[Closed] Starbucks VIA Instant coffee

Hmm - interesting but if its much more than fresh then I'll stick with fresh and go without if I can't 🙁

It comes in little one cup sachets like the sachets you get instant in in a hotel room, but Ive just tried it and its almost as good as real filter with none of the bad aftertaste you get with normal instant. Works out at 30p a cup though

Ahh OK - I might try some - maybe I'll take some on holiday at the weekend 🙂

I tried some yesterday. Normal instant coffee is brewed then freeze dried, but according to the Starbucks guy Via is actual coffee beans ground super fine then somehow processed.. I think they must remove all the husks or something because there's only a tiny bit of residue left in the cup. It tastes just like filter coffee as far as I can tell - I don't think you'd know it was instant. You CAN however tell it apart from normal Starbucks coffee because it tastes different... not inferior really, just different.

Brilliant for work if you've not got decent coffee facilities, and brilliant for camping too.

Starbucks usually has a burnt taste (unless you're drinking some of the stuff they sell in Seattle) because strangely, people like it. Might be that they've made this stuff not taste burnt.

Normal starbucks coffee is minging though, there's loads of nice instants around so the only advantage of this one would be handy sachets, IMO.

I've never had instant that didn't taste like instant - Via was a lot bettr imo.

I don't think Starbucks coffee tastes burnt - I think it's particularly mild and smooth. I quite it, but I'd prefer somethign more coffee-tasting.

No-one tried the lyons coffee bags yet? Seem like an ideal solution to this?

I've had coffe bags in the states before. They were part instant coffee, part grounds. They tasted ok.. better than instant. Not tried lyons here tho.

Although one nice thing about Via is that it is actually instant.. you just pour in water then drink.

Starbucks is bad enough without making it instant.

In the absence of proper coffee a cup of tea is the only substitute.

If good tea is unavailable then water is the answer.

Starbucks is proper coffee. It may not be to your particular taste, but there is nothing inferior about it.

I thought the coffee was the least important part of a starbucks 'coffee' anyway. Not been able to find a roast there I like, not dark enough and either too citrusy or liquoricey

I've tried the Lyon's bags...I don't think they make a strong enough cup to be convicing. Perfered instant TBH.

I'll have to give them a try myself I think, I hate taking horrible instant camping, maybe starbucks are the alternative I've been craving. Good thread!

Starbucks is proper coffee

In the same way many of my countrymen call IrnBru 'juice'.

Bought my parents a percolator for christmas, the filter has sat unloved ever since, makes average coffee taste even better than shop stuff apparently.

In the same way many of my countrymen call IrnBru 'juice'.

I thought it was called "ginger" (as were all fizzy drinks), or is that just a weegie thing?

I'm willing to try the starbucks at work

Lyons coffe bags taste rank to me - and I don't like any instant coffee

Anything that is approaching "real" coffee that I can make at work (withough having to bring a grinder in etc) has got to be worth a try. But if its horrible it will go in the bin just like the Lyons bags did

Just a weej thing.

My Gran always used to ask me if i wanted ginger - me thinking it was ginger beer always refused.

Turns out she just meant anything fizzy of which she had vast stocks of. Rubbish terminology!

I know better now though.

What about those things that Sainsburys sell that are like a little filter made out of paper that sit on the rim of the cup and you pour hot water through? Seen them in some hotels instead of instant sachets, make much better coffee than Lyons bags (which themselves are better than instant).

Tim you won't regret it 🙂

tried some in a taste test yesterday - girl serving was really put out when I said it had no tones and lacked body and was one of the worst cups of coffee I had tasted - I think she had had everyone else being polite about it and it threw her a little- she was even more perturbed when I refused the free sachets to take home and try...

You thought it worse than nescafe gold blend? I'd be amazed if you did!

Starbucks and instant are nothing but an insult to coffee. They appeal to many but that does not make them good.

Why is Starbucks an insult to coffee? You bloody snob!

For work I use a 12oz Bodum Cafetiere like [url= http://www.cookware-online.co.uk/shop/coffee-makers-espresso-cappuccino-machines/cafetieres/bodum-brazil-3-cup-cafetiere-721373.html ]this[/url] and a bag of decent coffee. Works a treat and better than the £1.65 'posh coffee' from the Regus canteen.

I suppose coffee is one of those personal taste things. I like the via sachets at work as our machine coffee is minging. I would take a starbucks over any of the big name high street coffee places such as Nero or Costa, but there are some independant coffee shops which I may prefer if Im in their area. People dont like starbucks because of the whole big company conspiracy thing! But for me its about getting a consistantly good brew.
I had noticed the little in-cup filters before but havent tried them. People at work use the M&S one cup plastic filter things which are a major faff.

I like coffee, I can tell my Australian Skyberry from my matured Java from my Kenyan AA. Starbucks is not the best coffee but their drinks are nice, nicer than most of the high street (or all of it where I live) so that's where I drink. I've tried many small oh so middle bloody class trendy independent coffee shops and had awful coffee burned and boiled.

At home I drink better stuff.

Christ. This reminds of the idiots who used to lurk in the pre-hack coffee lounge.

"Going to Starbucks for a coffee is like going to a prison for sex. You'll definitely get it but it's going to be rough". Adam Hills, Edinburgh Festival 09.

