I found my self at the mall today. On the way out, I decided to grab a cup of coffee for the road. I wasn’t at all expecting to walk out with anything other than a venti Pike.
As I was standing on line, it occurred to me that we also needed coffee at home. I looked around for something African. (My favorite). Maybe a Kenya, maybe something new? That’s when I spotted the new 2013 Anniversary Blend. What a nice looking bag! It’s just dying to be purchased. Best of all, it’s bold!
From Starbucks’s site:
Starbucks® Anniversary Blend is about as distinctive as they come. This is a bold, confident coffee that we believe gets better every year it graces our palates. The secret to this blend? It contains aged coffee beans from Indonesia. You see, aged beans develop some interesting characteristics as they mature. Our trademark roast skillfully brings these qualities to the fore. The result is a deeply smooth, slightly spicy cup of coffee – full of body and extremely tasty. We created Starbucks® Anniversary Blend as a kind of gift for ourselves. But like they say, ’tis better to give than receive. We love nothing more than sharing this extraordinary coffee with people who are as mad for the bean as we are. You’re cordially invited to raise a cup in a birthday tradition as deep as our roast.
And yes, it’s delicious! Take it easy with the scoops, because it can get bitter, but it’s bold and “strong like bull”!
As I was ordering my drink, I looked down at the gift cards; expecting to see the same old ones that I’ve already purchased. That’s when I noticed a new one. It’s a Rodarte gift card. I had no idea what it was, but it looked very “Minecraft”, and it’s one that I don’t already have. I handed it to the cashier and asked him to throw $5 bucks on it.
This card isn’t listed on the Starbucks.com as a card you can purchase.
I searched Starbucks’ website and found out that they carry a whole line of stuff that’s been designed by Rodarte.
From Starbucks:
Inspired by great design, Starbucks frequently collaborates with artists and designers on unique projects we love to share. This holiday season, Starbucks is bringing innovative design to customers through collaboration with fashion house Rodarte. Kate and Laura Mulleavy exclusively designed the holiday items to create a limited-edition collection that complements and transcends the season.Masterful, thoughtful, sophisticated – and exclusively Starbucks – these beautifully designed, unique pieces are perfect gifts to give and get this holiday season. The collection will be available at participating Starbucks retail locations in the U.S. and Canada beginning November 13, 2012.
Designer brand or not, I still think it’s looks like something from Minecraft. The card is dated 2012, so I guess it’s discontinued now and this particular Starbucks had a few left overs.
Too bad it didn’t come with the right sleeve. They offered me one, but it was the regular old Starbucks gift card sleeve. I didn’t know it came with a limited edition custom sleeve until I searched for the card on eBay. I guess they are long gone by now. These cards go for anywhere from 99 cents to $12 on eBay. Not being one of the regular annual releases, I guess it’s a collectors item now.
I also grabbed one of the new Pumpkin Spice Latte 10 year anniversary mini cards. That’ll be a collectors’ item come next year.
Once I got home, I enjoyed my cup. Down to the last drop. I was about to throw the cup away when something caught my eye. I’ve already saved one of the Pumpkin Spice cup sleeves, but something made me take a second look at it and compare the two.
Ha! They are different! I’ve had over a dozen of these so far and never realized there’s more than one version. I’m going to have to keep an eye out and see if there’s more.
Gotta collect them all!
