Starbucks VIA

[Aubrey]

What do you think? Multiple choices allowed.

Edited October 15, 2011 by Aubrey

[Tohru]

:drool5: :001_tt1:

[Catwoman]

:ack2: :ack2: :ack2: :ack2: :ack2:

 

Tried it.

Hated it.

Will not try it again.

[Britomart]

I like it. It's a little pricey for instant coffee, but I bought some for our camping trip this summer, and it was totally worth it in order to have a decent cup of coffee in the morning 'round the campfire.

 

I wouldn't spend the money for it when I had access to a coffeemaker. But in times when you're stuck with instant? VIA actually tastes good. I think there's a niche for it.

[nukeswife]

I'm not a coffee drinker. I only go to SB for the Hot Chocolate and the Caramel Apple Spice. I love the later, like drinking warm apple pie.

[In the Rain]

Worst instant coffee I've ever had.

[Aubrey]

I like it. It's a little pricey for instant coffee, but I bought some for our camping trip this summer, and it was totally worth it in order to have a decent cup of coffee in the morning 'round the campfire.

 

I wouldn't spend the money for it when I had access to a coffeemaker. But in times when you're stuck with instant? VIA actually tastes good. I think there's a niche for it.

 

:iagree: My coffee pot doesn't do less than 2c well, which is fine for first thing in the AM or when dh is home, but if I want one more cup in the afternoon or I'm brewing for just myself in the first place...it's not as good, but it's convenient, & still WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Folgers.

 

Dh thinks it's an abomination. It could ruin our marriage. ;)

 

I voted for *both* of the first options. :lol:

[Aubrey]

I'm not a coffee drinker. I only go to SB for the Hot Chocolate and the Caramel Apple Spice. I love the later, like drinking warm apple pie.

 

Well, YEAH. It's too yummy to drink every day, though. Imagine it tasted like that & was calorie & sugar free. (Or at least had a human level of these things instead of a Santa-Claus-level. :lol:)

 

Then imagine you couldn't drive to S'bucks every day. So they come out w/ an instant powdered version. Not as good, but way better than anything else you can get.

 

You'd want it, right? :D

[Tap]

Sorry, I didn't really agree with any of the options.

 

Via is fine, but not yummy to me.

 

We use at the cabin, at friends homes who don't drink coffee, or camping for quick cups of coffee. It is much easier that taking your own coffee pot everywhere. LOL

 

I wouldn't buy it for around the house every day use, especially at full price. I have bought the Mocha flavored on a 1/2 off rack. I used it in my homemade frappacinnos when I don't have any coffee left in the pot.

[Aubrey]

Sorry, I didn't really agree with any of the options.

 

Via is fine, but not yummy to me.

 

We use at the cabin, at friends homes who don't drink coffee, or camping for quick cups of coffee. It is much easier that taking your own coffee pot everywhere. LOL

 

I wouldn't buy it for around the house every day use, especially at full price. I have bought the Mocha flavored on a 1/2 off rack. I used it in my homemade frappacinnos when I don't have any coffee left in the pot.

 

That sounds like option 2 to me. Not delicious, but good enough when you can't get to real coffee. Better than alternatives--going w/out, drinking Folgers. ;)

[Jen in PA]

It's better than no coffee at all, but that's about it.

[Tap]

That sounds like option 2 to me. Not delicious, but good enough when you can't get to real coffee. Better than alternatives--going w/out, drinking Folgers. ;)

 

Yeah, but I don't think poor folks are buying VIA! It isn't cheap here at least. Still about a dollar a cup. There are cheaper instant coffees on the regular coffee aisle.

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

While I think that Stbx has betrayed their mission by producing instant coffee, I am so very grateful! VIA saves me when we go to visit MIL who buys the cheapest coffee available in her little town. "Swill" is a kindness, but since this is a family forum I won't use the most appropriate word.

 

So I say HURRAY for VIA!

[Lady Florida.]

Yummy? No. Yucky? No. It's decent instant, and perfect for camping. I've tried a lot of options for making coffee when we go camping, and have finally settled on VIA. I wouldn't drink it when I can get brewed coffee, and in fact the only time I've ever had it is on camping trips.

 

We took a camping trip last weekend in the crazy almost-tropical-storm (some weather experts say it actually was a TS) that hit the east coast of Florida. I had plenty of VIA with me, and the 2 other families we were camping with were thankful. We were drinking VIA right up until we all decided it was time to give up the attempt at camping in a storm.

[DaffodilDreams]

I like it just fine. I particularly like the vanilla flavored and the iced via. I make mine with milk, and it tastes great. I've tried the Taster's Choice flavored instant packs, too, because they are so much cheaper, but I have to use at least three servings before I actually taste coffee. Via only takes one serving, and I can make a huge mug of joe with that one little stick pack. I do use them most often when traveling, but I've been known to break out a pack around 3pm or so if it's been that kind of day.

[Aubrey]

Yeah, but I don't think poor folks are buying VIA! It isn't cheap here at least. Still about a dollar a cup. There are cheaper instant coffees on the regular coffee aisle.

 

I should say--I've never bought it or looked at the price. This thread is purely about taste/quality/philosophy. ;)

 

I've had a cup from a packet that a friend left w/ me. Definitely not the best cup of coffee ever, but wow. Better than a lot of options. Better than brewed Folgers.

 

But I have to say, I'd sooner go w/out coffee than drink instant coffee in the brands I've tried. Blech!

