eventually i (with great difficulty) had to switch to decaf…i used to make fun of people who drank decaf, but my day had come. i could NOT find any decaf that tasted like coffee. the best of it was just endurable, and nothing more.

UNTiL i stopped into starbucks and tried their pike decaf…i know decaf coffees have about 10 percent residual decaf (10 percent of the original brews)…my guess is that pike decaf has even more…but it’s a small price to pay for a decaf that actually tastes like real coffee.

not only does it taste like real coffee, it is better than most whole bean brands out there. tasting it, i would not know it was decaf.

i do get a bit of a lift from it, so i’m guessing it has about 20 percent of the caffeine it’s normal coffees have, but i’ve tried decaf/normal coffee bean mixing before and the result still was awful. this pike decaf is a Godsend to those of us who want to (almost) get off drugs (caffeine) but still love our coffee.

now, if they could make a cigarette that wouldn’t give you cancer, i could go back to smoking.

Yes, there’s more to coffee than just a dark roast profile. In my book, Pike Place Roast is a respectable blend with an appropriate medium-roast that compliments the beans.

Starbucks doesn’t publish information about the origins that make up the blend, and I’m another that would be interested in more details. I always like to learn more about the coffee I taste.

Here’s my take … given the volume of PPR that Starbucks brews everyday, they can’t go too far outside for unusual or specialty origins. They want to keep the result consistent batch after batch, and go with predictable harvest in sufficient quantities. So the brighter acidity is safely a Latin American characteristic (maybe Costa Rica or Guatemala). Latin America is probably the major component, but there is some citrus/lemon perhaps from an African origin (maybe Kenya), and nice body might come from a Pacific/Asian component.

That’s my guess, although a bit general and vague. If anyone has more insight on the makeup of the PPR blend, let us know ….

Mark

I left Starbucks to work for a more prestigious, small coffee shop that attracts “cult-coffee” goers. Our coffee shop competed in barista competitions and went to the coffee conventions…we took our job seriously!

My comment and question about Pike Place is that it is surprisingly good coffee, absolutely not what I expected from Starbucks!!! What origins do they use in the blend? I cannot find this information anywhere!

Just a little 2 cents from a customer.

Don’t employees get a free 1# of coffee per week. What is the stuff they are taking home?

It makes me sick.

Good to have someone from Starbucks here to weigh in. I’m backing you up, a statement like “WORST excuse for coffee” is on the dramatic side. Which doesn’t really help people understand more about coffee.

And we also appreciate everyone’s opinion, it keeps things the conversation lively.

What we’re all about here is opening up the coffee experience for people, helping folks understand more about the wide variety of coffee available. That’s why we offer a “Coffee Tasting Course” to expand the coffee palette and learn more about the full coffee experience.

While I love a strong bold coffee, there is more to great coffee than just an over-powering dark roast component. The subtle flavors, body, finish and aromas that can stand out when you tone down the big bold strong roast profile just a bit can be very enjoyable. And there are so many satisfying examples of these interesting coffees from Central and South America to explore, whether it’s Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, or Colombia, to name a few of my favorites.

No question, “Pike Place Roast” is a milder coffee, but I find it a very respectable Latin American. It would be interesting and fun to find out more about which origins exactly are in the blend?

One thing is for certain, coffee definitely brings out people’s strong opinions and passion. That’s just one of the things we love about coffee!

Thanks for sharing and looking forward to hearing more from you and our Starbucks friends.

Mark Harris