Coffee

The main purpose of the Starbucks’ Coffee subpage is to give the reader a simple introduction to the various coffee options at Starbucks.  For as many different coffee roasts as the company has, I give them credit for making this first page truly welcoming by not overwhelming the reader with too much information.  Instead, the page asks the reader a question, “How do you like your coffee?” and provides the reader with the option of choosing coffee roasts of three different types in order to delve into learning more about Starbucks coffee.

This main page also is not too wordy, but the words employed are very specific.  “Subtle & Mellow,” “Smooth & Balance,” and “Bold & Robust” are the three different roast categories.  Most readers of this text will identify these key words as coffee roast categories.  However, even a coffee beginner would be able to understand that these keywords sum up the taste values for each roast.  The image directly below the keyword groups solidifies this intuitive textual information because the graphic progresses from light color to dark color from left to right.  The text does a wonderful job through the use of key words and the image of introducing reader of all kinds to three important coffee roast categories.

Also featured on this main page is the blog on the bottom left.  The blog posts explore different types of coffee roasts, new coffee products from around the globe, coffee farming, coffee tasting opportunities at local Starbucks, and more.  Each post is authored by a different author that is directly involved with the topic of the post.  Having an authoritative author lends more credibility to each very informative blog post and to the Coffee section of the website as well.

Interestingly, once a reader selects a specific coffee blend, such as Decaf Willow Blend, the page features some very different options.  There is an informative video about the blend with a transcript, description, review section, “Find it At” option, picture, social media sharing links, and the option to purchase this blend online.  This is quite a lot for one page about one specific product.  The reader’s eye might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the links, media, and text, yet nutritional information is not even listed!

Another thing absent from this page and other specific product pages are blog posts.  This is a trend that will be seen throughout the website and will be explored later on.  Webpages that are shopping and purchasing oriented do not feature any blog posts, and this page is no exception.