Apparently Starbucks has had enough of people telling it to just “lighten up, man,” as they’ve announced they’re debuting a “Blonde Roast” brewed coffee in all their U.S. stores. It’s being called “mellow and approachable,” as opposed to the other darker, high-strung and standoffish roasts.
The Seattle Times notes that Starbucks has tried to go light in the past, with the 1998 Breakfast Blend, but customers weren’t impressed.
“While we thought it was light, (customers) were really telling us it wasn’t all that light,” Andrew Linnemann, director of coffee and tea quality and formulation told the paper. “We had to look at it in a completely different way without that roast element. It wasn’t part of our normal pattern either, so we had to learn a lot about ourselves and our customers, how do we do this so we’re not delivering something that’s under-roasted and raw and not tasting like anything.”
Starbucks says they tried out 80 versions of light brews before coming up with The Veranda blend, which has “a touch of cereal, a little bit of grain, a little bit of milk chocolate.” Another blonde roast, Willow, has “a touch of crisp acidity, light bodied, light intensity, but flavorful and very approachable.”
The mellow move is in response to what consumers want, says Starbucks in their announcement, saying 40 percent of coffee drinkers prefer lighter roasts.
Let’s hope that “burned coffee from the bottom of the pot taste” doesn’t carry over to the new roasts, eh, Starbucks?
Starbucks brews up something mild. Will customers prefer Blonde? [Seattle Times]
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It will still taste burnt. I think that happens when they open the bags or something.
You beat me to it. I figured it’d be yet another burnt, over-roasted coffee from Starf*cks.
Exactly, somehow Starbucks will figure out how to impart a burnt taste even to unroasted coffee.
I happen to like the burnt taste.
Just like the crispy bits of bacon or barbeque meat are the best.
Yet another person who can’t tell the different between burnt coffee and strong coffee.
Cafe Cubano is my preference, so Starf*cks coffee tastes like burnt water to my tastebuds.
“a touch of cereal, a little bit of grain, a little bit of milk chocolate.”
Sorry. That ain’t coffee.
Coco Puffs Coffee!
I don’t know about Coco Puffs Coffee, but i could go for some Mocha Crispies (w/ caffiene).
I was thinking beer.
Good coffee, like good wine, can encompass lots of subtle flavors. Cereal, grain, and chocolate, are common ones.
“a touch of cereal, a little bit of grain, a little bit of milk chocolate.”
And a bit nutty?
A little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.
na man, that’s flavor of the month, maple nut crunch…
This coffee tastes like shit!
“Veranda”? “Willow”? Ahahahaha…I love these names…they sound like a female hygiene product line. I want to be in that brainstorm session…”Breeze”? “Tuscany”? “Riviera”? “Zephyr”?
They sound more like names for flavored douches.
“Female hygiene products” was my classy way of saying douches, Cat.
… Starbucks is usually filled with douches….
Douché.
XD
Silly Cat, that’s what happens when I read too fast.
More like names of celebrities kids.
He did say “flavored douches”, so he was at least half right.
They could always use the Edsel reject names… Utopian Turtletop roast, anyone?
Pass.
People who complain about starbucks coffee often remind me of my wife, who complains that her mocha tastes too much like coffee and burnt chocolate and not enough like hot choco. Seriously, it’s coffee. It should taste like coffee, not sugar!
That sounds a lot like seafood. I know many people who like fish, as long as it doesn’t taste like fish.
So they want chicken?
Tuna — the chicken of the sea.
See what I did thar?
Ah. yes. I had the lasagna.
I disagree. I happen to love their espresso. The problem is that their drip coffee also tastes like espresso. When I drink a cappuccino/latte/mocha, I expect a strong coffee flavor from the dark espresso roast. When I go for a cup of drip coffee, I expect a milder flavor.
Taste is, of course, subjective. Your view on the Starbucks is valid for you. But you have to understand that others might disagree. Their difference of opinion doesn’t make them wrong.
You should order an espresso macchiato if you’re into the flavor of the actual coffee (breve, if you don’t mind the extra couple calories). All their espresso-based drinks are made with far too much milk. Macchiato translates to “marked” in italian – as in, espresso marked with a dollop of foam (though some people , such as myself take liberty by adding a bit of steamed milk just to set off my favorite notes in the coffee).
I actually used to work as a barista. The breve disgusts me. Only made 2 of them in my “career”. The macchiatos are fine, but not my, uh, cup of coffee. I actually like the large amount of steamed milk. Since it’s all down to personal taste, I think I’ll stick where I am.
