So for a few days now Starbucks has been saying that they would have some very big news at noon (EST) today. Before anyone even had a chance to get interested news broke that is was an "everyday blend" of drop coffee. I'm not a Starbucks fan, but I live in Manhattan, so there is one about two blocks from my apartment. I made the trek down there an arrived at 12:01pm, looking forward to the crowds of people and screaming fans who were eagerly awaiting the Pike's Place roast. As it turns out my local Starbucks, which is normally packed was almost empty (I think due to some maintenance this morning) and rather than some sort of event it was just the same old. The person behind the counter did inform me about the new blend, which I ordered (medium, for $2.11) and promptly left with. Apparently there are a few NYC tasting events, but this was clearly not one of them. So far, lot of hype, very little delivery. As for the Pike's Place roast it's OK. Actually I like it better than typical Starbucks coffee but it still falls far short of the overpriced boutique coffees that we New Yorkers spend our weekends tracking down (Cafe Grumpy, Think, Abraco, etc). The flavor is still very Starbucks, that is to say over-roasted and on the bitter side, but it is slightly more mellow than the typical Starbucks cup and you can almost get hints of flavors aside from "roast". The good news is that the people at Starbucks (I hesitate to call them baristas) will be making the coffee fresh every thirty minutes (including grinding it) so you can expect it to be the fresh coffee in the store. This should make some difference (the grinding more than the thirty minutes part), but don't expect anything dramatic. Verdict: If you have to go to Starbucks, this is probably the thing to get. If you live in any city or reasonably sized town, there are probably better options available to you. That said, this is a big step for Starbucks in the freshness wars. The next big move is when they get those Clover machines in stock. [gallery]