instant coffee, Recipes, & Food News

Tom Colicchio's Riverpark Hosts Starbucks Unveiling of New VIA Coffees

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Oct 7th 2010 @ 1:00PM

Photo: Jennifer Lawinski

A cup of instant coffee served with a high-end lunch and a spritz of perfume on the side? How many ways can we say this combination-event seemed off-the-beam? But this, in fact, was on the menu for the debut of the new Starbucks line of flavored VIA coffees.

The ubiquitous coffee company invited Slashfood to sample a tasting menu created by chef Sisha Ortúzar at Tom Colicchio's new Riverpark restaurant, in Manhattan, to highlight its four new flavors of Starbucks VIA instant coffees: Mocha, Caramel, Cinnamon and Vanilla.

The event was hosted by Starbucks and by New York Times Scent Critic Chandler Burr, who paired each coffee with a perfume that highlighted its flavor.

Filed under: New Products, Tastings, Chain Stores / Restaurants

Tasty Treats of YumSugar

COMMENTS 1

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Sep 3rd 2009 @ 2:00PM

Layered taco salad. Photo: YumSugar

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Throw away the bowl and get striped with a layered taco salad.

Starbucks' VIA instant coffee will hit more stores on Sept. 29.

Pass up that standard rich, red sauce for a Rosemary Chicken Pizza.

Encapsulating fresh summer fruit in a boozy glass with a Blackberry Crush.

A picture guide to hosting an office baby shower.

Do foods ever end up in your cart simply because they're cute?

Filed under: YumSugar

Best Instant Coffee: Our Taste Test Results

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:46PM

We chugged our way through more than two dozen different blends so you'll know which brands are worth sipping -- or skipping. After our jitters subsided, one clear winner emerged. Click on to see how your favorites fared.

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Instant Coffee Taste Test

We're not coffee snobs, but we're hard pressed to think of a single instance where we'd pick the stir-in stuff over some java that's hot from a freshly-brewed pot. Still, sometimes we need a caffeine fix on the go or in a jiffy, and there's not a bean to be seen.

We chugged our way through more than two dozen different blends so you'll know which brands are worth sipping -- and skipping. Keep clicking to see our reviews from the deepest dregs to the creme de la cafe.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Instant Coffee Taste Test

We're not coffee snobs, but we're hard pressed to think of a single instance where we'd pick the stir-in stuff over some java that's hot from a freshly-brewed pot. Still, sometimes we need a caffeine fix on the go or in a jiffy, and there's not a bean to be seen.

We chugged our way through more than two dozen different blends so you'll know which brands are worth sipping -- and skipping. Keep clicking to see our reviews from the deepest dregs to the creme de la cafe.

Rachel Been, AOL

Chock Full O'Nuts

Sip or skip? Skip. Skip very, VERY far away.

Pass for brewed? No

Tasting Notes: Wow, what a tease. We were beckoned in by a yummy smell, but the flavor -- ugh. It's cruelly sour with an undertone of rotting veggies and chock full o' yuck.

Rachel Been, AOL

Nescafe Clasico

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? Never

Tasting Notes: This barely even passes for instant java, and packs a bitter, chemical afterburn that took forever to get off our tongues. No mas, por favor.

Rachel Been, AOL

Folgers Coffee Singles Classic Roast

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? No way

Tasting Notes: It smells okay, but has no flavor whatsover. Sure, the pack's convenient -- if you have an on-the-go hankering for the taste of brown water.

Rachel Been, AOL

Folgers Coffee Singles Classic Decaf

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? No

Tasting Notes: No aroma, no flavor, no caffeine -- not a single reason to bother.

Rachel Been, AOL

Rocket Fuel

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? As the worst gas station coffee you've ever had

Tasting Notes: It smells like dust, and while it's billed as "rich, dark, powerful coffee," all we're getting is a seismic blast of bitterness.

Rachel Been, AOL

Sanka

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? Really bad, burned decaf

Tasting Notes: We're really feeling the burn on this one. The flavor is oddly reminiscent of scorched cheese -- not something we're looking to encounter first thing in the a.m.

Rachel Been, AOL

Brown Gold

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? Perhaps for metallic conference room coffee

Tasting Notes: It's got a strange dusty, papery smell and a tinny taste -- is that the "gold" part? And what the heck is an Excelsio bean?

Rachel Been, AOL

Folgers Classic Roast

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? No

Tasting Notes: If this odor-free, sour, bitter blend is indeed the best part of waking up, we suggest you just stay tucked in bed.

Rachel Been, AOL

White Rose Original Blend

Sip or skip? Skip

Pass for brewed? Maybe at Homer Simpson's nuclear plant.

Tasting Notes: Savor the taste and aroma of cardboard dunked in hot water? Have we got the brew for you!

Rachel Been, AOL

Filed under: Taste Test

Taste Test - Starbuck VIA

COMMENTS 4

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Mar 12th 2009 @ 5:05PM

Recently, Starbucks wowed the world when they announced that they were releasing a line of gourmet instant coffees, in the hopes of capturing an untapped market. The coffee-loving world was immediately agitated, how could an instant coffee qualify as gourmet and was it possible for Starbucks to create something palatable? (Most instant coffee is unmitigated swill, at least in the eyes of the coffee snob.)

I got my hands on a couple of VIA samples late last week and have spent the last few days trying it out, often subbing it in for my regular morning cup. So far, I've been pleasantly surprised by the taste. It's got a fairly full and rich flavor and isn't plagued by the thin, bitter taste that accompanies so many other traditional instant coffees. I did find that it was missing some of the finishing notes that freshly ground and brewed coffee has, but it was far better than some of the brewed coffee I've consumed on airplanes and at diners over the years.

One thing I discovered when making this coffee is that you've got to take care while pouring out your hot water. Each little packet has enough coffee crystals to make an eight ounce cup of coffee, and so if you add more than that, you'll end up with a watery cup. I find this a little disappointing, as I typically drink a cup of coffee that's closer to 12 ounces each morning. If I were to become a VIA regular, I'd end up measuring out half packets all the time, I practice that would get really frustrating. It would be nice if this coffee came in a larger, multi-serving package, so that I could measure out the amount of coffee I wanted, without the constraints of the packet.

Starbucks Via(click thumbnails to view gallery)

Filed under: Raves & Reviews, New Products

Is this really how you make iced coffee?

COMMENTS 25

by Bob Sassone, Posted May 24th 2007 @ 3:40PM

coffee I'm not a big coffee fan. Love the flavor, but it upsets my stomach. But I do have some iced coffee drinks during the summer, as long as there is some chocolate or mocha element in it. I like the Starbucks Frappuccino in the glass bottles (Mocha flavor), and I'm a fan of Nestle's Iced Java syrup.

This recipe has me a bit confused, though maybe it's just because I'm not a coffee guy. It's from allrecipes.com and it's a recipe for iced coffee. Do you really need a blender to make iced coffee? Or is this literally for iced coffee, a thicker drink, and not the cold coffee drink we're used to?

Filed under: Drink Recipes