On June 4, 2012, I went to a wonderful coffee tasting featuring all iced coffees. Jess, at the Olive Way Starbucks, was the seminar presenter and walked us through exploring seven different iced coffees! Here is what we tried:
- Terazza iced coffee – the “core” iced coffee offered at every single Starbucks
- Iced Kenya prepared via the Clover brewer
- Iced Kenya brewed through a standard filter brewer (Bunn brewed)
- Iced Kenya, cold brewed
- Iced Coffee blend – the core coffee available as a retail whole bean offering
- Iced Coffee Blend on the Clover
- Iced Via Ready Brew
First off, it had been a long time since I’d walked through a coffee tasting of iced coffees. One of the things that struck me was that even an iced coffee can give off quite a bit of aroma, and I really was able to smell the difference in these coffees.
Terraza:
The Starbucks standard iced coffee is the coffee that is available at every single Starbucks. If you ask for a “Tall Iced Coffee” the barista will be pouring a cup of Terraza Blend, which is not a retail blend, rather is just reserved for in-store iced coffees. I thought the the Terraza had the least amount of aroma of all the seven coffees. I did pick up of hints of pear notes in the aroma. The coffee was bright and had a strong taste in the mouth. The flavor is great. I do like this iced coffee. It has a very clean finish too. I could detect a little bit of the roast too.
Iced Kenya prepared via the Clover:
This was a wonderfully juicy coffee, with a big punch of flavor in the mouth. Mickey (the partner famous as “Mr. Opportunity,” and also famous for the Butter Coffee Tasting) noted some floral notes, and I could detect some of the citrus in the aroma. Of course, I loved this one too. I turned and snapped a photo of Mickey just as he was intensely working on smelling some the coffee!
Iced Kenya – brewed with a filter brewer (Bunn brewed):
Iced Kenya prepared with a filter brewer resulted in a little more mellow coffee, in my opinion. It had a round mouth feel, and clean finish. This was a very nice iced coffee, though not my favorite of the group. It was less flavorful than prepared via the Clover brewer.
Iced Kenya – brewed via cold brew:
This coffee was quite a surprise to me. Cold brewing a coffee definitely creates a very different flavor profile than any other brew method. There are a number of ways to cold brew coffee, but essentially it is coffee and water that sit for a minimum of three hours. Some people cold brew coffee for seven or more hours, but about 3 to 7 hours is right. Jess explained that she likes a very strong cold brew and so she uses about one cup of coffee grounds for an 8 cup coffee press.
This iced coffee had the biggest aroma of all the ones we tried. There was a very large amount of grapefruit flavor, it was definitely the most flavorful of all of the iced coffees. It was almost a bit syrupy or wine-like, and it paired well with the apples.
By the way, there were about seven people attending this coffee tasting, and we each had a plate of goodies to creatively pair with the coffees. Here’s my plate of food pairing items:
The “core” Starbucks Iced Coffee:
Next we tried the standard iced coffee that is available in the whole bean wall. This is not Terraza Blend, rather it’s just called “Iced Coffee.” Once upon a time, the core whole bean iced coffee was Gazebo Blend, but that was phased out in favor of this coffee. This was the nuttiest of all the coffees we tried. If you are trying to steer away from the fruity notes in African coffees, this might be a good choice. I noticed that it paired well with the almonds. This was a filter-brewed iced coffee. If you’re looking for this coffee, you can see what the bag looks like here:
The “core” Starbucks Iced Coffee – brewed via the Clover:
Next we tried the same coffee again, only this time brewed via the Clover. It is astonishingly true how brew method makes a huge difference in what flavors you’ll notice. This coffee had a lot of kick, and was very nutty. I noticed the flavor seemed to hit on the sides of my tongue. It paired pretty well with the bread. Since I tend to lean toward the coffees with the fruit African flavors, this coffee didn’t do much for me. Just for fun, here’s Jess pouring all iced coffee samples:
Iced Via Ready Brew:
Last but not least, we tasted Iced Via Ready Brew, which is lightly sweetened with sugar. This is by far the easiest way to have a cup of iced coffee – just add water and stir. I was surprised at how refreshing this was. I think I prefer those coffees with distinct flavor notes, but this is fine on-the-go option. Here is Jess showing off the package of iced Via.
Just so you know, if you’re buying Iced Via, (now through July 9, 2012) you earn double stars on your purchase. There is more information here:
Bonus Stars for Purchasing Iced Via (6-4-12 through 7-9-12) – From the official Starbucks blogs
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Hope you enjoyed this iced coffee tasting tour. There are certainly a lot of options when it comes to iced coffees. One of my favorites is Iced Willow from the Clover. I had a lot of fun attending this seminar. Thank you Jess and Steph who both worked very hard to deliver this great seminar!
Coffee Master Jess is a kind-hearted, wonderful person in real life. I remember one time going to Olive Way when I was really feeling sick. It was a Sunday morning, and I dropped by this Starbucks, but my head was pounding, my throat was sore, and my nose was stuffy. I was so sick. I ordered hot tea (which I never do), and Jess was making my beverage, and said, ‘Do you want me to add some honey to this? You’ll feel better.’ She was just so absolutely sweet. She doctored up my hot tea, and I went home and crashed. Jess is just a wonderful person.
Please feel free to weigh in below!
(Click here to read about more coffee tasting seminars.)
