Starbucks Hand-Crafted Soda In Testing Phase

Starbucks, ever expanding beyond its famous coffee, is trying its hand at a new style of refreshment: sodas. The product is in its testing phase and available at some of the company's Atlanta and Austin stores, USA Today reported. The drinks are hand-crafted and thus far come in three flavors: spiced root beer, ginger ale and lemon ale.

The drinks are made by baristas using carbonation machines and go for around standard coffee pricing, with a tall going for $2.45 and a venti at $3.45. The coffee chain also tested its product in Seattle, but has not made it clear if it will expand much further than the stores the product has been implemented in now, Biz Journal reported.

"We test products to help us understand how new product extensions can fit within our customers daily routine -- throughout the day," Starbucks spokeswoman Lisa Passe said.

Wall Street analyst Mark Kalinowski of Janney Capital Markets said in a report that it is likely that Starbucks will roll out with the product in 2014. Sales have gone up dramatically after 2008, when the company began a financial downturn until CEO Howard Schultz resumed his position. From there, Starbucks began transforming its brand and image, putting out products for an expansive range of consumers.

Starbucks is treading potentially dangerous water as the soda market has been slowly on the decline for eight years. Soda, however, is the biggest beverage market in the U.S., according to John Sicher of trade magazine Beverage Digest.

"Starbucks is a smart company and smart to test these products," Sicher said. "This may help bring in customers who want something other than coffee, especially at some part of the day when many consumers don't drink coffee."