Starbucks has announced that in June, you will soon be able to find flavored, pre-ground coffee in your local grocery store. The three flavors are vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon, and the new coffee offering is called “Starbucks Natural Fusions.”
I’m not one to usually put up a blog post based on just an annoucement without knowing a little more, but this is a hot topic. There is a lot to talk about. For years, Starbucks has said that they would never flavor their coffees. I have a half-way done blog post (which I’ve been working on for a week) and from it, I am pulling out this Howard Schultz quote:
We believe more strongly than ever that at the foundation of our continuing success lies the company’s two cornerstones: our coffee and our people. We have created our niche in the marketplace in which we compete through our fanatical commitment to quality – choosing the highest quality coffees and brewing them by highly-trained individuals. We have made it our goal to build value into everything we do. This begins with selecting the most exquisite beans, delivering an exacting roast and offering tremendous expertise in all things coffee.
^ That paragraph, verbatim, can be found in the Starbucks 1993 Annual Shareholders’ Report.
It forces me to ask myself if this new coffee will live up to that lofty standard of being a product of a premier coffee roaster. I know that I was initally skeptical of Via Ready Brew, but was persuaded it was a good idea: It was an SSC partner (an SSC partner is a partner who works at the Starbucks headquarters) who brought me some to try (one week before available anywhere at all) and I had a change of heart about it at that moment. I remember that day well because my supervisor walked in on us, and got to try it too, and raved about how good Via was upon tasting it. I decided that it was a good cup of coffee, and it could fulfill a niche.
This has me a little more nervous because it is so far removed from putting really amazing blends on the shelf, like the newest Starbucks creation, 3 Region Blend. I am left puzzled: Is this a coffee that gets cupped? How do we talk about the processing method? What is this? Would you ever make a French press of this flavored coffee?
Though I have a confession to make too. From 2001 to 2004, I lived in San Francisco. During that time, I stumbled upon, and fell in love with Ghirardelli chocolate flavored coffee. I was playing tourist at Ghirardelli Square, and found this coffee in the gift shop. I confess, I bought this many times between 2001 to 2004. It was so good; I couldn’t resist. However, Ghirardelli doesn’t have a brand image tied up in being the “premium purveyor of coffee.”
So as you can see, I have a lot of conflicted feelings and concerns about this new product launch. Mostly, it seems as though it is too far from the kind of image that Starbucks is trying to maintain.
The floor is now yours : What do you think of this new offering?
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I am shocked and disappointed to hear about this. I have some rhetorical questions about this product: Where are the beans sourced from? How are the beans processed? Pre-ground, flavored coffees are wildly out of character for Starbucks. I realize Starbucks has produced some controversial products recently, but they’re more or less in line with the company’s main offerings. (I’m thinking of Pike Place Roast and Via.) PPR is a mediocre coffee, but at least we know where the beans come from (Latin America), and it’s available in whole-bean form. Via is an instant coffee, but at least it’s derived from familiar Starbucks offerings: Colombian and Italian Roast. But flavored, ground coffee is other people’s territory. Starbucks has spent literally decades educating people about fine coffees, from specific places, with distinct flavor profiles, and now they’re abandoning that heritage for something obscure and plebeian. For all we know, the beans used could be _lower_ in quality than PPR, and probably are. They’re arabica, but that species of coffee is a huge category. The fact that this product comes only pre-ground tells me everything I need to know: that I should stay away, that freshness is unimportant, and that natural flavors in the coffee are now secondary to added flavorings. I agree with what others have said; this product should have been launched under the SBC brand and not Starbucks. Or better yet, not launched at all.
I just want to say: IT FEELS SOOOOO GOOD TO COME TO THIS SITE!!!! MSI seems fuller than ever of….animosity, etc. Just so much back and forth and back and forth. How nice to have this little sanctuary!
Hi Denise! Thank you! I’m thankful for the people participating here: We seem to have a smart and articulate group of commenters.
I don’t agree with it. As a Starbucks barista for four years, I know my coworkers and I have been proud that we haven’t jumped on the “flavored coffee” bandwagon like our competitors. Starbucks offers quality coffee beans and I believe that flavored coffee beans just cheapens the coffee we sell, as well as our name.
You know, I’m going to give the flavored coffee a try. It could be dreadful, it could be rather good – but I’m curious to see how their flavoring process turns out.
