Starbucks reveals iPhone apps, heralds mobile e-commerce

Extra-hot venti with whip white chocolate mocha?

Yeah, there’s an app for that.

Starbucks has introduced two new applications for the iPhone and iPod touch that will allow users to order and pay for coffee beverages directly from the device.

The myStarbucks application allows you to customize your favorite drink, remember friends’ or coworkers’ preferred drinks and locate nearby Starbucks stores to order them. The app allows you to share your concoction with others (hey, intern!).

For the uninitiated, a flavor selector helps you choose a coffee based on flavors like earthy, balanced or nutty.

For horror lovers, you can also look up nutritional information.

The other app, the Starbucks Card Mobile App, is in a limited run and will allow people in select West Coast stores to pay for beverages using a bar code on a phone’s screen.

(If you’re in Seattle; Cupertino, Calif.; Mountain View, Calif.; Sunnyvale, Calif.; and San Jose, Calif., check your local store for more info.)

The app is essentially a digitized Starbucks card: you buy credit, then use it against purchases. The store can scan the barcode and the dollar value of the drink will be subtracted from your credit repository.

Is the barcode the wave of the future? It’s unclear. But either way, it’s the easiest method invented to date on spending $5 on a cup of coffee.

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A note to all my coffee-drinking friends:

Starbucks is about to launch its biggest product rollout ever, and I want YOU to be one of the first to know about it.

VIA™ Ready Brew: What is it?

When I first heard about VIA™ Ready Brew, I was skeptical. However, when I tasted VIA™ Ready Brew, I was amazed! This is not your grandma’s instant coffee! It’s rich, flavorful Starbucks^® coffee in an instant we like to say.

Starbucks found a way to offer a truly great cup of coffee that you can prepare by just adding hot or cold water—YES! I said COLD water! Iced coffee!

While other instant coffees taste flat and lifeless, Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew is different – it’s full-bodied and flavorful, just like the Starbucks^® coffee we all know and love.

It’s made with the highest quality, ethically sourced, 100% Arabica beans. The difference is in the proprietary, all-natural process that Starbucks spent years perfecting. The coffee is micro-ground in a way that preserves all of its essential oils and flavor. No other coffee company takes this step, and it makes all the difference!

VIA™ Ready Brew comes in portable, fresh individual packets, each delivering a delicious 8-oz. cup of coffee—great for people on the go!

Someone even said, “It’s like cheating on your French press.” That’s how good it is.

VIA™ Ready Brew is available in Italian Roast, which is rich, intense and Extra Bold, and Colombia, which is smooth, nutty and Medium.

I am now taking pre-orders at my store so you can be assured you’ll be one of the first to get your hands on it. If you’re interested, or if you have any question about VIA™ Ready Brew, please let me know.

Would you like to go ahead and pre-order a 12-pack of VIA Ready Brew today?

42-day Challenge: Italian Roast

Date: 9/14/09

Notes: Funny that a Latin American blend would be called “Italian” Roast– just doesn’t seem right. What a RICH coffee! The aroma is intense, not at all smoky as I expected, like French Roast. Has a high acidity– the flavor lingers long in my mouth. The flavor lingers in my mouth longer than any coffee I can recall. This is odd, but after a few minutes it reminds me of when we used to have to lick postage stamps– now I’m dating my self! LOL 🙂

42-day Challenge: French Roast

Date: 9/15/09

Notes: You really don’t expect this smoky goodness from a Latin American coffee. I’m getting the aroma of a very ripe piece of cheese and some mushrooms. Really tasting this coffee on the very tip of my tongue. I remember when I did my very first tasting with French Roast, Starbucks’ darkest roast, about a year ago and I hated it! My palate was not trained to distinguish the sometimes not so subtle differences in coffees as it is now– just a side note. The shot is almost bitter, but a good kind of bitter– almost a tartness. I am really not picking up on as much “smokiness” as I expected from this coffee.

42-day Challenge: Gazebo

Date: 9/11/09

Notes: This coffee is so rich and elegant that there’s even crema around the rim of the cup from the press. The aroma lends itself to a citrus note, of course. However, I think I’m almost picking up on some “woodsy” in the press. I wouldn’t really tag it earthy, but definitely woodsy. Very low acidity. I’m really not picking up on as much citrusy in the flavor as I expected- ODD I know

42-day Challenge: Komoda Dragon

Date: 9/10/09

Notes: Komodo Dragon is a blend. Before grinding the beans I immediately notice the different bean sizes. Even the smell of the grinds is intoxicating! I am so totally prepared for a BIG BOLD punch in the mouth! Ahhh… the body! The creama on the shot is so rich and think it creeps up the sides of the cup. Definitely getting some citrus in the aroma. WoW! Lots of citrus in the flavor of the drip. Not so much in the press. The press is more earthy– I expected that. Bold but very low acidity. Not much left on the tongue. Would be a great coffee following a hearty meal.

42-day Challenge: Organic Shade Grown Mexico

Date: 9/10/09

Notes: lite, lively body – very lite! The crema on the shot is thick, covering the entire top. Not a great deal of difference between the drip and the press. The press, of course, presents more of the natural oils from the bean but doesn’t seem to be that much more bold in its aroma or flavor. The word that comes to mind here is “SNAP”, crisp, fresh, reFRESHing! I can see me sipping this coffee on a summer morning with breakfast on the patio 🙂