Edit on June 9, 2012 – From the comments below, looks like I got some of these coffees confused at times. I could have sworn that the “Iced Coffee” whole bean was different than the first Iced Coffee we tasted, but it appears they are both Terraza Blend. So the first, fifth, and sixth coffees were all Terraza.
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There are so much iced coffee offered by Starbucks! Usually I just read about the new “Iced Coffee Blend” sold at stores but didn’t know that “Terraza Blend” is still available too. Here if you order a cup of iced brewed coffee, they’ll give you a cup of iced House Blend. Sounds pretty weird, the taste isn’t so good too. Much better if they can switch to iced Kenya instead. Anyway, nice post as usual, very informational… =)
I will be in heaven if I get to attend an event like this. It would be wonderful to try all those coffee in one sitting.
I think having this coffee tasting was wonderful especially to expand on the iced coffee choices. It was also nice to have the food pairings with the coffee. I still do not get it why this tastings are so rare around here. Seems to me that SB is so uneven in what they offer the customer from one region to the other.
Thanks so much Melody! I wanted to give a shout out to Steph, the other partner who hosted with me. She and I planned it all together and she is responsible for the lovely nibbles you enjoyed.
For everyone whose home Starbucks aren’t doing anything like this, send them to check out Melody’s reviews! Until I came to this store, I never experienced this level of customer engagement outside of their normal drink ordering. Tell the baristas what you want! Anyone going for a Coffee Master certification will (I believe) need to host an event like this too, so keep an eye out.
Terraza Blend was introduced in 2006 as a retail whole bean coffee for the duration of the Summer, and also as the new coffee to be brewed in stores as iced coffee. Elsewhere in the world, it had been introduced as “Iced Coffee Blend.”
Last Summer, corporate decided to relaunch Terraza in the states as a core retail whole bean offering. It was renamed “Iced Coffee Blend” at that time. It hasn’t changed since 2006, it’s the same coffee as Terraza; this is why the description on the bag says “Starbucks Iced Coffee Blend is the same Brewed Iced Coffee you already love in our stores.”
This is such a cool experience. I never thought to have an iced coffee tasting. Because there are so many iced coffees offered in the Boston market, it would be really cool to do that up here.
As much as I love Kenya on the clover, my favorite iced coffee is Kenya or a mix of Kenya/Espresso Roast in the french press. I like it to sit overnight for about 7-9 hours.
@MrWho – Thanks for the clarification. I certainly was confused. I’ll have to go back and edit this later, but just don’t have the time right at the moment.
@William – If you ever go to Seattle, you’ve got to visit this store!
@AmyinBoston – That sounds like a strong iced coffee. There’s definitely an art of blending, and blending for iced coffee is a talent.
Thanks Jess for your great seminar!
@Melody – you nonetheless definitely weren’t wrong in saying that it tastes different. Freshly ground, then brewed coffee always tastes different.
Wow…sounds like an Iced Coffee Education I would have loved to joined in. I love Iced Coffee, I order iced more often than hot. There is defiantely an art to Iced Coffee because I make it at home & it’s way too weak or Strong but bitter. So I usually give up and go get one at SBUx.
I have to say that I was not a fan on the Tribute this year however, I do like it over Ice. It changes the taste completely & works well with the cold toddy system.
I like the standard iced coffee in my stores, but I just order a Venti Americano WITHOUT water so it’s just basically shots over ice w/a touch of half & half & that’s the way I roll.
Very nice post, Melody. Would love to attend something like this.
This was great to read! I would have loved to have gone to this! I am not a fan of iced coffee but have only really had it twice, so a tasting like this would have been perfect to get introduced to iced coffee the right way! I know there has to be a blend or a roast or some preparation that i would enjoy it. I just don’t know what that is yet.
Nice blog post, Melody. While iced coffee will never be my favorite beverage at SBUX I think one of the blonde roasts would be a great choice over ice as the flavor would be great blended with syrups for drinks.
@Melody – I am surprised and alarmed that you had time to write up a new blog post, but haven’t edited the one spreading misinformation. 🙁
@MrWho – I did an edit at the bottom of this post, explaining that the 1st, 5th and 6th coffees were all Terazza. I tend not to do major re-writes once a blog post is up – The comments don’t make much sense if I re-write large chunks after publishing. But look at the “edit” note at the bottom! Maybe I should put that in bold so it stands out.
I guess we will never see Gazebo again? Too bad, I looked fwd to that coffee for a bit lighter brewed (hot) coffee in the summer. Terazza doesn’t take the place of Gazebo….. It is said that it can be brewed and have it as a hot coffee but really, meant for iced. So, we’re missing another lighter wt. (but NOT Blonde) coffee for spring and summer. Used to really enjoy Bella Vista Costa Rican too. now gone. 🙁
Melody this morning I sent you a pic of a promotion I just saw for earning double stars with purchase of a pack of VIA Iced Coffee from June 4 through July 9. Is this nationwide? I have not seen the sign before today although I do not buy Via. Anyone else have this around them?
We have it here, although in Canada it is all Via that works for double stars, not just iced. It is my understanding from the summer promo workbook that the double star Via promotion is happening nationwide.
Hi Melody,
Im frm Singapore and retaking my Coffee Master right now and your website is such a refresher! I love on how you actually describe the coffee tastings cause I like to be adventurous and try coffee with different food. Keep it up!
I have been informed that at this time, Starbucks no longer sells Iced Coffee Blend beans–too bad.