Starbucks VIA Ready Brew now in the Philippines!

There's something new for all you coffee addicts out there, and it's proof that big things come in small tiny packages.

Top executives from Starbucks International, Starbucks Asia-Pacific, and of course the official Philippine franchisee Rustan's Coffee Corp. literally unveiled the newest product to hit all Starbucks outlets here in the Philippines...

...Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. Yup, your favorite brewed coffee now comes in little rectangular foil packets you can bring just about anywhere. Just add hot water.

We were all given small cups so we could sample the coffee... but wait, there's more!

We were given 2 cups, one marked A and one marked B as modelled by fellow blogger Brian Ong in the photo above. We were challenged to identify which cup contained freshly brewed coffee and which contained Starbucks VIA Ready Brew. It wasn't hard to distinguish. Cup A had a stronger, deeper flavor and it had tiny telltale swirls of what looked like oil on the surface of the liquid. Cup B was, in make-up terms, perfectly matte. It also had a lighter taste. I knew right off Cup B contained Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.

Albeit the two cups were not completely identical in taste, I can honestly say that Starbucks VIA Ready Brew is the closest instant coffee has ever gotten to replicating the taste of freshly brewed coffee. Take note that it's not a 3-in-1 product, it's plain black coffee so if you're not the black coffee type you'll have to add sweeteners and milk or cream to customize it to your liking.

Check out how tiny one packet is. You can easily bring it with you anywhere and everywhere.

Starbucks VIA Ready Brew comes in 3 variants -- Colombia (Medium), Italian Roast (Extra Bold), Decaf Italian Roast (Extra Bold). They're available in packs of 3 (P130 per pack, pictured above) or boxes of 12 (P450 per box). That's actually less than P50 per cup!

You can find Starbucks VIA Ready Brew in all Starbucks stores nationwide starting Sept. 15, 2010.

Want to try the new Starbucks VIA Ready Brew for free? I'm giving away those 3 packs I'm holding in the photo above. Each pack contains 3 sticks of coffee, so you get 9 sticks in all.

Contest Mechanics:

1. Go to the Facebook Page of Animetric's World and click "Like".
   
   
2. Click on the Share button on top of this post.
   
   
3. On the blank box above the title of the blog post, tag Animetric's World and complete the sentence "Animetric's World, I'd like to try Starbucks VIA Ready Brew because ______________". Example: “@Animetric's World, I'd like to try Starbucks VIA Ready brew because I'm a coffee addict”. To tag, type in the “@” symbol then follow it with the world “Animetric” This will prompt a drop-down menu box which will present you “Animetric's World”. Click that and you should see “Animetric's World” become a blue link.
   
   
4. After completing the sentence, click the Share. Make sure your profile is set to everyone or else your entry won't appear on my FB page.
   
   
5. One entry per person only.
   
   
6. Post the url of your FB entry here. This is an optional step, if you tagged correctly I will see your entry in my FB page. :)
   
   
7. Most creative answer wins. In case there are several good answers, Randomizer will decide who wins.
   
   
8. I will ship the prize to the winner, so this contest is open to all Philippine residents. Deadline is Sept. 22, 2010 -- exactly one week after this becomes available in the stores.

Thank you to everyone who joined. I have chosen one lucky winner, the person whose answer was what I deemed the most unique...

Congratulations to Rlyn Sixeight! I will send you a PM with regards to prize shipping details.

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