Instant Coffee Revolution?

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew
Single-Serving Instant Coffee packs

Taste: 6/10 (Not quite Turkish Coffee, but markedly better than instant.)
Marketing: 11/10

"Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."

(Turkish Proverb)

Starbucks' new-ish single-serving instant coffee known as 'VIA' has 3 gum-stick-size packets in one slim package. Opening the top reveals three shiny packets. These packets are sexy, and possess a clear urban chic. They are designed using colors which one would associate with coffee culture - luxurious brown, white, gold. Holding one between your fingers feels like holding a cigarette or a condom case. You need to hold it to believe it.

The VIA package itself easily belongs in the room of a luxury business hotel. In fact, behind the middle packet is a little mug logo and the phrase "Hotel stay," indicating that the product was at least partially intended for this purpose. On the cover is a cutout of a takeout cardboard coffee cup, with details of the brew indicated with little X's, as they would be indicated on a real cup of coffee to-go. Here again Starbucks paid attention to the little things. The colours feel modern, and again, bold. But they are calming as well, as coffee products should be.

It should be clear by now that taste is not my main focus with this product.

Starbucks is trying to milk the instant coffee cow. They came up with an idea that would elevate their instant above the competition. The idea was to add pure ground coffee to their freeze-dried granules, giving a taste more closely resembling a freshly-brewed cup. And it sort of worked. Of course this solution has already been in use for hundreds of years by the Turks. Turkish coffee (more like the Israeli version of Turkish Coffee) is just finely ground coffee which is added to hot water. And then consumed. It is fantastic. It is strong, bold, sweet, and it doesn't need to pose as a different product - because it is much loved on its own merits.

Ready Brew does take some of the grossness out of instant, but not all of it. To me it tastes like 3 ingredients were loosely mixed together - drip coffee, instant coffee, and ground coffee.

I've read lots of reviews saying that this coffee is midway between classic instant and freshly-brewed coffee. That's not a bad description. But if you have the option, go for the real deal - and make an intense cup of Turkish coffee. It's just as portable, twice as strong, and doesn't involve any compromises.