I heard rumors a while back about a special line of Starbucks single-origin releases, but at the time didn’t pay much attention to the news. I guess I thought it was similar to the Clover release: some token of their culinary value that wouldn’t impact the majority of shops. Today, while stopping by the Starbucks on 15th and K Street in downtown Washington, D.C., I noticed something sitting on the back counter that caught my eye.

This company release indicates the Starbucks Reserve Single-Origin Coffees will be available in stores beginning August 31, and that they’ll be offered at select locations brewed through the Clover machine or as pour over. Apparently this location is in the game: 

I have two initial thoughts on this. First, I question whether Starbucks will be able to train their staff to deliver a consistent, quality pour over. I’ve done pour overs for a couple years now and I still think I have a lot to learn before I’m consistently pumping out premium coffee. There are a lot of variables to account for - grind size, coffee amount, water heat, bloom time, pour style and flow-through rate. Even if this is released in select stores I’m not sure the Starbucks baristas will be able to pull this off every time.

The second concern I have is the company’s ability to reconcile a fast food consumer conscious with culinary coffee. Pour overs take time! And I’m not certain the woman grabbing a skinny vanilla latte on her way to the office wants to stand and wait while I’m watching my pour over brew. Will there be a special area for pour overs? Will it only be available during non-peak hours? We’ll see soon enough.