Ok, I just read the cheeseball, hack job review of the new Pike Place Roast in Time Magazine online by JAMES PONIEWOZIK.
Somebody give him his binky back as all he did was WAHHHHH all through the article. Saying that his first “sip of Pikes Place was simultaneously harsh and weak.” It’s not weak, it’s smooth. And it is supposed to be that way. The idea for the coffee was to provide a coffee that was accessible to the widest number of COFFEE and NON-COFFEE DRINKERS. So I like to call it a gateway coffee.
Most Starbucks brewed coffees are roasted dark, 2nd crack and that is usually a coffee for a more seasoned drinker, The Pike Place Roast is not acidic at all and that means that it is not going to hang on your pallet long after the drink leaves your mouth.
Poniewozik compares the coffee to be an attempt to be more like Dunkin Donuts coffee, maybe, maybe not. It is for sure an attempt by Starbucks to go after some of the market that is being challenged by Dunkin, McDonald’s and Burger King.
When I am not brewing my own Starbucks Italian Roast coffee in a French Press Travel Mug from Starbucks, my favorite cup of coffee can be had for .90 a cup. It is served fresh and hot 24 hours a day from the sterile drive thru at White Castle. After that I love, LOVE, LOOOVVVEEE the coffee at Jolly Pirate Donuts in Columbus, OH. Sadly, the business model in place at Jolly Pirate is old and competition is fierce so they are likely to be a thing of the past very soon finally I give props to my favorite on the road coffee…found on the east coast at Sheetz!
Coffee I will not go near is served at McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s, Wendy’s, Bob Evans and pretty much any national chain restaurant.
One other thing that Mr. Poniewozik mis-states in his article he stated that the Pike Place Roast is special in that it is brewed fresh every half hour. It is true that Pikes Place Roast is brewed each half hour with whatever isn’t sold from that brew cycle being discarded. BUT, that is actually the standard on any coffee brewed by Starbucks.
The thing that is special about Pike Place roast is that it is brewed ALL DAY LONG replacing the “House Brew” that previously was the all day coffee.
I like Pike Place roast coffee and would encourage you to visit your local Starbucks and ask them for a SAMPLE taste…it may be just what you’re looking for in a coffee.