Daily dispatches on the Washington, DC area's food, restaurant and dining scene.

DC Area Is Starbucks's Favorite Testing Ground

Seasonal lattes, egg sandwiches, cupcakes--we get to try them first.

By Erin Zimmer Published Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Washington-area palate must be pretty refined. Or maybe it’s that we just like to eat a lot. Whatever the reason, major food and beverage distributors such as Starbucks love to test out their new products here first, before introducing them to the rest of the country. Ever since the first East Coast Starbucks opened in Washington in 1993, we've been their corporate guinea pigs. Much of the testing--of new Frappucinos, latte flavors, and baked goods--happens at the Georgetown store at 3122 M Street, one of the nation's highest-volume Starbucks.

Though the New York Times recently covered the launching of the Starbucks breakfast sandwich in Manhattan, this was no big news for Washington. In fact, the Georgetown location has sold them for almost two years. At first, it was just the reduced-fat turkey bacon melt, now a national best-seller. As Washington-area customers sampled sundried -tomato-this and sausage-that, Starbucks finalized its national menu to include six varieties of egg sandwich, including flavors like spinach-fontina (food critic Cynthia Hacinli's favorite), sausage-and-cheddar (the second best-seller), and ham-and-cheddar on a bagel. Each is packaged from Whole Foods.

Maybe the breakfast sandwich was a hit, but some test products disappear after just a few sightings. Remember those vanilla and chocolate cupcakes? They were sold in singles and four-packs which Jim Massey, manager of the Georgetown Starbucks, says "would fly out of the store." Though they seemed like a big hit—our very own Ann Limpert loved them—they were only spotted a few times this Winter. Massey shrugged his shoulders—isn't sure if they'll ever come back. If they did, they'd have to be trans-fat friendly, now that Starbucks has joined New York in eliminating partially-hydrogenated oils. You never know with Washington-area Starbucks. Certain baked goods or latte flavors are not as lucky as the breakfast sandwich.

Comments

Look for cupcakes again near Valentine's Day.

Posted by: Prosumer Partner,

Thank you for your comments, Factchecker. Let's clarify. This piece was not meant to question Seattle's authority by any means. DC still bows down and respects the Pacific Northwest as the mecca of coffee wisdom. Instead, it was emphasizing why Washington matters over equally high food traffic cities like New York or Chicago. You were right to note that Seattle tested the sandwiches before Washington. With executives in throwing distance, that makes sense. The experts can work out the kinks of the Egg Nog Latte in a conference room, for example, then sample it across the street. It's easier to monitor those nuances at home. What makes Washington so special is that the region contains a demographic covering Dupont, Southeast, Georgetown and Bethesda, which nicely summarizes taste buds on a national level. As assistant store manager L.A. Holmes put it this morning, "if it's a hit here, it's a hit anywhere." The metropolitan region is a valuable microcosm, and the Georgetown location has special credibility so it receives products before sister locations in the metropolitan area. Starbucks has found that Washington likes experimenting with avant-garde flavors, and still has a discerning palate so they need our feedback. For a specific flavor like the Maple latte, Starbucks rightfully went to the experts in New England first. Vermont is home to a Maple Museum in Vermont-- clearly they know their maple. Similarly, California probably tested anything avocado or the new trans-fat muffins at the onset. Certain regions will always be valuable for region-specific products, which makes it important to look at each product in the right context.

And for the record, we're glad to see the story made StarbucksGossip.com .

Anyone else out there notice something new at their favorite spot?

Posted by: Erin ,

Please check your information before you print a story. The Georgetown Starbucks was one of several locations in Washington DC, not the Washington Aera, to test warmed sandwiches in March of 2005. It came in waves in DC, and each time more stores were added to the mix, the sandwich recipes and offerings were tweaked to reflect feedback. Seattle stores had been testing the warming lineup for some time prior to the DC test. And a full lineup--ham, bacon, sausage, and the egg florentine w/ spinach--was offered at the same time, not just the reduced fat turkey bacon/low cholesterol egg combo. And the company has tested several different products in several different markets before deciding to--or not to--take them nationwide, like the Maple Macchiato in New England in fall 2005 that went national this past fall. All of this is publicly available to anyone who sought to do some research, even using something as simple as Yahoo business.

Posted by: Factchecker,

Umm, chains usually test in places where the local tastes are pretty average/mundane -- not where they are especially refined.

I miss the days when Starbucks bought pastries locally. Now everything is bland and nothing ever tastes fresh-baked.

Posted by: ,

I eat cupcakes

Posted by: Jim Beam,

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DC Area Is Starbucks's Favorite Testing Ground

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