by Nigel Ong
The Starbucks Veranda Blend is a popular light roast enjoyed by many. However, not all have the luxury of being able to brew their own coffee. As a result, Starbucks introduced the instant coffee version through its Starbucks Via lineup.
The question, however, is how good is the instant version? Will Starbucks Via Veranda Blend taste just as satisfying as the original whole bean roast, or just a marketing gimmick to generate more sales? Let’s find out.
In this post, I will sip and review the Starbucks Veranda Blend in the whole bean and instant version. I will then compare how close they are in taste and if you should consider switching to the Starbucks Via instant version.
About Starbucks Veranda Blend
The Starbucks Veranda Blend was introduced in 2012 as a ‘perfect weekend morning’ brew to complement its range of light roasts.
The idea is to sip your cup of Veranda Blend while sitting on a swinging chair and enjoying the sights and nature on the veranda or the porch. It has since become one of Starbucks’ most popular roasts.
Whole Bean Roast
The whole bean roast uses 100% Arabica beans sourced from Latin America. These beans are then lightly roasted to preserve the natural characteristics of the coffee.
Starbucks has a scale to rate coffee roast intensity, from 4 (lightest roast) to 12 (darkest). The Veranda Blend sits at about 5. Popular roasts such as Pike Place Blend sit at 7, while the House Blend is about 9.
As a result, when you sip on the coffee, you may notice the coffee has little smoke and bitterness. Instead, you should pick up light citrus and floral notes with sugarcane-like sweetness.
Starbucks Via Instant Coffee
Starbucks notices the general trend where customers may not have time to order or pick up coffee from shops. Starbucks’ solution? Offer instant coffee instead.
However, in 2009, Starbucks introduced the Starbucks Via. It is a line of premium instant coffee made from some of its most popular roasts and blends. It was a surprising move since instant coffee is usually associated with being cheap and low in quality.
Starbucks Via consists of soluble coffee granules and small micro-ground coffee beans. Starbucks, however, does not share how they make their instant coffee, calling it their proprietary method.
The Starbucks Via version of the Veranda Blend comes in a 12-stick pack. The idea is to use a single stick to make a single cup of coffee. There are also larger packs with 15 or more sticks of coffee in a single pack.
My Starbucks Via Veranda Blend pack also has the newest packaging design. This means you may encounter older packaging on some Starbucks Via Veranda Blend. It remains one of the most popular Via coffee as well.
Brewing Process
To ensure I give both the Veranda Blend and Veranda instant coffee a fair comparison, I went to extra lengths to ensure I brew both the way Starbucks intended. My task was made easy as both had instructions on how to brew the coffee.
Whole Bean
For the Veranda Roast whole beans, I first ground them down to medium coarseness. I plan to brew the coffee using my French press.
I initially deliberated between pour-over or French press. However, I think the latter method allows me to sample the coffee. This is because the French press does not remove much coffee oil and fine particles, producing a full-flavored coffee.
Preserving flavors may be important here since Veranda Blend is, after all, a light roast.
Starbucks Via has micro-ground coffee inside, which means it will have some sediments at the bottom. The French press will produce coffee with some sediments, too.
Once I finished grounding, I went straight into brewing. I put 10 grams of ground coffee into my Bodum Caffettiera French press. Then, I added 6 fl oz (180ml) of off-boiling, hot water.
Finally, I allow the concoction to brew for 5 minutes before plunging and pouring the coffee for tasting.
Starbucks Via Instant Coffee
Since this is instant coffee, the brewing procedures are much easier. I followed the instructions on the packaging to produce the right-tasting coffee to compare against the whole-bean brew.
I emptied a stick of the instant coffee into a cup and then poured in about 6 fl oz (180ml) of off-boiling, hot water. To ensure the amount of water was correct, I used a digital scale to help me.
Once I added the right amount of water, I stirred the coffee to dissolve everything. The coffee is now ready for tasting.
Do Whole Bean and Starbucks Via Veranda Blend Taste The Same?
Appearance
I started by placing the cups side by side. If you notice, there is more coffee in the Starbucks Via instant coffee cup than the brewed version.
Do ignore the volume differences. This is the result of brewing the coffee as per the instructions.
