Starbucks Coffee

Will the bold coffees only be available in the morning? Or will they be brewed all day during this promotion period?

Commencing tastbud training in 3, 2, 1...

Will this also be part of the introduction of the "pour-over-method"?

I am very excited about this.  This will give me the opportunity to see which I like best.

What an awesome idea! Can't wait!

This sounds like a really cool idea, something I'd definitely participate in.

I am soo excited for this!  I emailed my info to you!

This makes me so happy!  And I'm excited that Yukon Blend will be featured, it's one of my favorites!

Hey thats a fantastic idea!

And Cecile, I am sorry about writing this here but I was wondering how I can contact you as I am an entrepreneurship student doing a study on mystarbucksidea.com and would love to reach out to you.

Thanx !

I love this idea! i can't wait for my fiance and I to participate - where exactly on MSI should we put tasting notes, will there be one parent entry we all comment on per week?

Excited for this, love bold coffee and was just contemplating what to buy next to use in my new French Press.  right now finishing up some Verona

It would be nice if the purpose of this was to find a replacement for everyday Pike. At my local Starbucks, I always order ABP. (Anything But Pike)

I'm with you on the ABP.  I don't mind if they have Pike's Place in the lineup (no coffee is going to please everyone, so I don't have to order it when it's there), but make it only one part of the lineup, not an always-there thing! Ugh.

Now this is truly exciting! I'm am certainly looking forward to this. This is a very positive promotion. Can't wait. :)

Great idea.   Sounds like fun, and definitely a step towards a return to your roots as a premier coffee house.

Yeah!!!!!  I can't wait!  Cecile, you have my info but I'll send it separtely anyway.  I'm in.     thanx,  d.

Starbucks -- this is going to be a gas!  I enjoy Pike but variety is the spice of life, and I've already been trying a lot of your bolds in the past year.  I think you'll get other folks like me to branch out and discover "new favorites."  I never thought I'd like Komodo Dragon (somehow "herbal and cedary spice" makes me think of bad tea) until I tried it -- and now it's my #1.

Yes , Customer Coffee Journey Cards, yes great coffee

This is great for selling beans- Finally get to try them all or eight of them

Yukon - deep solid smells and flavors - close to the first time I had Starbucks

I'm loving this promotion!  I have always wanted to dry different bold coffees and now's my chance...I'm really excited to find out which one is my favorite and get a free bag of beans.  

Cecile,

Thanks - got the Journey Card yesterday.  Couldn’t wait to pop in on my way to work today.

I was quite happy that, as soon as I ordered my coffee, the barista told me about the promotion and brought out a Journey Card.  WOW!  I half expected to be the one to educate them, as I have often experienced or seen mentioned on this blog.  Funny how a little sticker can brighten my day.

I am very excited about this promotion.  I like the Yukon Blend and think it’s a pretty well-rounded coffee.  What a perfect choice to kick off the eight weeks.  Can’t wait to have it again - this time with oatmeal, as suggested, or a cinnamon roll.  May have to bring some home.  I look forward to other organic offerings, including decaf.  

Thank you kindly.

I really do love this promotion. It is awesome opportunity to try new coffees, and get some beans at the end of it. My problem is that none of my local Starbucks had a clue what I was talking about yesterday.

The first one I went to said, "That sounds like a cool promotion, we should look in to that," and that was it. The next one didn't know what I was talking about either, but found some "pamphlet" about bolds that he could give me. It was the passport, but he didn't give me a sticker.

I guess my point is that there seems to be a communication breakdown. I am sure that by the end of the week everyone will be up to speed, but it was definitely a letdown that I couldn't get going right away. You created great "buzz" here in the blog, got me excited, and then the local level let me down.

Sorry to rant. Loved my two cups of Yukon yesterday. This promotion is a wonderful idea.

I really like the Yukon! well balanced. I love this promo. I would not have tasted Yukon aithout it.

I’ve had Italian Roast many times in the past, but did so today simply to critique it, as if tasting it for the first time.

I drank the coffee black to try to discern different flavors and notes, and do a fair comparison.  I didn’t really taste a ‘deep roasty flavor’ and I was beginning to think I didn’t get the right coffee.  The smell and aroma didn’t strike me as I expected.  It was good, though, and I did feel it was well balanced and not bitter.  

However, as part of the tasting club, it didn’t trump Yukon Blend for me.  I will try tasting it again and will post if I feel differently.

I think I like the Yukon better than Italian roast. Yukon 4 out of 5 and Italinn roast 3 out of 5, Leaving rooom for better roast.

[Happy (belated) Birthday, MSI?]

Ah, week # 3 with RED.  Started off by having it (black) with lemon loaf cake, which I think really made the coffee’s citrus notes pop.  

Drank it the following day on its own, also black, but it wasn’t nearly as citrusy the second time around.  For me, overall, it tasted bolder than Italian Roast, but perhaps my palate is skewed or not as developed.  I do think it is on the spicy side, but didn’t detect herbal notes.  I liked the low acidity of this medium-bodied coffee.  

Most importantly, I am so happy that Starbucks has provided several opportunities to give back.  Just choosing to buy a pound of RED coffee is sending $1 to the Global Fund.  I love using my RED card knowing that purchases are helping little by little, providing  ‘14 million days of medicine’ and counting.  

Thank you, Starbucks.

I had the Dragon three time this week. It was a goood blend 3.5 out of 5

I tasted it three times this week and each was very enjoyable.  To start, it smells fantastic and so earthy.  It’s a full-bodied and spicy selection, which I tend to gravitate toward.   Didn’t do any food pairings with this one.

As I recall it does taste similar to Sumatra, one of my favorites, and am so glad it’s readily available in-store.

I would like to taste it head-to-head with Yukon sometime, because for me they’re equally good, but different.  Wish I could try these together with Sumatra.  (So far, for me it’s a tie between Yukon and Komodo, followed by RED then Italian.  I have been happy with all the selections so far.)

Suggestion for future brewed coffee calendar:  Casi Cielo

[Any plans for a Happy Hour recap of the wonderful coffees as part of this journey?]

Thank you.

Hi Cecile,

Happy Hour (e.g. 5-7 p.m., perhaps in a few flagship-type stores)- where all the bold coffees could be sampled at once to recap the journey, so people could do head-to-head tastings.  

Logistically (and fiscally) it might not be feasible.  However, after only a few weeks and although I’ve written about them, it’s not easy to remember everything about each coffee (but that’s my problem).  When the journey concludes, I’m sure it will be even harder.  I can certainly purchase all of my favorites and brew them at home and try to do a tasting of my own.

Does that make sense?  Perhaps it sounded better in my head when I first thought of it.  :)  

Thank you.

Cecile, can you explain the details of the free coffee to people who posted comments about each week's bold?  Will a pound of beans be sent to us or will you mailing a postcard coupon for it?  I have contributed posts each week about the different coffees, but am not sure how to redeem this extra incentive you mentioned.  What is the special coffee?

Nevermind...I received my coffee in the mail yesterday.  I'm so excited to try the yergicheffe....I've heard great things about it and was very pleasantly surprised to get a package from Starbucks.  Thanks!