I assumed too much. I thought you already had a Keurig single-cup home-brewing coffee system in your kitchen. How are you going to enjoy the Starbucks K-Cups if you can’t cupify the contents of the K-Cup?
So Step 1 in enjoying a Starbucks K-Cup – get yourself or your coffee-drinking pal a single-cup brewing system.
So by now, the masses of caffeine addicts own a single cup coffee brewing system. These were all the rage this past year, and now Starbucks is making it easy to get these addicts a gift. Introducing Starbucks coffee in K-Cups singles!
Available in six coffees and two teas, your caffeine-drinking friend will surely love these K-Cups as a gift!
But if you can’t wait one more year, you can assemble your own Inky Red Cup by printing the design and taping it over your grande drink.
Prologue: I knew this would happen if I waited too long (which I did), but I forgot the details of finding my first Starbucks Clover location in California. You heard that phrase about finding a needle in a haystack, right? Well, I essentially found a Clover in a haystack! Read on…
It was during a summer trip to Central Valley, California, and we were driving for awhile. Were we driving to San Francisco? Monterey? Santa Rosa? Sadly my memory fails me. But all I remember was I was tired after driving for hours. I needed a caffeinated pick-me-up before continuing to drive for a few more hours. So I asked my wife to use the Starbucks mobile app to locate a nearby store. The app showed a few locations, and I headed to the closest one which so happened to be located in an outdoor shopping outlet area. Seeing the familiar Starbucks sign was truly an oasis.
I got out of the car, walked to the door, and noticed this unfamiliar logo in the window.
Holy Starbucks! We randomly stumbled upon a rare Starbucks Clover location!! I couldn’t believe it. Off all the stores displayed on the Starbucks app, we happened to pick one with a Clover brewing system.
Like I said, I was fatigued from driving and my memory is fading, but I couldn’t quite figure out the Clover menu. A barrista cheerfully guided me through the various options, and I got an iced Kenya. Because it’s freshly brewed, the wait time was a bit longer, but it was fascinating to watch the individual brewing process. I do remember the coffee tasting fresher and not as bitter. The flavor was deeper, but since my drink was iced, the fresh brew quickly became watered down as the ice melted.
Still though, having a Starbucks for the rest of the drive was great and just thinking about the kismet of this happenstance is still incomprehensible.
While there is no official map of all the Starbucks Clover locations, check out Starbucks Melody’s blog as she documents her visits to as many Clover locations as she can.
Update: this location is store number 69034 located in Town Center Corte Madera.
While a cup of coffee should be a cared for commodity, I now understand that sometimes a cup of coffee can go to waste.
Maybe it’s the heat outside, but I think the dark and dirty Salted Caramel Mocha from Starbucks has something to do with my dehydration today. Is it the caffeine, is it the salt, or is it both that’s causing my dehydration? Drank lots of water this morning, and I still feel thirsty. I’m almost out of water that I bring to work daily, and the day’s still young.
“Dark and dirty” is what suffused through my senses after initially tasting Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha. There’s the dark chocolatey mocha taste with a tangibility of chocolate bits or salt particles leaving your palate felling dirty. But in all, the overall effect is pure deliciousness.
Along with Salted Caramel Mocha, coffee drinkers are reintroduced to the Pumpkin Spice Latte but sadly, the onset of September brings to close the Starbucks Treat Receipt deals.
About a week late, but Starbucks is doing their treat receipt promotions once again.
Buy a drink in the morning, bring back your receipt after 2pm and treat yourself to any cold grande drink for only $2. That’s a bargain for you fellow caffeine addicts.
Wow, I thought the coffee creamer market was already crowded, but it got even more crowdeder. Beyond its recent Cafe Collection line, Coffee-mate also has it all-natural creamer, Natural Bliss, featuring real milk and cream. Three flavors are available – vanilla, caramel, and sorry, forgot the third.
With all its naturalness, I hope Natural Bliss isn’t like the off-tasting La Creme.  Found Natural Bliss at Safeway in Hawaii.
Been to the grocery store lately? There’s a new coffee creamer trying to break into the crowded market dominated by Coffee-mate and International Delight. Look for Baileys Coffee Creamers (yes, that Baileys) and see if this new creamer can make it.
I tried the Original Irish Cream and thought it was okay. Baileys has a creamier consistency compared to Coffee-mate and International Delight, but nothing really set it apart.
Interestingly, the Baileys Creamers web site features an iPhone app called Coffee! The app costs $2.99 and displays various pictures of coffee (not associated with Baileys). Hmmm, I’ll pass on the app and will pass on any more Baileys creamer.
I’m always on the lookout for new varieties of canned coffee and espresso drinks. I might have seen this in Hawaii, but in case I’m mistaken, there’s Seattle’s Best Coffee Premium Coffee Drinks.
I got the Vanilla Latte, and for my tastes, it’s just okay. Nothing memorable, but a very drinkable drink. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Just the right amount of vanilla flavor to go with the coffee.
Found this at Vons, so in Hawaii, go look at Safeway.
