Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay Coming to Hawaii Next Week?
The ability to place your Starbucks order and pay using its mobile app is coming to Hawaii in the coming week. At least the Pearl City Starbucks location is advertising this mobile feature.
The ability to place your Starbucks order and pay using its mobile app is coming to Hawaii in the coming week. At least the Pearl City Starbucks location is advertising this mobile feature.
Of course origami from Starbucks is not going to be your typical folding paper. Instead, origami from Starbucks looks like this.
Starbucks Origami is a personal drip, single serve coffee in a foldout packet. Assemble the packet above a cup, pour in hot water, and get fresh brewed coffee. Convenient, fast, easy cleanup, kinda fun, but just average tasting for me anyways. The Veranda light roast is a little too light, and I should have used hotter water. One Origami packet filled half the pictured mug. Still though, this setup feels more authentic than using instant coffee crystals.
I picked these up in Hong Kong, but they were originally released in Japan back in 2010. I haven’t seen Starbucks Origami in any American stores, and I don’t think I will with the availability of Starbucks VIA Instant.
More pictures of the Starbucks Origami.
Starting on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, Starbucks is raising its prices on select drinks. Not sure which drinks are impacted other than brewed coffee.
There’s no better way of celebrating the American tradition of Independence Day with good old American capitalism.
One block away from BP International in Hong Kong is a seemingly small Starbucks location on Nathan Road. Once you enter however, you’ll see a Starbucks about twice as big as regular shops. There’s the front window section which is typically sized. Then there’s the coffee bar. Then there’s the back seating area that’s almost as big as the front. All in all, a deceptively big store (for a Starbucks).
Blueberry seems to have been the flavor profile for Hong Kong. No blueberry drinks per se, but lots of blueberry pastries and baked goods. I would have gone for a slice of the blueberry cheesecake but just got a Ristretto Bianco instead.
There was a cool, multi-paneled wall art illustrating coffee plants that nearly stretched across the length of the entire store.
Interestingly, ordering at Starbucks is relatively simple. I guess the lexicon of Starbucks and coffee is universal. Of course, all the drink names are known by the baristas. When I asked for non-fat milk, the worker replied, “Oh, you mean a skinny.” One small change I learned was “no whip (cream)” is just “no cream.”
Oh and hey, Starbucks is celebrating 15 years in Hong Kong. There are a several promotional items for this event tagged #HAPi15th (not sure why the capitalization is as such). Here’s a color-changing #HAPi15th mug.
Before you enter the casino area at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, you need a boost to fortify your gambling frame of mind. No better way than making a stop at the 24-hour Starbucks right next to the casino entry.
A good sized location but not huge, but no matter if you’re just going to down your caffeine and get back to gambling. Free wifi for 30 minutes using the code on your receipt. Had too much caffeine? Detox by drinking fruit juices instead, and don’t forget that when using cash, your change will be in Macau’s pataca currency.
A few more pics on Flickr.
Before heading out for our #HIChina15 tour, I looked up Starbucks locations near our hotels. Luckily, one of the newest Starbucks flagship stores in China is at the Kerry Center. This two story location features a very unique interior design with coffee bars on both floors.
It’s here I sampled the Discover a Sip of Summer promotions exclusive to China. Being late in the evening, I opted for the less caffeinated Summer Berry Italian Panna Cotta Frappuccino. As you can expect, this drink is sweet, and the panna cotta layer was akin to drinking a boba or jelly drink. Kinda distracting sucking up a chunk of jelly when you’re not expecting it. And yes, it was very berry-ful tasting.
For those who are fearful of drinking the water in China, don’t worry. This Starbucks location offers up filtered water from a stone basin.
Check out a few more pictures of the Starbucks Kerry Center location.
Saw this new canned coffee/espresso drink from Columbus Coffee Roasters. There were two flavors, New World Vanilla and Mocha, and I didn’t see the Forte Extra Bold Latte. The can touts two shots of espresso per (11-oz.) can with 230 calories, 8% total fat, and 18% saturated fat.
First sip. Very caramelly. Very sweet. Definitely tastes more like caramel rather than vanilla.
Can feel the caffeine buzz starting to build. That sweetness persists as an aftertaste, and you want to drink more to mask that aftertaste. This, of course, just leads to a vicious cycle. Overall tastes good, but I could do with less sweetness. Gotta try the Latte when I see it. Right now, this drink is expensive, and I know I paid a premium at $2.77. But hey, it was an impulsive buy since I’d never seen this drink before.
Are your childhood memorizes scarred after watching a dark remake of the Power Rangers? Need something to pick you up and restore your sweet memories of the colorful rangers not shot up and bloodied?
Head on over to Starbucks right now and cleanse yourself by ordering the “Ariana Grande.” Yes, the pop singer’s name naturally fits into the Starbucks menu, but what will you get with this off-menu custom order? How about a drink that’s going to have extra everything? As in:
From Buzzfeed.
Extra? Check. Sweet? Check. Feeling better? Check. Until that is the sugar high is replaced by a precipitous sugar low that draws you to search out the even darker NSFW version of the Power Rangers remake…
Today, Starbucks has two additional drinks on their menu, the Tiramisu Latte and the Caramel Flan Latte. The Caramel Flan Latte actually debuted last year but is back as part of the caramel motif at Starbucks. So while I initially thought the Caramel Flan Latte didn’t really taste like its namesakes, I think the Tiramisu Latte is spot on. After my first sip, I instantly recognized tiramisu.
The price of the Tiramisu Latte is a whole lot of fat. I went with non-fat milk and light whipped cream, and it’s still a loaded drink. But I think you really need some whipped cream for the full tiramisu experience, just not the same without it. I’m thinking this drink is a great seasonal addition. I can’t imagine this as a full-time menu option since it’s kinda too sweet.
I’m not so addicted as to attempt what Thrillist has done – ordering and ranking every drink on a Starbucks regular menu. Keep in mind this ranking is on the regular stuff, not the seasonal specials. I won’t spoil the list since you should check it out yourself, but here are some of my comments.
My personal go-to drink, the Caramel Macchiato (hot) came in at a disappointing #33 with the iced version ranking at #25. I don’t drink Refreshers or any teas so I have no opinion on these.
I’ve rediscovered my current favorite, the Starbucks Doubleshot on Ice. Freshly made, this drink can’t be beat. It tastes great, is relatively inexpensive, and is low on calories. You gotta be ready for the caffeine kick though, and sadly once the drink starts getting watered down as the ice melts, its flavor profile changes. The recently added Flat White is surprisingly way up there on the ranked list although I don’t disagree. It must be the whole milk that smooths everything out.
Anyways, it’s a fun list to look at and see where your favorite Starbucks drink falls.
While Starbucks’ most recent Star Dash is targeted for the addicted, a better, more viable alternative is this promotion for Rewards members.
That’s 4 bonus stars with the purchase of one espresso beverage like the new Flat White. So with one drink, you’ll earn 5 stars (one for the purchase and four bonus). Although this promotion is only good for about a week, I can see myself visiting Starbucks three times in a week to accumulate 15 stars.
Wow, Starbucks’ latest personalized Star Dash is definitely one for the addicted. My goal to complete the Star Dash? Make 30 purchases to get a bonus of 15 stars. 30 purchases from January 20 to February 19, 2015.
I don’t think the motto of “Shine on” is appropriate for this challenge. More like “Shake on” after consuming all that caffeine and/or sugar. I’ll concede this Star Dash right now thank you very much.