SEATTLE -- Starbucks Corp.'s much-anticipated Verismo single-cup home brewer is now available at verismo.com. The coffee giant will sell the coffee machine and pods in its cafés and at retail stores, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Williams Sonoma, beginning in October.
Verismo, unveiled last spring, uses a high-pressure system to make "Starbucks-quality" espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos using real milk pods, along with brewed coffee. The base model costs $199 and a brewer with larger water tank and LED display that tells consumers when the machine needs to be cleaned is priced at $399.
The introduction of the Verismo system advances the Seattle coffee giant's plan to offer a full portfolio of premium single-cup alternatives to customers. Its first step was in 2009 when Starbucks rolled out it its Via Ready Brew soluble coffee. Last fall, Starbucks partnered with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to launch its coffees in K-Cups for the Keurig system. Earlier this year, it expanded that partnership, agreeing to sell Starbucks-branded Vue packs for use with Green Mountain's newly introduced Keurig Vue single-cup machines starting this fall. | SEE STORY
Green Mountain's management ruled out any competition between its high-pressure Verismo machine and the low-pressure Keurig machine. Starbucks had previously provided coffee discs for Kraft's Tassimo system, but has since ended that agreement.
The Seattle coffee giant said it plans to launch a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign to promote the new brewer.
