Once upon a time, Starbucks Brazil Ipanema Bourbon was a fairly regular seasonal offering for Starbucks. As I recall, it was usually released early in the year, about the same time as Casi Cielo. It hasn’t been back to Starbucks in years. Maybe, if I cross my fingers, it will show up as a Reserve coffee someday.
A reader of this blog emailed me some pictures of this great coffee. She’d been cleaning house, and came upon a 2007 old bag of the Brazil Ipanema Bourbon. She ripped it open, and took these photos. I also sorely miss the old colorful whole bean packaging. I know I have written many times at my disappointment at how unromantic and bland the current Starbucks whole bean packaging is – has no romance of the bean. In any case, I should stop mentioning that because it’s not likely to change.
Coincidentally, I have an old photo of a burlap sack that once contained green Starbucks Brazil Ipanema Bourbon coffee beans. In 2009, a friend (a partner) went to the Kent Roasting Plant for me, and gave me a few burlap coffee sacks. I don’t have them anymore – I gave them all away as gifts to partners. But I do have this photo, and so you have not only the lovely packaging of this great coffee, but also an image of its burlap coffee bean sack!
This photos were too beautiful to not pass along here. Does anyone else remember this great coffee? Do you want it back too?
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The packaging on this coffee is really nice. I too miss the colorful designs. BTW did this reader brew the coffee from 2007? How did it taste if she did?
i haven’t brewed it…. yet. maybe tomorrow i will! i’ll report back 😉 it still smells as delicious as i remember though!
It will be a great test for the flavor lock seal!
@disqus_TdwdmbeFhB:disqus – Don’t know if she brewed it. Had to be pretty darn stale! LOL. She mentioned that she is moving and going through the process of packing, and cleaning, and found a few old bags of whole bean coffee that had been laying around her house for a very long time!
Before there was Blonde Roast, there was the Mild coffees. Breakfast Blend is the only surviving blend of those original blends (I can’t remember them, but there were 3 milds / 1 mild decaf). The Brazil Ipanema Bourbon was then the first seasonal mild coffee that we offered. It was a great offering, hope it comes back.
the other mild was lightnote, which is still offered in starbucks japan instead of veranda blend!
Lightnote and Decaf Lightnote, thanks for the reminder. There was one other that didn’t last long if my memory serves me……which it might not, I’m definitely getting old!
i don’t remember another one, but it could have been before my time.. 😉 i do think that house blend and decaf house blend were both originally classified under the “mild & bright” category, along with breakfast and lightnote.
I would have said the same thing Jocelyn had you not beat me to it. I believe you are correct. Light Note – House – Breakfast Blend were the 3 before dropping Light Note and the reclassifcation of the coffees.
I believe that Light Note was mild enough, and far better than the Blonde Roast, for those looking for a mild alternative. I’m saddened that they dropped Light Note and added the Blondes to lure customers. Light Note is what brought me back to Starbucks and away from Dunkin Donuts. Now I worked my way up to the Reserves. Light Note is what got my wife into Starbucks door.
There WAS another and your right – it was withdrawn rather quickly. I can’t remember, even though I was at the SSC during that time. I totally spaced out that there was a decaf LiteNote… Oh well. My brain is filled with so much coffee knowledge and all the changes that have occurred during my 9 years @ SSC and now 9 years in retail that I suppose I might be forgiven If I sometimes get my wires/varietals crossed! ;8-)
The other mild coffee was Serenade Blend. I, too miss the Brazil Ipanema Bourbon.
As I recall, there were many more decaf coffees back then too!
Decaf Light Note, Decaf House, Decaf Verona, Decaf Mocca Java, just to name a few. I’m sure I’m missing some as well.
yeah, and before there was “dark” there was “bold” and some “bolds” have even been moved to “medium” (ie: Yukon) pretty weird.
Test test test test test
Thank your for posting this!! Brazil Ipanema is personal to me!! It was the first coffee I could differentiate from others when I became a partner 8 years ago. It was my choice for the coffee tasting when I assessed to move from Assistant Manager to Store Manager. It is still my favorite coffee and my favorite coffee bag design! Thanks Melody for the memories and the hope that one day it will return!!
Hi StacyG! Love to hear this! It’s funny but this would have been one of the lightest roasts of Starbucks of yester-year. I know, I liked it a lot, despite being a bold coffee fan. And thank you for being a store manager with passion!
I remember this coffee and I, too, miss the beautiful old packaging.
not ‘user-friendly’. to me.
It’s 3:50 in the morning in Seattle! I find that Disqus works best if you the comments to “newest” – It defaults to “best” but makes more sense to me to read the “newest” comments at the top. There doesn’t seem to be a way to changing that setting in the moderation panel, but I will look again.
Melody, from your… keyboard to God’s eyes. The whole bean packaging couldn’t be farther from the romance of coffee that Howard wrote about in Pour Your Heart Into It. I understand why it is the way it is, grocery store sales, but I don’t like it. And while I miss the old packaging, I could tolerate the new packaging if we had some of the old coffees back. It breaks my heart to see the artwork in my store for Tanzania Peaberry, Papua New Guinea, Organic Ethiopia Sidamo, and Sulawesi coffees knowing that we don’t even sell them anymore.
Organic Dave, Welcome to the blog. I know what you mean about the art work. It’s a little divorced from the coffee wall. In downtown Seattle most stores are the newest designs, but I’ve met partners who barely recognize that those are coffees. Coffee is a food. Getting enough to 12k US stores (specifically single origin coffee) is a challenge. I don’t totally mourn those coffees. The Reserve stores is where you find much of that. but I can imagine if you’re nowhere near a Clover, probably feels like it’s tough to experience the best single origin Starbucks coffees. Im having sundried Sidamo right now, and struggling to type this on my Kindle. Welcome again. I hope you like my quiet blog.
what beautiful packaging! surely reminds me of my home country..:)
This is the best coffee ever sold by Starbucks…I was so devastated by its removal that for the past 3 years I rarely go to Starbucks. There are many coffees out there that compare to the current Starbucks blends. I do love the Christmas blend but what about the rest of the year…Starbucks bring Brazilian Ipanema Bourbon…
I, too miss the Brazil Ipanema Bourbon. It was my favorite, and I hope they bring it back. The last time I found it was in the Starbucks near the Opera in Paris, years ago.
I agree about the packaging I really dislike the bland generic bags Starbucks. uses now. ( keep complaining).
In my opinion, this is by far the best coffee Starbucks ever served. I have been an avid fan of Starbucks since they hit the midwest many yrs ago. After falling in love with the Brazilian Ipanema Bourbon and losing this flavor filled coffee I gave up on Starbucks. I return yearly for the true Christmas Blend, other than that they have nothing for me to set them apart from McD’s. So Starbucks, why don’t you bring this marvelous coffee back to us and I will return as your #1 fan. So serious in Indiana…..