Chocolates and waffles
AD – PR / PRESS EVENT. This review is courtesy of a gifted Starbucks Night with Coventry Bloggers at the Coventry Starbucks in Broadgate.
All opinions are my own. However, I should mention that I was thrilled to be selected to attend this event because I am a huge coffee and Starbucks fan. So, please be warned that this is probably not going to be the most unbiased review…
When we arrived for our Coventry Starbucks night, we could choose a complimentary drink. I opted for a Grande (Medium) Caramel Frappuccino which appeals to my sweet-tooth. Their trademarked Frappuccino is a sweet blended drink made from coffee, milk, and ice.
Frappuccinos are a great cool down summer treat and they come in a variety of flavours, you must try them. The Caramel Frappuccino is my favourite because you can really taste the coffee.
Starbucks describes the Caramel Frappuccino as:
Buttery caramel syrup meets coffee, milk and ice for a rendezvous in the blender. Then whipped cream and caramel sauce layer, the love on top.
Starbucks.com
Your Barista will give you the option to have cream on top. Be mindful that there are a whopping 420 calories in these, so you can save yourself a few calories if you give the love (cream) a miss. However, I usually opt to have cream because if I am going to commit to having a Frappuccino, I tend to go all-in. For this reason, I do try to drink them rather sparingly as a treat.
I had never been to a coffee tasting session before. In the past, I have been to a few alcohol-based tasting sessions and this was pretty similar to those, minus the alcohol.
We tried three different blends of Starbucks coffee, a blonde, medium and dark roast. These come from different regions of the world. A member of staff shared information about the blend, poured the drinks, and then we were encouraged to savour the aroma before tasting them. Each blend had a different selection of nibbles to accompany the tasting session and help enhance their flavour.
I love the characteristic taste of the Starbucks House Blend, which is a medium roast. As the old adage goes, I guess I like my coffee to taste strong and bitter? I wouldn’t call it bitter, but I would say it definitely has a kick to it. However, this was a good opportunity to taste the others because I do tend to stick with things I know I like.
I tend to be wary of Starbucks food because it’s mostly bakery-style cakes, cookies, pastries, muffins, etc. All the naughty treats you tend to expect to find in a coffee shop.
So, I was pleased to discover the (265g) Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad is only 270 calories!
Roasted sweet potato and roasted spiced cauliflower, roasted red cabbage, mixed grains and spinach with a chipotle dressing.
Starbucks.com
I love sweet potato and the chipotle dressing was delicious. This was a good-sized lunch portion, nicely filling and it tasted amazing! Therefore, paired with an Iced Americano (rather than a Frappucino) and this would be a perfect healthy lunchtime option.
02/09/2019 Update: I visited Broadgate Starbucks today, and I was rather disappointed to discover they didn’t have a Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad left on the shelf. So, I asked the Barista who informed they only stock one a day. I don’t know, what do people go to Starbucks for if it’s not for the healthy food and drinks? To be fair, there was a vegan beetroot wrap available, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it, so I ended up ordering a not so healthy five cheese toasted sandwich. If like me, you want to order something healthier from the lunch menu, then I suggest you order ahead via their app.
I didn’t, but I think the Dragon has to be my favourite.
Can you tell which one that is?
Latte art is trickier than I had ever considered it would be, admittedly I had not given it much thought before this event with Coventry Bloggers. Seems like it takes lots of time, practice and patience to master coffee art patterns.
We were given to a demonstration on how to create the dragon, leaf, heart and rosetta patterns.
In the past, I was a Gold level member of the Starbucks reward scheme. But this lapsed because I didn’t work or live near a Starbucks for several years.
How does the reward scheme work?
When you buy something from Starbucks you earn stars, and when you have 15 stars you receive a free drink. Simply the more stars you collect, the more rewards you earn.
Starbucks has it’s own reward cards, or you can use their app. Another thing to note, you can also use the Starbucks app to order ahead and skip the queue.
Starbucks Broadgate very kindly gave every Coventry blogger a gift bag and another beverage to take home. The gift bags all had slightly different contents, just like party bags. I received a reusable coffee cup, a Starbucks coin, a packet of Starbucks Via Instant, discount vouchers, and some delicious caramel waffles.
Starbucks Coffee at home in an instant? Yes, please!
Despite having been a gold level reward member, I must admit I knew nothing about Starbucks instants.
How did these pass me by? I googled them for more information. I found out they have been around for about ten years, oops.
Fortunately, I received a packet of the House Blend in my gift bag. This tasted just like having a Starbuck’s coffee at home, heavenly! However, they do cost £4.95 and they only contain 12 instant sachets. Starbucks Instants also come in a variety of other flavours and beverages.
Many thanks to all of the super friendly and helpful staff at Broadgate Starbucks for inviting Coventry Bloggers, and organising a fantastic and informative evening.
Follow them on Instagram @starbuckscovbroadgate and tag them #starbuckscovbroadgate for your chance to be featured!
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It sounds like you had a lovely evening with Starbucks! I honestly can’t remember when I last went to Starbucks – let’s blame lockdown! – but you’ve reminded me how good their food is, I love the salad boxes there!
Looks like so very much fun! I would totally spend a night like this! seams perfect!
It seems a perfect night. I would not mind doing something similar right now.
Oh I hope they do Kristine, it was great fun and we learnt a few things too.
I have never been to a coffee tasting session before but I'd love to. Those are really amazing options and the gift bag? Wow! You obviously had fun.
That is one activity I would really sign up for. A coffee tasting event. Wow. I don't know if the Starbucks store near me does that, but I will have to find out. Not at this time, probably, but once the lock down is over I would be heading over there to find out.
Oooooh that vegan food looks tasty! So glad they offered a vegan option! I admit this is an event I'd probably hate, because I hate coffee. I rarely go to starbucks because of that. I know they do tea but I cannot even stand the strong coffee smell. Or even coffee flavored food,
Ah that's a shame, although I feel your pain because I hate tea 🙈. The vegan menu options are more of a recent addition, and the roasted veg salad was very tasty.
The coffee tasting session must have been fun. I do quite enjoy trying different coffees and have a range at home. I’ve seen the Starbucks instant in stores but not bought any yet.
Yeah, it was great and fun to do with a group of fellow bloggers. You should try the instants someday :)
I never knew starbucks arranged this. However the vegan food looks so tasty and I'm a coffee lover so I loved this. Even I've never been to a coffee tasting nor to a wine tasting...
This tasting session looks amazing, the roasted vegetable salad got my eye I love sweet potatoes!
The sweet potatoes helped make it filling and satisfying, super tasty :)