Beverages: March 2011 Archives

To celebrate 40 years of taking over every other corner of the world, starting in Seattle, Starbucks has a couple ways to celebrate this year. (I kind of joke about the every other corner part, you know what I mean.)
Not being a coffee drinker since I was probably 12 years old, it took me a lot longer than most to jump on the Starbucks grande latte, no foam, skim milk, coffee craze. (I don't even know if that's a real drink.)
It wasn't until I was introduced to the Frappuccino - frozen cappuccino - less than 10 years ago that I was sucked in. Though it's not a daily ritual, I admit I like to treat myself to an occasional caramel frapp - being caffeine sensitive, a little of that goes a long way for me.

First, in celebration of this milestone, Starbucks will offer one free Starbucks Petite to each customer purchasing any beverage on Customer Tribute Day, from 2 to 5 p.m. today, March 10, through March 12 at participating stores in U.S. and Canada.

Starbucks Petites are eight petite sweets, perfectly sized for an afternoon treat, that are made with only premium ingredients and all under 200 calories. The treats range from whoopie pies to mini cupcakes and more.

I took advantage of this deal today and cooled down with a sweetened iced green tea. I decided to try the red velvet whoopie pie. The size was definitely perfect. If I was a giant, it would be a crumb but trying to be lady-like, I took a few bites to devour this little goodness that was filled with a sweet cream cheese filling and topped with a red little glaze. Careful, there was a lot of red dye in the glaze which left me with pink fingers. This was actually my first whoopie pie and the cake was moist and delicious.

At $1.50 each, it would have to be a special occasion or a bad-day pick-me-up to grab one of these small desserts. I picked up a latte for a co-worker and she tried the birthday cake flavored cake pop with light pink frosting. She said the cake was moist and sweet. She had tried other cake pops before that were crumbly but was surprised how well this one held up.

Starbucks is also launching its Starbucks Tribute Blend that pays tribute to "customers, partners (employees) and the accomplishments of coffee farmers and roasters over the past 40 years." The new coffee is a blend of four coffees, from three coffee growing regions using three different coffee processing methods such as Aged Sumatra, that is semi-washed and aged; Sun-dried Ethiopian coffee that is naturally processed; Washed coffee from Papua New Guinea; and Washed coffee from Colombia.
The Starbucks Tribute Blend will also be available as Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

WHAT'S YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE AT STARBUCKS?