[Aubrey]

While I think that Stbx has betrayed their mission by producing instant coffee, I am so very grateful! VIA saves me when we go to visit MIL who buys the cheapest coffee available in her little town. "Swill" is a kindness, but since this is a family forum I won't use the most appropriate word.

 

So I say HURRAY for VIA!

 

That's why I voted for both of the 1st two options! :p

[Donna]

I don't drink coffee but I bought VIA to send to my brother when he was in Iraq.

[*********]

That sounds like option 2 to me. Not delicious, but good enough when you can't get to real coffee. Better than alternatives--going w/out, drinking Folgers. ;)

 

I'm not a coffee drinker, so bear with me.

 

My dsd drinks coffee. We have a coffee maker she uses when she's here, and I buy her whatever coffee she asks for.

 

But I also bought her a french press at Ikea for like $4. And I hear it makes a good cup of coffee.

 

So if you're an avid coffee drinker, and are going camping or something where you don't have a coffee pot, wouldn't a french press with whatever ground coffee you prefer be better than instant? Don't you just need hot water and grounds for the french press? That seems just as easy to me as hot water and instant coffee, but with a french press, you'd have your regular 'brand', and it tastes better, right?

 

Just wondering. Feel free to enlighten me. I'll need to know what to send dsd with when she goes off to college next fall. :D

[LaxMom]

:ack2: :ack2: :ack2: :ack2: :ack2:

 

Tried it.

Hated it.

Will not try it again.

TOTAL.

ABOMINATION.

 

:ack2:

[Aubrey]

I'm not a coffee drinker, so bear with me.

 

My dsd drinks coffee. We have a coffee maker she uses when she's here, and I buy her whatever coffee she asks for.

 

But I also bought her a french press at Ikea for like $4. And I hear it makes a good cup of coffee.

 

So if you're an avid coffee drinker, and are going camping or something where you don't have a coffee pot, wouldn't a french press with whatever ground coffee you prefer be better than instant? Don't you just need hot water and grounds for the french press? That seems just as easy to me as hot water and instant coffee, but with a french press, you'd have your regular 'brand', and it tastes better, right?

 

Just wondering. Feel free to enlighten me. I'll need to know what to send dsd with when she goes off to college next fall. :D

 

French pressed coffee is The Best, yes. I have a to-go mug that has a built-in press. It's not quick & easy, though. The water part is the same, & putting in grounds vs instant would be the same, but clean-up afterward is a beast (imo) w/ the press. At least...I've managed to avoid that job for over 5 years now. :lol:

 

I don't go camping, so I can't speak to that. I'm talking...a rainy afternoon where you literally want ONE cup of coffee. Esp if your dc are too little to make it for you & you're sick or 9mos pg or some other form of lazy. ;) Mainly, you don't want to waste the extra cup. Which, as it turns out, might be cheaper than paying for a sub-par cup of via. :001_huh:

 

I'd send a college dd *both.* With the press, she'll be very popular w/ coffee drinkers & prepared for late night philosophical discussions, which is important for college. :D W/ the Via, she'll be prepared to get up in a hurry the next morning for a test. :lol:

[Tangerine]

I think VIA is good for instant coffee. That's it. DH and I have both worked for the buck (18 years between us). I guarantee you, they are not betraying their mission! Their mission is to make money, and VIA is fitting the bill. Green coffee prices have skyrocketed, and they are coming up with ways to bring in the $$. Some of the decisions they've made have distressed us as employees, but it is what it is.

[LaxMom]

I'm not a coffee drinker, so bear with me.

 

My dsd drinks coffee. We have a coffee maker she uses when she's here, and I buy her whatever coffee she asks for.

 

But I also bought her a french press at Ikea for like $4. And I hear it makes a good cup of coffee.

 

So if you're an avid coffee drinker, and are going camping or something where you don't have a coffee pot, wouldn't a french press with whatever ground coffee you prefer be better than instant? Don't you just need hot water and grounds for the french press? That seems just as easy to me as hot water and instant coffee, but with a french press, you'd have your regular 'brand', and it tastes better, right?

 

Just wondering. Feel free to enlighten me. I'll need to know what to send dsd with when she goes off to college next fall. :D

I used to travel with my coffee maker (no, seriously.). We bought an inverter for the car so I could plug it in. When I traveled for work, my coworkers would make fun. But they would sure be happy not to have that 2 cup deal and the pod that went with it when the got up in the morning.

 

We have a camping percolator. Water, grounds, fire, and you have enough coffee so there's no smackdown amongst the adults while waiting for the next round. The coffee is good enough that we switched to a percolator at home, too, but it's electric because our burners are too big for a stove top model. Even fairly cheap coffee tastes good from the percolator.

[Chelle in MO]

I voted for the last option, then read the thread. Call me enlightened! I can't contribute anything of substance to the discussion, though. Dr. Pepper, not coffee, is my poison!

[BarbecueMom]

It gave me the runs. Ex-lax-accino. :thumbdown:

[DawnM]

I like it, particularly the Christmas blend.....but it is pricey so I don't buy it.

 

Dawn

[Princess Peach]

I voted "decent". If I was going to have instant coffee, that's what I would pick.

[Audrey]

Voted. Have no clue what VIA is. Starbuck's has long been an unethical company with whom I refuse to do business.

[redsquirrel]

I like it. It's a little pricey for instant coffee, but I bought some for our camping trip this summer, and it was totally worth it in order to have a decent cup of coffee in the morning 'round the campfire.

 

I wouldn't spend the money for it when I had access to a coffeemaker. But in times when you're stuck with instant? VIA actually tastes good. I think there's a niche for it.

 

Life saver when camping.