On the appearance, both cups look the same. Color on both sides remains on the darker brown side, with a little bit of transparency.
I also looked at the coffee from the bottom of the cup and flashed some light. I can see sediments on both cups, with the ones on the whole bean cup slightly more.
There is a small bit of coffee foam, like a broken-up layer of crema, on the brewed coffee. This is expected since it comes from a French press. The instant coffee version has no crema layer.
If you want to be pedantic, you may say the one from the brewed coffee is slightly lighter colored than the instant coffee cup.
Does this mean the brewed coffee cup will be smokier? Or it doesn’t really matter? Let’s see.
Aroma
Next, I think the natural step would be to compare the smell and aroma of the coffee. I brought my nose close to the cups and began sniffing.
When putting my nose into the brewed coffee cup, I can smell the aroma of coffee, with not much smoke inside. There are also hints of cereal and cocoa. It was a pleasant smell and triggered my desire for a sip.
I then move on to the Starbucks Via Veranda Blend instant coffee. I am glad to not smell too much smoke. I, however, can smell some dried seafood. I also picked up a bit of salty savoriness, almost like soy sauce.
The smell reminds me of instant coffee, although regular instant coffee usually has a much stronger dried seafood smell.
In my previous review, I noticed the seafood smell disappeared when the coffee was a little cooler. This did not happen with the Veranda Blend. I waited for about 10 minutes and tried sniffing again. The soy sauce-like smell remains.
Taste
I used a large spoon to scoop up the coffee and slurp it for tasting. The idea is to ensure I draw in coffee and enough air to allow the flavor of the coffee to shine through. I am glad I did this because it clearly allowed me to tell the difference between them.
When I sipped the whole-bean brewed coffee, I tasted a little smoke. This is expected since the Veranda Blend is a light roast. The coffee is also smooth and has a softness that makes the coffee easy to enjoy.
As I sip along, I pick up some cereal notes and a hint of acidity with the coffee. Citrus perhaps?
I also seem to notice some floral notes too. This is, to me, very pleasant and increases my satisfaction on sipping the coffee.
I move on and focus on the Starbucks Via Veranda blend. Similar to the brewed version, there is also not much smoke. However, this is where the similarities end.
The instant coffee version of the Veranda Blend has a stronger acidity, and the acidity does not seem to have a citrus base. Unlike the brewed version, there is also not much cereal note with this coffee.
I sipped many times but could not find the floral note in the brewed version of the Veranda Blend. Instant coffee also does not have the smooth, soft texture of the brewed version.
I am quite disappointed with the finding here, as when I compared the brewed and instant Starbucks Pike Place Roast last time around, the taste was quite similar. I was expecting the same with the Veranda Blend, but I was wrong.
Should You Switch From Whole Bean To Starbucks Via Veranda Blend?
After tasting both, I gladly say that Starbucks did not do a good job here. The whole-bean Veranda Blend tasted so much better than the instant coffee version. This is especially hard to accept since they did a rather good with the Starbucks Via Pike Place Blend instant coffee.
However, I would say the Starbucks Via Veranda Blend is not a total failure. It could be good on its own, especially if you do not sip it side by side with the actual whole-bean brew.
You may now wonder if getting the Starbucks Via Veranda Blend is a good idea. You get your Veranda Blend coffee faster and easier by trading off a bit of quality. You also do not need to use your brewers to make coffee, meaning you also save time cleaning.
If efficiency and cost matter to me, then just get the Starbucks Via Veranda Blend and get on with it. You can brew your coffee at record speed while sacrificing a bit of quality on taste and flavor. The trade-off is worth the gain in speed, time, and efficiency.
However, not all of us think about efficiency all the time. There is more to coffee than just sucking them down. To some of us, there is something more and magical to making coffee.
Many coffee drinkers enjoy the whole process of making coffee. From opening up a new bag to smelling the coffee, grinding, brewing, and finally pouring out a cup to sip, the whole procedure is fun, even therapeutic.
Suppose you belong to this camp of coffee drinkers. In this case, you probably just want to keep brewing the whole-bean coffee. You will be assured that you will be sipping the best version of the Starbucks Veranda Blend this way.