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Starbucks unveiled its new everyday coffee brew--the Pike Place Roast--in stores today. The Seattle-based chain's press release explains the new brew has "Starbucks signature bold flavor with a smoother finish balanced by soft acidity and subtle, rich flavors of cocoa and toasted nuts." Additionally, the stores indicate when the coffee was roasted and will "brew smaller batches with a hold time of no more than 30 minutes."
A store in Chicago actually ran out of the old roast earlier this week and starting selling the new two days early, allowing a Tribune reporter to file this review:
Pike Place delivers a pretty great cup of joe. It's got a light fruity and nutty aroma, a smooth feel on the tongue but nice body and no wimpy finish. This lighter roast (clearly a response to widespread complaints about Starbucks's penchant for over-roasting) allows a broader spectrum of flavors and aromatics to emerge, things that can sometimes be burnt away in a darker roast. Starbucks might not like this, but it kind of reminds me of Dunkin' Donuts' house coffee.There's also a new logo on the coffee cups: Replacing the tradition green logo is a brown one, proclaiming "Fresh Roasted Coffee." A barista was happy with the new cups; he hoped the staff would be getting new hats with the brown logo. Another barista chimed in, "We need new aprons, too."
CEO Howard Schultz, who feels the new roast changes the coffee paradigm, ushered in the new java era by appearing in Bryant Park, where a replica of the Pike Place Starbucks location was constructed (Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris was the city official on hand) and bags of the roast were given away.
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oooh. Mysterious code words like "Pike Place" and "Misto" to sell to the dumbass hipster so they can feel that they are buying something special when all they are buying is coffee.
I don't drink coffee, but sure the new roast smells nice whenever I need to use their bathrooms....
The brown logo in the picture above, which is described as replacing the "tradition green logo," is actually an older Starbucks logo developed in the 1970's, far predating the green.
It's still in use at the original Starbucks in Pike Place Market but they've brought it back for mass use as part of the campaign for the new roast.
I've heard tell that they phased out the old brown mermaid logo because she has boobies and that's not good for the epic growth the Starbucks company aimed for. But I think I see a bit of boobie on those cups above so who knows?
A compelling history of the logo compiled here: http://www.deadprogrammer.com/starbucks-logo-mermaid.
Oh boy! More crappy coffee!
Don't be daft, hipsters shun Starbucks. It's McCoffee.
Hipsters are still too hip for Starbucks.
And "Pike Place" isn't so mysterious since it is just the location of the first store.
Would Gothamist write up a story about a new menu item at McDonalds?
look here -> red arrow
hipsters and boobies aside, i still don't understand why anyone buys Starbucks coffee. Especially in NYC where there are so many superior coffee joints...Mud Coffee=liquid gold
If Starbucks is over roasted, then MUD almost tastes like coal. It's the worst, plus the place is full of pretentious assholes. If you want good coffee downtown Taralluci & Vino is the best place.....
"Would Gothamist write up a story about a new menu item at McDonalds?"
Probably. I don't see any reason to expect that they wouldn't, since they've had at least one story about an old one:
http://gothamist.com/2006/03/15/quest_for_the_s.php
I tried the Pike Place Roast this morning and really enjoyed it.
If it tastes like Dunkin' Donuts, that's good enough for me. As a Boston native, I love the DD house roast.
It's amazing how every little thing Starbucks does is covered breathlessly by every media outlet in the nation. How on earth is it news that they're adding a new coffee to the list of the 20 they already offer? Pathetic.
J & B on W 3rd is real good coffee. Mud is terrible, well, like mud. Starbucks is consistently burnt. But don't even mention Dunkin Donuts. That's a real joke. There's a dominican place around the corner from me that makes the best cafe con leche. That's real heaven. (I won't bother to tell you. It's in Queens.)
Now if you were a real man you would roast the bean yourself on a castiron skillet. And then use a French press.
Anyone wondering why Gothamist or any news outlet would write about whatever it is Starbucks chooses to put out on a press release need look no further for the answer than the growing comment count on this page.
It gets written about because people want to read about it. If no one cared, this wouldn't even be generating page views.
Porto Rico Coffee.
I _highly_ recommend the French Mocha.
Roasted right here in Brooklyn.
The best.
I wanted to continue to go to the Starbucks in my building, but they have such trouble getting adequate staff, and then having them show up and function coherently, I now drink my coffee at home, and pass on Starbucks. The help even admitted one day, after someone complained about 10-15 minutes for a cup, that "We don't have enough staff".
I find that I could take the 6 train from 33rd to BB, switch to the 4 to Fulton, and that trip would be faster than the Starbucks line at One Liberty Plaza.
Love Oren's. It will put hair on your chest. Wash it down with a homemade M&M cookie and fly down the street. Watch out for cars.
Second is Porto Rico Coffee but don't get the organic Ethiopian unless you have health insurance.
Third is good ol' affordable Micky Dee's.
Fourth is pour a red bull in a glass. Now drop a shot of Jaeiger in there. shoot it down. Happy hallucinations.
I tried it at lunch (free at Bryant Park) and now I'm jittery. It tasted decent, but I couldn't really tell the difference between any other coffee.
It's not even freshly roasted - the stuff at the Starbucks on 35th & 5th was roasted on 3/20 in York, PA. I guess they're going to come clean now with how old and stale their coffee really is.
gimme coffee, y'all! mexico is hot to d. better know.
i hate coffee snobs.
Had it today. It was good. Didn't taste as burnt and it was actually fresh. I give it a 5 out of 10.
oh yeah, sorry, this wasn't just a secret new york thing.
@jink Yes. i
Still way overpriced.