seminar commented that this year’s Tribute Blend seems spicier (Aged Sumatra component) when made in the Clover. The pour over brew method brought out the berry (Ethiopian) component.
We smelled some of the whole bean of this coffee, and wow, there was tons of cocoa aroma! We paired the coffee with the cinnamon chocolate bread. This was good. I liked this loaf! This, however, is a coffee that stands on its own two feet, and tastes great with or without food. And because of the complexity of the coffee, it pairs with many different foods!
Deb and Josh also prepared a pour over of Colombia. The store got a bag of the whole bean Colombia from a partner who had come back from vacation from Mexico. Currently, Colombia is offered in a number of international markets as a core coffee. This was a great experience to compare and contrast the Colombia with the Tribute Blend. The Colombia was so nutty and wonderful, and having it side by side with Tribute Blend, you tasted more of the nuttiness of the Tribute.
Another thing to notice is the difference between the little peaberry Papua New Guinea beans compared side by side with the other beans in Tribute. The little peaberry beans are cute! (A coffee bean normally grows in bean with some similarity to a peanut – it has two halves that split apart. A peaberry is a smaller coffee bean that grows as one tiny bean, and doesn’t have two halves).
Have you tried this year’s Tribute Blend? What do you think?
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What I would like to see among the fine coffees, is more bears.
I am curious is Tribute very popular compared to other coffees? I always wondered how customers ranked their coffee preferences. I still see a lot of folks getting the blonde brews. From what I see at my local store, Tribute is out there but it does not seem to be pushed by the partners.
I love the previous Tribute blend. Wonder if there’s going to be much difference in this year’s. Gotta go grab a bag. Are they brewing this in-store? If yes, then maybe I should try a cup first.
And I love coffee that has a hint of cocoa in it. Heaven!
I love Tribute! I think that most stores should still be brewing it as their bold pick of the week, but if not, asking if they are able to do a pour over sampling wouldn’t hurt.
This years’ blend is really well balanced, and so far the best pairing I have done with it is the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. Delicious.
i am the only partner in my store that does not like tribute blend, but partners and customers go crazy for it. i do enjoy that this year the berry flavor does seem to be more prominent, but it’s just not my cup of tea, or coffee 😉
does anyone have a guess as to why tribute (or casi cielo) wasn’t released in the verismo pods? i really wish they would introduce more core or promo coffees in the line-up.
I havent seen this stuff yet but i am not surprised as I am in the UK. Here is something I dont get about Starbucks (which I love)….. Its a franchise but they always release stuff everywhere else around the world but not in the UK!
@Purple1 – Tribute does seem pretty popular. I don’t think it’s nearly as popular as Christmas Blend or even Casi Cielo, but it’s up there pretty high. @Devin – I am seeing it off and on as the bold pick of the week. Glad to see it of course!
And by the way, I really hope Tribute comes out in a Verismo pod version next year!
Mel, we’ve been told that it will.
My guess is that because the Verismo is still so new, that they’re not going to release ‘limited edition’ coffees on it just yet. When my store first got the machines, we sold quite a few — I’m not sure we’ve sold any since the first few weeks it was sold in store. We don’t sell many of the Verismo pods at all.
@KDH – Hate to say it, but I bet you’re 100% right. I recall listening to an investor conference last December (streamed through the investor relations page – anyone can do that – the replays are usually up for a while), and I recall hearing that Starbucks reported that they had sold about 150,000 Verismos at that point. That actually does not sound like a huge number to me considering the many ways that one could buy a Verismo – it was in retail locations outside of just Starbucks. And probably, that 150,000 is a an absolute tiny tiny fraction of what there is out there in K-cup machines. Probably a small percentage (or some percentage?) of that 150,000 are just collecting dust – so yes, the demand for Verismo pods probably isn’t huge – well, especially not when compared with the demand for K-cups.
It’s like anything. Needs some time to build up, I suppose.
@Melody – I have my stash of 2013 Tribute, but have not brewed any at home. What has been brewed in the store has been of variable quality, a few urns of been very good and some brewed too weak.
May I suggest a new post on the Verismo where we can discuss our experiences and opinions. I would hate to take the Tribute post off on a tangent.
@DadCooks – Creating another thread on Verismo has been on my list of things to do. I swear, at any given time, I have a dozen ideas for new articles in mind. Working full time gets in the way. 😉 I’ll do something soon!