One of my co-workers brought in a bag of Dunkin Donuts hazelnut coffee. My office mate and I are the closest to the coffee maker… after about ten minutes, we had to shut the door. After twenty minutes, someone else hustled the pot out of the office to dump it.
Since I’ll be measuring the Starbucks version again that sickly-sweet stench, well, the Starbucks flavored coffee has to be better!
Melody, I’m not in marketing professionally but studying advertising and packaging is (believe it or not) my hobby. When I saw the packaging for this new coffee, it just screamed “I’m meant to be a premium gift”. The design, the color scheme, the type face – if the flavored coffees are still around by the end of the year, I guarantee every law firm admin assistant in the US is going to receive a bag. 🙂
Melody I love that little store over by the pier, I checked it out on my first trip to San Francisco. It’s funny that you mention this area because the Starbucks there shares the restrooms with the IN & OUT burger place, birds of a feather I guess, LOL I know hoe you feel about this topic, hence the flash post, awesome as always. Cheers, BTW I found a store that still has Sidamo and I’m stocking up, tee hee Hey thanks again for the KONA, I’ll be having my next press in the mornings cup.
@S – I’ve been to the Starbucks at Fisherman’s Wharf many times! Funny thing, when I was in SF, it was a time of lots of new stores opening. It was still that time of rapid growth.
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This part of the comment is just more of my stream of thoughts and emotions about change, and tough change (perhaps best to ignore):
In about 2004, I remember whole bean menu boards coming down. (remember those? We’re a place that has whole bean coffee)
In about 2004 (or roughly, I don’t remember exactly when) whole bean boards came completely off the wall, and instead warming ovens rolled in and menu boards with breakfast sandwiches, and pictures of a breakfast sandwich. That was a symbolic change. Well, things change. Eventually I was okay with it, but never totally, but I can go with the flow.
In March 2008, the store at 1912 Pike Place lost their whole bean menu board. Because of the store’s historic building designation, and Starbucks’ agreement with the Pike Place Market Association, it will never have food (against the agreement), and highly unlikely to even get a Clover. It has no oven. It has beans and merchandise, and a La Marzocco. So the whole bean menu was ripped down, without a thought, for a little more chalk board space. It makes no sense. It’s a historic store. It has a special reason to have a whole bean menu, even if EVERY other Starbucks does not: First Starbucks. No oven. No food. Vintage. Has whole bean coffee. Has a manual espresso machine. Has a little bit of merchandise. Has history and nostalgia. Tourists who want to experience and see how it all started.
All I can say is that I should have known in 2008, that there were “no sacred cows“. Let me know when 1912 Pike Place gets a Mastrena. LOL. Would tourists be able to notice a difference? Who cares where you came from. I like that store though.
All that above to say, that there are “no sacred cows” and I’m going to have to get used to the idea of flavored coffee, though right now, it doesn’t sit well with me. I should’ve known there were no sacred cows in 2008. I should’ve known better. April 8, 2008 was Pike Place Roast launch. A new coffee, everyday, brand new, blended new as the every day coffee.
I’m trying to keep an open mind about flavored coffee, but it doesn’t sit right. I’m not there yet. Maybe there will be some Seattle tasting event I’ll find for it. But right now, it just doesn’t feel right.
Wow everyone has brought up such great stories and points. Although I don’t like the idea, Starbucks is going to do what they want to do, as one person (bah too lazy to go re-read who) pointed out and everyone else hinted at Starbucks needs to grow, they are technically required to grow (as a publicly traded commodity) so they wither had to go up market (can they? they’re already teased for being expensive, and it is a recession) or down. They opted for down. They are keeping it out of the stores (for now), and it does seem perhaps they didn’t give it to SBC as they may be shopping SBC around to sell? (speculation)
The proof is in the pudding they say, so I will try it. I will also admit
I am not a bold coffee girl
I really am not too much of a coffee girl
I am a Starbucks girl, and though all the pain lately (cutting hours, less training) I will love the Starbucks experience. If the experience is there, flavored coffee or no, I will keep coming back to the happy baristas who know my name, my drink, and make me smile every day.
@Melody – I would say this will never see our stores, but then we started selling ground coffee in select locations. I now believe anything we will sell we will sell in Starbucks.
