Starbucks hopes new brew can perk up fortunes

In a bid to reinvigorate lackluster US traffic, Starbucks Corp introduced a new, everyday brew called Pike Place Roast yesterday and for 30 minutes handed out free 240 ml samples.

Free cups of the new coffee, which the company said has a smoother flavor and finish, were available at all its roughly 7,100 company-operated US stores.

"It is the best coffee that we have created, maybe, in our history," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said.

Andrew Linnemann, Starbucks master coffee blender, said that Pike Place and Pike Place decaffeinated would be offered daily, along with a bold-style brew from a rotating list.

Starbucks had previously served a different coffee each week, which Linnemann said was confusing to some customers. Traffic in US Starbucks stores has slowed in recent months amid a broader economic downturn and stiffer competition from companies such as McDonald's Corp, which is aggressively targeting the specialty-brewed coffee market that Starbucks helped establish.

Last year, the efforts of McDonald's got a boost when Consumer Reports rated the hamburger joint's drip coffee best.

Tasters from the consumer magazine said of McDonald's brew: "Decent and moderately strong. Although it lacked the subtle top notes needed to make it rise and shine, it had no flaws."

Starbucks received a harsher review, with tasters calling its coffee "strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open".

Agencies

(China Daily 04/09/2008 page16)