If I remember correctly, Tribute is the second best selling coffee that Starbucks offers with Christmas blend coming in at number 1. That’s why they brought it back again this year even though it was supposed to be a one time only event (not that I’m complaining of course 😉 ).
As for Verismo pods, our store sells a handful every week, but no where near the amount of K-Cups we sell. Mostly it is either a handful of regulars purchasing Espresso pods or partners coming in for their markout.
Love this year’s Tribute blend. The berry is so powerful this year, especially in the aroma. I don’t think we have a single partner at my store that doesn’t love this one. We’ve been converting lots of our regulars to Tribute, and we’ll all be sad when it’s not brewing anymore.
@Rebecca – I got tons of cocoa in the aroma. Will have to smell again. Really like this year’s!
@Devin – Wow – #2 – I would have guessed #3 – Christmas Blend, Casi, Tribute! I am impressed that it sells better than Casi Cielo, also a favorite of mine.
They have been brewing Tribute in the stores I go to every day since it came out. This is always one of my favorite specials but for whatever reason, I never think it’s as good as it was the first yr. I do like it a lot tho and have been brewing it at home every morn for about a week…since I ran out of Casi Cielo.
I agree about the Verismo thread. Would be interesting… and I’d also like to see more pods, ie: Tribute, as Melody said. I just think it was really a shame that they came out with the Verismo so soon after getting those K-cups. Seems like a set up for failure…. 🙁
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that doesn’t think Tribute is as good this year as it has been in previous years! The body is very full and I think the syrupy cedar notes are too overwhelming this year. Also, we have been told that more seasonal Verismo pods will start arriving next year.
Melody, I totally agree with you that this coffee stands firmly on its own two feet. I’ve been really enjoying some coffees these days more when they’ve been paired with a food item, but Tribute is one I prefer to enjoy solo. Its such a beautifully balanced coffee, IMHO. And as far as comparing it to years past, the only difference I can detect this year is, like others have mentioned, the berry is more pronounced (in a good way) Ive also found it hasn’t been a hard sell at my store. We have a display set up in front of the tils, and its been perfect when customers come in for their bags of beans. I’ve offered samples to those that are standing and waiting for their beans to be ground, and they have all been pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Some of those customers have left with a lb of Tribute in their bags, along with the other coffee they purchased. Tribute has sold much, much better in my store than the Casi Cielo did – we had very mixed reactions to that one.
I’ve been a partner since 2002 and I’ve had the pleasure of tasting many, many seasonal coffees, reserve coffees, and coffees we (unfortunately) no longer offer. Tribute is my favorite! Coffee press, Clover, machine brew, pour over, all methods taste great, and the VIA Tribute is awesome as well! I’m going to buy some Colombia from the grocery store to experience the contrast and comparison you mentioned, sounds delicious!
Linda
I LOVE Tribute!!
I am puzzled by the schedule for brewing Tribute and as I had said my local SB does not do pour overs. Curious whether others have found that Tribute is only brewed at certain times?
Was wondering if I can order a Tribute coffee, Iced in store, can they do that?
They can probably do an iced Tribute as a pour-over or via the Clover if you ask nicely. 😉
I’ll try making one the next time I go into work and let you know how it tastes.
My favorite coffees are Ethiopian Sun-Dried Sidamo, Casi Cielo, and Tribute Blend. I haven’t tried the Tribute this year, but am excited to read that the berry notes are strong. I’m excited to try it now!
I must admit that I’ve been putting up with office coffee (weak brews or tasteless k-cups) for so long that I can’t remember the last brewed cup I got from Starbucks. Unfortunately, the closest Sbux to my office is in a weird strip mall location that is not easy to access from the main road. So even though it’s only a couple blocks away I rarely go there since it is so annoying to get to. But I will have to plan a time to pick up some Tribute. Yum!
I’m so excited Tribute is back! It’s probably my favorite. As soon as I saw it came in K-cups as well, I had to buy some of those, too! 🙂 Now if only Starbucks would bring back my beloved Red Velvet Whoopie Pie…
Please make Tribute available all the time and in k cups too. You get us hooked on this great coffee and then take it away from us. I want to be able to buy the coffee and drink it every day. We have told others about Tribute and they were hooked as well and now none of us can buy this. Please make Tribute available to all of us everyday. We need our Tribute!!!!!!!
Thank you,