Really Starbucks? Gold Card is For Fools

In 2009, Ms. Darkroasted and I paid $25 each to become Starbuck's Gold Card members and reap the benefits of this exclusive club. For our money, we received 10 percent off of all our purchases from drinks to beans to merchandise. It was a great deal for high volume users like my family. As we cracked 2010, I received my updated card in the mail. It was shiny and had my name personalized on it once again making me feel special. Then the truth ripped the shine right off that worthless piece of plastic.

Gone! Gone was my 10 percent discount. Under the new plan,  I get some peripheral perks and after every 15 drinks I get a freebie. This hurts a little bit. I mean, anyone who knows me is aware that I am a leading spokesperson for Starbucks. And now, I am left to swim in the same pool as the unwashed masses.

I have to hand it to the Starbucks marketing department. Here was the explanation for those of us who became members back when this perk mattered:

"To our dear early adopters of Starbucks Gold...  You made 2009 a great year, and you showed us that a rewards program was exactly what you wanted from Starbucks. As a special thanks, we're inviting you into the Gold Level of My Starbucks rewards."

Let me translate for you:  "Dear existing Gold member. Wow, you really took us for a ride with that discount. I mean, whew, we couldn't afford that for another year if we tried. So here are some nice words and we are going to hope that this prose and this new shiny card with your name on it will confuse you into forgetting the perks are all gone."

Message received.

On The Road: Morning Light Coffee Roasters

We are vacationing in Montana visiting our family.  Our first stop is Great Falls so of course we had to stop by local coffee refuge Morning Light Coffee Roasters.  This beloved local hangout is a must stop for Great Falls residents and tracks its roots in the state back to 1988. As you walk in the door, you are hit by an atmosphere that is at once western and friendly with a touch of the relaxed earthy feel most specialty coffee shops cherish.

Mrs. Darkroast, Tiny Roast and I were happy to be accompanied by my sister and brother-in-law.  I chose the triple shot cappuccino and found the brew good but a little watered down with milk (a common mistake I find with many baristas.) 

Mrs. Darkroast disagreed with me and felt it was just a medium roast unlike the dark intense roast I tend to prefer.  She's probably right, she usually is!  She had her usual vanilla cappuccino with caramel syrup, and tiny roast gave his vanilla milk a big smile and double nod.  Even so, the coffee had a nice earthy tone with low acidity and I still found myself enjoying it about an hour later. Mrs. Darkroast also purchased a cool mug made by Miam.Miam and we all devoured a light and fluffy berry muffin made at the shop.  Mrs. Darkroast wanted to sneak in the kitchen and steal the recipe.

Our real enjoyment at places like this comes in the atmosphere. Mrs. Darkroast feels I should give two ratings from now on -- one for the coffee and one for the atmosphere. I do feel like these are both critical components for a successful coffee shop. This place had a warm feel including a wall of coffee mugs where the regulars leave their personal cups.

Morning Light stakes its claim as the largest specialty coffee distributor in Montana with a variety of options for the western connoisseur. It was a nice spot and I am going to give it a B+ for it's coffee and an A- for atmosphere. We will be in Helena, Montana, later this week and will post from there when we check out Fireside Coffee.

Embedded Starbucks: Baby Steps from Diner Coffee?

Ahhhh, Christmas Eve. It is a time of great joy. As I jetted around town yesterday with my family getting last minute gifts, we arrived at our local Target store. Of course, this seemed like the perfect moment to double my shopping pleasure by visiting the Starbucks stand embedded in the front of the store.

Lately, Mrs. Darkroasted, another friend of mine from church and I have been having a running discussion about whether embedded Starbucks in hotels, bookstores, truck stops, grocery stores and your local Target produce the same quality of coffee as the stand-alone outlets.

So naturally I ordered my standard grande cappuccino and then we walked on while I let it cool. I have a picture of this drink below. Tell me if you can figure out what is wrong with this picture.

Notice the silky smooth texture and complete lack of actual coffee in the drink. LOL, I took two sips of the sweetest steamed milk you ever had. But sadly, there was no espresso in there. When I went back to Gwendolyn to request the coffee in my coffee, she seemed less than pleased. That makes two of us.

Mrs. Darkroasted also got her standard caramel macchiato and then rapidly declared it was baby steps from diner coffee. I am afraid this is just one more example of how the phrase,  "we proudly brew Starbucks," doesn't mean anything if the baristas behind the counter also work cash register nine when things get busy.

I rarely ever get a bad drink from a stand-alone Starbucks, but these in-store deals are a bit of a roller coaster ride. What's your experience? Give me your comments.

Merry Christmas everyone  and watch out for counterfeit Starbucks. :-)

Review: Bourbon Coffee D.C.

A colleague of mine suggested that I check out a new coffee shop near our office called Bourbon Coffee. If your reaction is the same as mine, you would of course wonder why it is called "Bourbon". It sounds more like a liquor store than a coffee joint. A quick Wikipedia search revealed the following:

Bourbon coffee is a type of coffee produced from the Bourbon cultivar of the Coffea arabica species of coffee plant. Bourbon coffee was first produced in Réunion, which was known as Île Bourbon before 1789. It was later taken by the French to mainland Africa and to Latin America, and is now one of the two most popular Arabica coffees grown worldwide^. Bourbon coffee is usually produced at heights between 3,500 and 6,500 feet.

The Bourbon Coffee shop at 2101 L Street NW in D.C took advantage of a recently shuttered Starbucks and used the same space to launch its first U.S. store after opening two successful stores in Rwanda. As I and a colleague visited today, we discussed how this store was going to be able to survive when the Starbucks in the same location could not. I think the answer is in the coffee.

My colleague tried a plain drip and I ordered an espresso machiato. True to the regional roots of this coffee maker, the brew was earthy with a slight acidity to give it a little bite, but not too much. Another friend at work mentioned that this earthy taste comes from the process used in this region of Africa. The coffee cherry is left on while the beans dry.

If you are looking for the same clean coffee house feel you get at a Starbucks,  with an African twist and a taste that settles some place in the middle of Starbucks and Illy, this is a great way to mix things up.

On The Road: Rock N Joe

So I spent last weekend in Bethlehem, Pa., and our friends asked me to check out  a new coffee joint they have enjoyed lately called Rock N Joe.  Although I am generally a Starbucks guy all the way, I figured...when in Rome.

Rock N Joe is a small coffee franchise with a handful of cafes in New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania.  They seem to be aggressively franchising. While the rock-theme interior and music are appealing, this is a tough niche to break into.

I ordered the spinach quiche and my friends also ordered a variety of salads and sandwiches. In addition, I had a double espresso and Ms. Darkroasted had a caramel macchiato.

The food was well presented and had great taste. Even so, for me the real test would be the coffee. The espresso was better than I have had at many establishments. It was strong and smooth. The macchiato was well presented - as you can see - and Ms. Darkroasted said it was superior to the Starbuck's drink she normally enjoys.

While the food and coffee were excellent, it was the customer service where this shop shined the brightest. In an era when coffee houses sometime grind customer after customer through the door, this small franchise was polite, patient and consistently attentive as the employees made sure we enjoyed the visit.

If they keep up this combination of service and quality product, they may just make it.