Can I be the first to say how middle class can this place get?

Arguing about which poncy coffee you prefer?

FFS!

Coffee comes in a jar, put a spoonful in a cup, put hot water on, drink.

There was a time I thought of mountain bikers as a kind of rough and ready, salt of the earth group who weren't afraid of getting the wrong kind of beverage.........

I suggest one of these;

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^ I concur. Currently enjoying this:

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It's rubbish compared to a fresh brew. I went and got a refund after i used one of the three saches. They quite happily refunded but boi was I not impressed!

Molgrips call me a snob if you want but that does not make their coffee any better. Their drinks are just that drinks, not coffees. The milk is usually burnt, the coffee is very dark roasted so while underextracted it still has some resemblance to coffee topped with a white bubble bath. I have had better coffees from fast food chains abroad.

Also saying it is better than most other chains means nothing, the coffee of the four main coffee chains is total absolute rubbish and personally Starbucks is no better or worse than the rest.

Flat White, Vergano, Ferdinandz, Tina We Salute You, Monmouth visit one of those, now they actually do a seriously good cup of coffee.

The milk is never burnt in any of the ones I've been into, and the coffee isn't that dark of a roast even for espresso. They also do several varieties of filter coffee in addition to the espresso based drinks.

Also saying it is better than most other chains means nothing

Yes it bloody well does, if you are on a high street in an unfamiliar town, you aren't going to consult the good coffee guide to find the perfect romantic little spot for your perfect brew, are you? You want a sit down, you either drink from a thermos on a bench or you go to a chain.

I've had plenty of Costa coffees that I couldn't drink, so that leaves one choice in Cardiff.

Flat White, Vergano, Ferdinandz, Tina We Salute You, Monmouth

Sorry what? Are those places all in Monmouth? If not, where should I go for these places?

You misunderstand - I'm not saying Starbucks is the best ever, I clearly said that it wasn't and I don't buy it for home use. It is however my personal best option when you are in a typical town centre. The espresso is smooth and easy to drink and pretty middle of the road I think, as opposed to Costa which is more acidic but ultimately fairly empty.. If I could teleport to the perfect spot for coffee I'd go to Jacqmotte on the main square in Brussels, but sadly I cannot.

It's rubbish compared to a fresh brew.

Umm.. it's an instant, so a bit stupid comparing it to a fresh brew isn't it? It's for use when you can't brew fresh coffee, I'd have thought that was obvious.

Molgrips all in london all within 20 minutes of each other. Can even suggest some on other cities I have visited in the UK. If you do care for a good cup of coffee then you'd bother to find out but then whatever floats your boat really. I am flaring my scarf, turning my head and like a proper snob dismiss this thread and leave 🙂

For anyone in bristol/bath/devon go to Boston Tea party. Black continental every time.

crikey - Member
Can I be the first to say how middle class can this place get?

Arguing about which poncy coffee you prefer?

FFS!

Coffee comes in a jar, put a spoonful in a cup, put hot water on, drink.

There was a time I thought of mountain bikers as a kind of rough and ready, salt of the earth group who weren't afraid of getting the wrong kind of beverage.........

Thank you for restoring my faith. I'm another one that can't stand these food (drink) fascists). I like coffee - almost any coffee.

Man some people it would appear need far less caffeine rather than more. 😆 Its strange, I never think that post on this forum is worthless, if i dont like the subject I just pass the thread by. Why are some never happy unless they are stirring the sh*t as it were. And anyone who starts a sentence with "crikey" and also manages to bring the term "rough and ready bikers" into the mix needs a slap lol
Oh and I will drink most any coffee also, but just prefer Starbucks on the high street.

Coffee comes in a jar, put a spoonful in a cup, put hot water on, drink.

The stuff in jars is coffee flavouring, it bears little resemblance to proper coffee.

The stuff in jars is actually real coffee freeze dried. So it does in fact have a lot in common with real coffee.

nah it doesn't.

Its tastes nothing like coffee

I love those slagging the coffee snobs - I suppose they iz all SARASIN RIDERZ then? Or are they bike snobs who find other snobbery (that they don't understand) scary?

lol +1 TooTall

Amen to Vrapan's comments. Milk Bar is also good.

All the chains turn out is buckets of hot milk, with at best a very weak taste, usually a very weak, bad, taste. The espresso, neat, is undrinkable. Really, really rank.

...and yes, if I'm going to somewhere I don't know, I will do a bit of research first, and find out where's good. I'd far rather not drink any coffee, than drink bad coffee. Most of the time I stick to what I make at home, which is made with fresh, non-burnt beans, and is way better than any chain, and not far off the gourmet places.

For travel, the Sainsburys coffee bags that someone else mentioned aren't too bad, or I'll take a Cafetiere and some preground stuff, although that's far from ideal as the coffee goes off after a couple of days.

For all the detractors, I'm into coffee the way some people take wine or whisky seriously. Maybe it is poncy, but that's my decision.

I'd far rather not drink any coffee, than drink bad coffee

Me too.

Sometimes, purism is a burden, is it not? Something that's meant to bring joy ends up being a pain in the arse. Like, you want to enjoy a nice coffee but all you get is disappointment. I get that, and I'm apparently less of a connoiseur than JonEdwards.