I love good coffee with little or no adulteration. Starbucks just tastes burnt to me. I’m lucky I live in a town with better options.
Having a roommate who works for Starbucks pays off.
The willow blend is pretty darned tasty. And is the only Starbucks coffee I’ve ever had that didn’t taste burnt. Of course, it’s still ridiculously overpriced, but having that roomie means we get a free pound a week. As coffee-addicted as we all are, that’s been a serious savings.
I tried it this morning and wasn’t impressed. I don’t want burnt-tasting coffee, but the blonde roast had a weird tangy taste to it.
I tried it this morning also and agree wholeheartedly with your assessment.
“Blonde Roast”
Why is the image in my mind Paris Hilton on a spit?
I approve!
It won’t make me choose Starbucks over a local independent coffee shop, but if I’m stuck with a group that insists on it, it’s good to know they’ll have something that I might tolerate.
I like my coffee like I like my women…
Highly caffeinated and not too badly burnt?
In a plastic cup with a spoon?
black and bitter?
Sweet, lightly brown and smokin’ hot.
And comes in large quantities.
You can keep the trenta women. just sayin’…
Ground up and in the Freezer?
Win.
Imported?
Covered in bees?
cold and bitter?
I wanna be Director of Coffee and Tea Quality and Formulation when I grow up.
Now doesn’t *that* sound impressive!
Thanks for the press release / advertisement!
Because a large company known for its over-roasted coffee giving in to market pressure after decades has no consumer-based interest at all, right?
I heard they’re trying these lighter roasts to compete with Dunkin’. I couldn’t care less because I make my coffee at HOME.
I generally prefer lighter (or at least medium roasts) … more complex flavors IMO – if they’re good beans. A lot of companies dark roast the bejesus out of crappy beans because they don’t taste that good to begin with.
Agreed. Starbucks is actually the only dark roast coffee I like. Most taste bitter to me…
I tried it this morning. It’s actually pretty good and is the first time I’ve had a cup of their coffee that didn’t taste burnt. However, it’s still not as good as Tim Horton’s
I would like a fiery red-head coffee, please.
It tastes like Coffee flavored water
I tend to like my coffee thick enough to cut with a knife. So the “burned” taste that people whine about I apparently can’t even detect. All the coffee shops are essentially the same to me – SB, Caribou, Dunn Bros, whatever. No differentiation as far as I can tell.
…but what amazes me is that with all the apparent people who “hate” that “burned” taste…why do they keep going there and buying the stuff?
Charbucks does not know how to do a light roast. This will fail like the last attempt.
Here is the secret. The reason Starbucks coffee tastes burnt is because they roast all different types of coffee beans together. Other coffee houses, they realize that bean A only needs 30 minutes roasting, bean B 20 and bean C 40. So they roast those beans individually and mix later. Instead, Behemoth mixes them all together and roasts them for 40 mins. Result: beans A and B get overroasted and you get that burnt flavor.
Well, nice theory. But wrong.
I’d hate to be the guys that has to sort the beans after they’re all mixed together and roasted. I wonder if he has to do it one bean at a time, or if experience lets him do several at once.
I don’t really think we have time for a handjob, Joe.
Sir Upgrayedd approves this comment!
Breakfast blend is pretty acidic, even if it is lighter. Imagine a waffle house coffee if it were brewed properly, you wouldn’t like it if you are used to making standard underextracted coffee at home. Personally, the veranda was a little too smooth for me. I expected a bit of an acidic kick at the end
Why not just offer a medium roast? I don’t like dark roasts–they all taste burnt…you can’t taste the differences between coffees of different countries/regions. Also, dark roasts don’t have as much caffeine as medium roasts do.
they do, it’s their pike place or whatever it’s called. It’s the one they have all the time and also one of my least favorite. I kinda miss the house blend they used to always have going.
Lighter roast = lighter price, right?
other words, cheaper weaker coffee for same money.
I like my coffee burnt, if you don’t like it go to Dunkin Donuts. I don’t see Starbucks having problems keeping customers with what they got, ahh, now I’m going to have to deal with more shleps in line ordering Blondes and Egg Mcmuffins.
I’m a fan of their more robust blends and only tried because they were giving out free samples, not my usual cup of joe, but not bad at all. Might make for a good compromise when I’m visiting mom, who only goes for the lighter coffees…
What I would really like, is if they brought back the Kenya blend… THAT was good