It’s not every day you can slip out of the office for free jo, but that’s where we were last Tuesday, engaging in heavy-lifting, someone’s got-to-do-it reportorial duties at the Starbucks down at King and South Union, sipping their newest lineup of nourishing blended beverages.

Let’s see, we got iced coffee tastings, food pairings and the opportunity to sample Starbucks newest, (as in not yet offered) lineup of nutritious, energy boosting, all natural blended beverages.

The Starbucks execs could not tell us exactly what the beverages are made of just yet, but we got an iced coffee 101 and the opportunity to try our hand at making our favorite summer beverage behind the bar.

They also provided tips on customizing our beverages for healthier options and demonstrated how to make the perfect cup of iced coffee at home.

We learned that not all coffees are created equal; some are better hot, some are better cold.  While many coffees taste great chilled, Starbucks offers three blends (Starbucks Terraza Blend, Starbucks Kopelani Blend, and Starbucks Gazebo Blend,) that were created specifically to be enjoyed over ice.

We sipped, slurped and savored. Then, unfortunately, we had to head back to work, our tummies chilled to exactly 50 degrees Fahrenheit.