{"id":13368,"date":"2012-09-06T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-06T10:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=13368"},"modified":"2023-08-25T21:22:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T07:22:29","slug":"review-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-via-ready-brew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/09\/06\/review-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-via-ready-brew\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice VIA Ready Brew"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Starbucks<\/a><\/p>\n

I always feel a little depressed once Labor Day passes, as I can\u2019t wear white pants anymore. But other people generally have a lot to rejoice over: there\u2019s football and tailgates, every food and drink gets flavored with pumpkin, and I can\u2019t wear white pants anymore.<\/p>\n

Right on cue, Starbucks has re-released their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Lattes. This year, they\u2019re providing an extra treat in the form of the new limited edition Pumpkin Spice VIA Ready Brew. I love the Pumpkin Spiced Lattes (PSLs for those of us who really<\/i> love Starbucks and also really<\/i> love obnoxious acronyms), but have never tried any other VIA flavors before, so I\u2019m in pretty much the exact demographic Starbucks is hoping will try their new Pumpkin Spice VIA and get hooked on their instant coffee offerings.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re approaching the section of my reviews where I like to offer an explanation of the preparation process. Not that this ever gets too complicated (\u201cStep 1, buy ice cream. Step 2, eat ice cream. Step 3\u2026 um, go slow or you might get a headache\u201d), but explaining the steps for preparing instant coffee feels particularly silly when Starbucks dedicates precisely 15 words to explaining it. I heated 8 fluid ounces of 1% milk. I poured packet into cup. I added hot milk. I stirred and enjoyed.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the precisely 15-word version of my review: for instant coffee, it was perfectly fine, but it just didn\u2019t have enough pumpkin flavor.<\/p>\n

There was just a slight whiff of pumpkin scent, both when I had only the content of the packet in the cup and after I stirred in the milk. Instant coffee always tastes indescribable, but noticeably off, and the Pumpkin Spice VIA offering was no different. In a blind taste test, I could have guessed that this was meant to be pumpkin-flavored coffee, but it definitely didn\u2019t compare to the rich, distinctive flavor of a PSL. On the plus side, I thought the amount of sugar in the VIA packet was appropriate; I often find real PSLs to be too sweet.<\/p>\n

\"Starbucks<\/a><\/p>\n

Again, I\u2019ve never sampled any other VIA flavors, but from reading our past reviews I gleaned that the instructions on other varieties recommend mixing with water, so I tried it that way, too. I actually found that adding mostly hot water and just an ounce or so of milk allowed the zest of the spices to shine through better. <\/p>\n

Compared to other instant coffee, these Starbucks Pumpkin Spice VIA Ready Brew packets are good, but they don\u2019t compare to actual Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Also, at more than one dollar per packet, they\u2019re kind of pricey for instant coffee. Still, in hopes of drinking pumpkin spice beverages and wearing white pants at the same time, I\u2019ll stock up on a couple boxes and stash them away for those long months between Pumpkin Spice Lattes.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – 1 packet\/unprepared – 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 13 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> Starbucks Pumpkin Spice VIA Ready Brew
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> $6.95
\nSize:<\/b> 5 packets
\nPurchased at:<\/b> Starbucks
\nRating:<\/b> 6 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Easy to prepare. Does smell and taste of pumpkin. Appropriately sweet. Tastes better with mostly water. Real Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Football and tailgates. Pumpkin flavors are back.
\nCons:<\/b> Pumpkin flavor not strong enough. Instant coffee always tastes a little off. Kind of pricey. Unnecessary acronyms. I can\u2019t wear white pants anymore. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always feel a little depressed once Labor Day passes, as I can\u2019t wear white pants anymore. But other people generally have a lot to rejoice over: there\u2019s football and tailgates, every food and drink gets flavored with pumpkin, and I can\u2019t wear white pants anymore. Right on cue, Starbucks has re-released their seasonal Pumpkin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1540,1542],"class_list":["post-13368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-coffee","tag-starbucks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13310,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/08\/28\/news-get-ready-to-hoard-pumpkin-spice-via-ready-brew-packets-starbucks-pumpkin-spice-latte-fans\/","url_meta":{"origin":13368,"position":0},"title":"NEWS: Get Ready to Hoard Pumpkin Spice VIA Ready Brew Packets Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Fans","author":"Marvo","date":"August 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: Click here to read our Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Pumpkin Spice review There are many people out there who wish the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte was available year round. 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