Well, not exactly. Probably the giant corporation is thinking mostly of harrassed and weary office workers with nothing but a microwave to their name, when they launched their new line of instant powdered coffees.
Nonetheless, on a recent backpack trip with the family, looking for a coffee to take backpacking that wouldn't be hideous and wouldn't require equipment, I took a chance on Starbucks' new line, called VIA...and was pleasantly surprised.
Shocked, even.
Give the instant "microground" packet of coffee powder a minute or two to fully dissolve in the hot water and you will find it's quite decent -- better than cowboy coffee, without the irritating bits to get stuck in your teeth, and far superior to the sharp, bitter instant coffees of the past.
It's a little like Cinderella. It's good when it's good and hot. After it begins to cool, it can turn on you. Drink it while it's fresh. So to speak.
It's a breeze to pack. A pack of eight coffees weighs a mere ounce and a half (though it does cost a shocking $7 or so).
One detail: If the giant corporation packed its black caffeinated powder in paper, instead of a plastic sleeves,all the trash could vanish in a minute or two, and leave not a trace, on land or in the pack.
For all the coffee's virtues, I can't bear to post a picture of the product. Instead here's the sort of place you can go, by such means, and see this sort of scene...Muir Lake by moonlight.