Howard Schultz said that through a hi-tech process, Starbucks had "cracked the code" in retaining freshness and flavour in instant coffee, with taste tests showing Via to be indistinguishable from brewed coffee.
I know it's the trend to mock Starbucks, but if they can't get the coffee fresh to their stores, what hope do they have of making instant coffee taste fresh? Also, their existing 'tasters' have seemingly failed at preventing bad coffee to hit their stores to date, so what good are they for the instant? These are interesting statements for Starbucks to make.