christophermolloy Senior Member Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Brooklyn, NY Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Krups Novo 3000 Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: Starbucks Barista
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 9:01am Subject: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
I'm not sure what Starbucks was thinking when they decided to replace their fine House Blend with the new, dumbed down, Pikes Place Blend?
Let's forget the fact that I personally don't like Pikes Place blend (which taste slightly better than a cup of coffee you might get a greasy-spoon diner) at all, but rather, consider the rational necessary to come to the conclusion that pulling the rug out from underneath your millions upon millions of loyal customers is a good idea, all in an attempt to lure away new customers from Dunkin Donuts & McDonald's.
The marketing geniuses behind New Coke would be proud.
CoffeeRoastersClub Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2005 Posts: 2,515 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Vintage La Pavoni Lever... Grinder: KitchenAid Pro Line Burr... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Aeropress, French Press Roaster: "Little Tyke" BBQ Drum,...
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 10:33am Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
christophermolloy Said:
I'm not sure what Starbucks was thinking when they decided to replace their fine House Blend with the new, dumbed down, Pikes Place Blend?
Let's forget the fact that I personally don't like Pikes Place blend (which taste slightly better than a cup of coffee you might get a greasy-spoon diner) at all, but rather, consider the rational necessary to come to the conclusion that pulling the rug out from underneath your millions upon millions of loyal customers is a good idea, all in an attempt to lure away new customers from Dunkin Donuts & McDonald's.
The marketing geniuses behind New Coke would be proud.
christophermolloy Senior Member Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Brooklyn, NY Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Krups Novo 3000 Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: Starbucks Barista
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 4:09pm Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
I find Pikes Place blend uber-bland & utterly forgettable. I agree it has absolutely no bite, no mouth feel, and not much flavor; it is remarkable close to Dunkin Donuts house brew, albeit less acidic.
The only rational I can come up with as to why Starbucks no longer even offers it's House blend is that it's just too expensive to produce, and Pikes Place is cheaper & more profitable.
CoffeeRoastersClub Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2005 Posts: 2,515 Location: Connecticut Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Vintage La Pavoni Lever... Grinder: KitchenAid Pro Line Burr... Vac Pot: Vintage Silex Drip: Aeropress, French Press Roaster: "Little Tyke" BBQ Drum,...
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 6:46pm Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
christophermolloy Said:
I find Pikes Place blend uber-bland & utterly forgettable. I agree it has absolutely no bite, no mouth feel, and not much flavor; it is remarkable close to Dunkin Donuts house brew, albeit less acidic.
The only rational I can come up with as to why Starbucks no longer even offers it's House blend is that it's just too expensive to produce, and Pikes Place is cheaper & more profitable.
The_Mighty_Bean Senior Member Joined: 24 Feb 2006 Posts: 463 Location: Bowie, MD Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: "Beauty" (the gentle and... Grinder: Gi-normous Rossi RR45; 100... Vac Pot: I just got lectured about... Drip: French press purist, have a... Roaster: Borrowed HearthWare...
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 6:53pm Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
Funny, I prefer it to just about any Sbux blend because it's served guaranteed less than two weeks past roast. Yeah it's a bit bland or "smooth", basic chocolate flavor profile, bit of ash in the finish courtesy of the uber dark roast, but the chocolate flavor is just so much more immediate than any starbucks bean i've had in ages. You just can't beat roast freshness.
scalla Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2008 Posts: 78 Location: Tucson, AZ, US Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Silvia Grinder: Mazzer Mini E, Rocky DL Vac Pot: Kirby Drip: TV Moccamaster thermo Roaster: Behmor
Posted Wed Apr 16, 2008, 7:01pm Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
I never really liked their house blend. Always tasted way strong to me which I guess is acidity. I like the Pikes, it reminds me of some Sumatras I have had. I am now way more likely to get coffee there. My .02.
Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 4:39am Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
I haven't tried it and I'm not a fan of Starbucks coffee.
My only thought is this: Taste is a very subjective, complex phenomenon and I've found that since I've gotten used to home roasted brew (I've been roasting about a year) most other coffee just does not taste the way it used to. You know the old expression about steak and hamburger..
christophermolloy Senior Member Joined: 13 Sep 2005 Posts: 8 Location: Brooklyn, NY Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: Krups Novo 3000 Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: Bodum Santos Drip: Starbucks Barista
Posted Thu Apr 17, 2008, 9:42am Subject: Re: I HATE the new Starbucks Pikes Place blend
Whether or not one likes Pikes Place, or the original House Blend, isn't really the point; Starbucks has made the blunder of all blunders and stands a chance (albeit a slim chance given the fickleness & overall malaise of the general public, IMHO) of seriously ticking off their loyal customers.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 