Hello, Chris here. I’m the lead product developer for the new Gluten-free Orange Valencia Cake. Today, I’d like to share a behind the scenes look into the development of a delicious and gluten-free cake. We start with just seven simple ingredients (eggs, Valencia orange pulp, almonds, sugar, orange peel, gluten-free baking powder, and orange oil) and carefully blend them together in small batches at our partner bakery. Because gluten can easily contaminate through pans, tools and even in the air, the bakery has a special gluten-free zone with dedicated equipment, pans and washing stations. After the cake batter is made, it’s transferred to the batter depositor that pushes batter … more »

What’s insulated, BPA-free and now comes in a Venti (20 oz.) option? It’s the hottest serveware item of the season that is sure to keep your drinks cold—the reusable cold cups! We heard you and we’re bringing both the Grande (16 oz.) and Venti sizes of the cold cups to you in participating stores and online. While our standard disposable plastic cup is 24 ounces, drinks made for the Venti reusable cold cup will require a little less ice due to its smaller size. But do not fear-- the cup comes with permanent fill lines to guide baristas on the perfect drink proportions, so your beverage will be made just right. The double-wall protection keeps your hands dry and your beverage … more »

Hi, my name is Jeff and I work on the Starbucks Card team. Today, I’m writing to share some exciting news about the Starbucks Card. Did you know that you’re carrying an award-winning product in your wallet? It’s true! This past March, the Starbucks Card won a best-in-category award at the 2009 Paybefore Awards, which took place at the annual Prepaid Expo USA event. While it’s wonderful to be recognized by our industry peers, what really excites us is all of the feedback that you – our customers have given us since My Starbucks Idea launched just a little over a year ago. As I am writing this blog, the current number-one idea on My Starbucks Idea is a Starbucks Card … more »

I just wanted to write a quick blog about the newest idea "Under Review" - Send a friend a cup of coffee online. We agree with you that this is a super exciting idea and it's one that we've been poking at for a while now. This week, one of our executives decided that we should officially put this idea "Under Review" as he's going to take a look at it and see if it is something we should launch or not. We hope to have more news to share with you sometime this summer after the team has had some time to do research and make a decision. Now that the idea is "Under Review", you can't vote or comment on it anymore. But, all is not lost. Please use this … more »

As promised in my last blog , here is your brewed coffee calendar for May 5-June 29. Enjoy! Week 1: 5/5-5/10 Café Estima Blend® Our rich and roasty-sweet combination of Fair Trade Certified™ coffees is from Latin America and East Africa, and it shows just how delicious it can be to turn beliefs into actions. This is good coffee doing good things for the farmers who grew it. The sweetness of this coffee is achieved through a slightly darker roast. It’s a full-bodied, well-balanced coffee with great versatility, something that is equally at home in your press, drip brewer or espresso machine. Week 2: 5/11-5/17 Komodo Dragon Blend® This coffee is bold and surprisingly … more »

Hi! My name is Anthony Carroll and I work on the Coffee team here at Starbucks. I’ve seen a few ideas here about iced coffee, so I wanted to write this blog to share the iced coffee story. Iced coffee has been part of Starbucks since 1971. Initially, it was brewed using the Toddy® maker at double strength. The coffee was called Iced Marrakesh and it included aromatic spices like cardamom. That was until 1986, when we began brewing double strength brewed (drip) coffee and serving it over ice. Then in 1991, we introduced an amazing East African blend called Gazebo Blend®, our official coffee of summer. This blend was a perfect coffee to serve iced as are most East African coffees … more »

Hi there. This is Jill from the Consumer Products Group (CPG). My team works on the products that you see in the grocery store. Many of you have been posting ideas around value at Starbucks and the CPG folks want to let you know that we’re listening! Beginning on May 11, we will launch the first ever Starbucks grocery coupon booklet. Baristas at participating local Starbucks will be passing out these coupon booklets ($6 savings) that can be used where you buy groceries. The coupon booklet features the following items: New Starbucks® Ice Cream - $1.00 off Bottled Frappuccino® beverages - $2.00 off 4 pack Starbucks Doubleshot® espresso drink - $2.00 off 4-pack Packaged Coffee … more »