@Brendan206 – I haven’t tasted it yet, but I’ve seen a bag. I read a lot of the info on the bag (with the rest being read tomorrow when I taste it, as I was in a hurry today). The beans are Latin American. Like nearly all Latin American coffees, they’re washed. The description led me to believe that it is Italian Roast. Also, preground flavor lock has been in grocery stores for a long time.
@S – 1st and Pike in Seattle has Sidamo still. A lot of stores around Seattle do.
The more I think about this, the more I become ok with it. This coffee is first of all not sweetened, which is key. It’s just coffee, spices, etc. The caramel one is strange, because apparently “caramel” is a combination of orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon, and “natural flavorings,” or something along those lines. I keep going back to my tea point. I mean, the only reasons it’s more accepted in tea are that (a) it’s been done for hundreds if not thousands of years and (b) we care more about coffee. If the coffee flavor is still clearly there, this doesn’t bother me at all. If the coffee is indeed Italian Roast(ish), I really think it will hold up to all this. I think SBC would have been better branding, and one of my biggest concerns is the impact this will have on brand recognition, but I don’t think the concept is terrible.
What makes this any less pure than a “Cuban shot”?
Flavored coffee at Starbucks is like married priests in the Catholic Church.
Or rather married lesbian priests in the Catholic Church.
Italian Roast ? I kind of doubt that as only true dark roast die hards drink Italian roast. Don’t get me wrong. I love Italian. But, when a coffee company is trying to reach those who don’t drink their coffee yet, I doubt they’d start with one of their darkest roasts. I’d guess it to be house blend over Italian…which I find right boring, but many drink.
Melody, S was me Skooter, that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention when you think you hit the TAB, lol thanks for responding thou. Had my press of Kona and it was AWESOMESAUCE!!!!
I’ve been thinking about this one, because I had mixed feelings (and still do, to a degree).
What I’ve concluded is that Starbucks does need to have one “sacred cow,” and that “sacred cow” is quality.
That is the real question: Is this a quality product?
If someone had never heard of Starbucks before, and their first encounter with us was a cup of Starbucks Natural Fusions – without any advertising, without any hype, without knowing anything else about Starbucks – would they come back for more? Would they be willing to try other Starbucks products based on how much they liked it?
If the answer is “yes,” then there’s no problem. We should sell it. If the answer is “no,” and we’re just hoping to cash in on what we see as being a potentially lucrative market, then we shouldn’t.
@JRMY yes people are more accepting of flavored teas, but there are big tea fans (steepster.com) who would prefer the natural flavors of a tea to come out. Like coffee beans you can tell where the tea leaf was grown by it’s flavors after brewing (when it is not flavored) – admittedly there are different cultivars (think arabica versus robusta beans) as well to complicate things – but back to my point there are tea people who will NOT accept flavors, or some who prefer only natural flavors, and the rest of us who will drink anything good! (Yes sometimes i just want the flavoring and not the actual tea or coffee).
So although I am impressed they are doing higher quality (natural) flavoring, i want to see that ingredient list as well as try it before i decide they didn’t wander off into dunkin land (some natural flavors aren’t very healthy or natural)
@JRMY, thanks for the report. I’m familiar with the flavorlock bags of ground coffee sold in grocery stores. I bought a package of ground Verona once when my grinder was being repaired, and it just wasn’t the same as freshly ground. It might be good enough for some people. That’s my concern with the flavored coffee: Because it has flavor added to it, it won’t matter as much that the coffee isn’t freshly ground, because some of those subtle flavor notes will be eclipsed by the added flavoring. Your mention of Italian Roast (as a possibility) and orange peel has me intrigued…
Frozen bananas and the vivannos they produce are not a quality product. There are no sacred cows.
I was shocked too when these coffees were introduced but figured it was a business decision by SBUX to bring in a different variety of coffee drinker. I tried all three varieties and would have liked to hear more feedback from those that drank the coffees and reviewed them. I preferred the caramel variety and several friends/family I served it too liked it also. Very subtle toasted flavor that added a depth of natural sweetness to the tasted that surprised my palate. The cinnamon blend and the vanilla blend did NOT taste as subtle and I gave the rest of the coffee away to others that wanted to try it. I do like the fact that SBUX gives coupons out for the grocery store blends and encourages us to try the new items.