Barnes and Noble

[guit30]

I like to hang out and drink coffee at the Starbucks franchise in the dying Barnes and Noble Book Store Chain with it's Coffee-Food Bar and also great magazine section and also a great selection of CDs/DVDs. They serve a Pikes Peak blend made with equipment that is great and clean. I used to be into fancy drinks like caramel machiattoes ,or redeyes, but I am a reg coffee with half and half and splenda or raw sugar and splenda, I pack of each.
At home ,I keep a bag of Starbucks Verona which is my favorite blend. They are changing their packaging from all white to colors matching the blend, just bought my first brown bag of Verona for my coffee when I get up. It seems to be different tasting than the old Verona which was real smooth, I have tried it twice and it has a real bitter taste to it. Anyone else notice any changes with their favorite Starbucks blend?
Jim

 

[PinkRose]

You won't find many people on this Coffee Forum who have a favorite Starbucks Blend.

I'm thinking you should just take your brown bag of Verona coffee back to Starbucks and complain.

Better yet, just throw it away and then go to a local roaster and buy some good coffee.

You'll be glad you did.

 

[Redswing]

I'll go first...Jim, you'll soon discover this forum is in short supply of Starbucks fans. Prepare for the onslaught.

As to a change in your favorite blend: since coffee is an agricultural product, it is impacted by a variety of factors (like climate, harvest date, storage, etc.). As a newer roaster, I am coming to think that even the bag of green beans I purchase produces a different cup of coffee from the first batch out of the bag to the last. So if you're pretty observant, you should notice at least subtle differences in the blend year by year, and perhaps even month by month.

And I will also make a suggestion that you'll hear frequently if you stick around: search out a local roaster who pays close attention to where they get their beans and what each bean can offer. Starbucks is kinda like: opening a can of Hormel chilli from the grocery store shelf (that is made with subpar ingredients each chosen with the bottom line front and center) and warming it up in the microwave. A quality local roaster is kinda like: Eating a bowl of freshly prepared chilli made with all fantastic fresh ingredients (ingredients the cook refuses to compromise on) by a local chilli cookoff winner who is seriously excited about his soup.

The choice is yours, and contrary to what you'll hear here, its OK to enjoy Starbucks. But if you got serious enough about your chilli that you joined a chilli forum to compare ideas with other chilli lovers, would you still be buying Hormel?
edit: Rose posted her response while I was writing mine...beat me to it. Nice, Rose.

 

[PinkRose]

Rose posted her response while I was writing mine...beat me to it. Nice, Rose.

You actually were first, but you deleted your post.

And, your edited second attempt was so much better than I could ever do!

Rose

 

[ensoluna]

Venture out Guit30 !
Even roast coffee from Sprouts are way better than Starbucks. they have excellent huehuetenango coffee (make it sure to ask roasted date, no less than 2 weeks) and buy light medium or medium roast.
Darker roasts mean less flavor, less caffeine. and It can cover a lot of defective tones in coffee.
Freshness + light medium roast + Chemex = Great Coffee Experience.

 

[guit30]

Wrong Place

Sorry, that I found wrong place, I guess that I am in between (Can't Stand Supermarket Coffee to Starbucks, I like and can afford), I contacted Them.
Have a great day
Jim

 

[PinkRose]

Jim,

What happened when you contacted them?

Did they replace the coffee or give you a refund?

You've graduated from buying supermarket coffee to buying it from Starbucks. Eventually, for a few dollars more, you can take the leap into getting fresh roasted coffee from a local roaster or cafe.

When that day comes, you'll be glad you did.

Rose

 

[guit30]

They are sending me a 15 dollar gift card,

 

[PinkRose]

Wow! That's nice!

Here's an idea.....You could sell the gift card to a friend and take the $15 and go to a local roaster and buy some good coffee.

But, I'm guessing you'll spend it at Starbucks instead.

No matter what, I hope you will find a coffee that you enjoy. That's the main idea!

Rose

 

[CoffeeJunky]

I don't think there is anything wrong with enjoying the coffee from Starbucks if that is what you like.
I personally would not buy coffee from SB but that is just me.
I can only direct you to the Oasis that I have found but that Oasis could something else for someone else.

 

[Surfer]

Sorry, that I found wrong place, I guess that I am in between (Can't Stand Supermarket Coffee to Starbucks, I like and can afford), I contacted Them.
Have a great day
Jim

Charbucks is selling you charred burnt beans that are stalllllllllllllllllle for $$$, for about the same price or sometimes less sometimes more you can get fresh roasted beans from roasters (if near by you) or look for a real coffee shop (don't mean that offensively lol), like a real place that carries various roasters etc (check google/yelp). I mean a 12oz bag of beans there at any grocery store down here cost about the same as what a lot of roasters charge for 12oz-16oz bags, 1 pound bags are like 12-15 bucks at their locations but then your still paying that money for stale burnt beans (which if you like, hey that's your choice, some do). Could order fresh online and ship right to your house, you'll have shipping cost, but in bulk you can snag very good deals like Redbird for around $50 for 5lbs (just get some ball canning jars etc to store in batches). I don't ever remember Verona being smooth, unless a Cigar mating with a Cigarette is smooth lol

Google/yelp your area and bet you'll find some roasters/real coffee shops to try for similar money