Pike Place Roast, Instant
Pike Place is the coffee Starbucks brews all day in every store, a medium roast with cocoa and toasted nut notes built to be drunk by the cup. The VIA version keeps the profile and loses a little of the body. If your home coffee is a bag of Pike Place Roast, the packet is the same coffee for the days you cannot brew.
It is the VIA that takes milk and sugar best, because a medium roast has enough body to carry them, and it is the one to keep at work.
| Item | Caffeine | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Starbucks VIA Instant Pike Place Roast | n/a | n/a |
Brewing and Stretching a Packet
- One packet, 8 oz of hot water, stir. That is the cup.
- For a 12 oz mug use one packet and accept a lighter cup, or two packets in 16 oz.
- With milk: a splash of 2% or a nondairy milk works; it is the packet for a homemade latte.
- Iced: 4 oz hot water to dissolve, then ice and cold water or milk.
- In a thermos: two packets and 16 oz of hot water make a cup that holds for a commute.
Pike Place vs the Other Packets
Against Starbucks VIA Instant Veranda Blend the Pike Place packet is fuller and less bright. Against Starbucks VIA Instant Italian Roast it is lighter and less roasty. It is the middle of the three in every respect, which is why it sells the most. The hot Pike Place packet also makes a better iced coffee than most people expect, dissolved strong and iced.
Who Buys VIA Pike Place
- Anyone who drinks Pike Place at the counter and wants the same thing at a desk.
- Travelers, campers and hotel rooms.
- Offices without a machine.
- A backup for the home brewer.
- A base for a quick homemade latte with steamed or frothed milk.
The packet is coffee only, with no allergens and no nutrition or caffeine figure in the reference data. Black, it is near zero calories.