Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g
Most people who say they do not like espresso are not describing espresso. They are describing burnt, and there is none of that in here, because the beans leave the roaster before the sugars are taken that far. What survives instead is the fruit and the brightness a longer roast would have burned off. Worth knowing before you buy: these are Nespresso Original capsules, so a Vertuo is no use to you.
Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, in brief.
Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g is the lightest capsule in the Starbucks range, and it exists to answer a complaint. Picked into the teas.co.uk selection as the capsule to hand anyone who has decided they dislike espresso.
Machine check: these are Nespresso Original capsules. A Vertuo will not run them, since it accepts nothing but its own barcoded capsules.
Taken out of the roaster earlier, so there is no smoke and barely any bitterness, and far more of the beans' own sweetness and bright fruit survives. Light is not the same as weak: roast depth is not a caffeine rating. Best black or with a splash rather than in a full mug of milk. The shelf price moves about between retailers, so the price in your basket is the price.
A blonde roast is taken out of the roaster earlier. Less of the bean's sugar is caramelised, so there is less cocoa and no smoke, and far more of the origin's own sweetness and acidity survives into the cup. The result is bright, clean and easy to drink black. What it is not is weak. A light roast is a lighter-tasting coffee, not a smaller dose of one, and roast depth is not a caffeine rating however the shelf implies otherwise.
Curator notes: our marks for this Blonde Espresso box, roast through to acidity, are an editorial view read against Starbucks' own description. Blonde Espresso boxes normally ship from us inside 1 to 2 working days.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Starbucks by Nespresso
Starbucks by Nespresso is the Starbucks range made for the Nespresso Original system rather than a third-party capsule that happens to fit it, which is why the box carries both names. The practical difference for a customer is that there is no compatibility question to weigh: the capsule is made for the machine, and the roast names on the front are the same ones used on the high street, so you can pick by the drink you already order rather than by a number on a scale.
About compatibility: these are Nespresso Original capsules. They are not Vertuo capsules and will not work in a Vertuo machine, which reads a barcode on the rim of its own capsule and takes nothing else. The two systems share a brand name and almost nothing else, and it catches people out regularly, so check which machine you own before ordering.
The Blonde Espresso price that appears in your basket at checkout is the real one; we will not stand behind any other number.
Packaging: Take your lead from the carton you receive and from your council. The aluminium is widely recyclable, yet a capsule still full of grounds is seldom accepted in a kerbside bin, and Blonde Espresso cartons and capsules tend to need separate routes.
Light Is Not The Same As Weak
The confusion comes from the fact that a dark roast tastes heavier, and heaviness reads as strength. But the weight in a dark cup is roast product, not coffee content: caramelised and partly carbonised sugars giving cocoa, smoke and a bitterness that sits on the tongue. Take the roast out earlier and those compounds are simply not created, which is why a blonde cup tastes lighter even though nothing has been taken out of it.
The practical consequence is that a blonde roast is the more transparent coffee of the two. There is no roast character to hide behind, so a dull capsule, a scaled machine or stale tank water all show up immediately. That is a fair trade if you want to taste what is actually in the cup, and a nuisance if you want something that forgives a neglected machine. It also means this is the capsule to hand somebody who has decided they dislike coffee, because the thing they dislike is probably absent from it.
Getting A Consistent Cup
- Descale on schedule: limescale cools the water reaching the group head more than it slows the flow, so the machine keeps working while quietly under extracting.
- Keep the capsules sealed: keep them boxed until brewing, because every capsule's seal is doing the whole job of keeping it fresh.
- Empty the capsule bin: when a capsule will not sit or pierce properly, an overfull bin is usually behind it.
- Filtered water: where the water is hard, a filter jug improves the shot more than any change of capsule.
- Do not re-run a used capsule: a second run through the Blonde capsule yields only the bitter tail end of the first extraction.
- Caffeine note: a regular caffeinated coffee. Light does not mean weak, and roast depth is not a caffeine rating.
- Nothing to hide behind: a blonde roast shows a neglected machine faster than any other capsule in the range.
- Best with: a croissant, fresh fruit, or on its own first thing.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it:blonde roasted ground coffee, sealed in aluminium, with nothing more. No added flavourings, no sweeteners, no preservatives.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Recipes, certification marks and allergy advice can all be revised, so read the UK carton of Blonde Espresso before you buy.
Caffeine:contains caffeine. Sensitive drinkers should not make this one a late evening cup, and during pregnancy keep to current NHS guidance on intake.
Child Safety:Hot coffee, capsules and the machine all belong well away from children.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g, please cite teas.co.uk.
The story behind Starbucks
Starbucks needs no introduction. Their at-home retail range covers the cafe-style favourites: Toffee Nut Latte sachets, instant coffee, and the wider iced and hot drink format. Particularly strong on flavoured latte sachets.
Packaging: A box of ten aluminium Blonde Espresso capsules for Nespresso Original machines, 53g net or about 5.3g a capsule.
Our commitment to the planet
Sourcing and packaging details are printed on the current UK pack; the brand page carries the fuller story.
The taste profile
How does it compare
Extraction is the machine's job; yours comes down to the button you choose, a properly warmed cup and a machine kept in decent order. A blonde roast rewards care more than any other capsule in the range, because there is nothing covering the mistakes.
The Straight Espresso
The Milk Build
Made with this tea
The Straight Espresso
How to make The Straight Espresso with Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast capsule
- Fresh water in the machine tank
- A Nespresso Original machine
- A warmed demitasse
- Rinse plain hot water through the machine into the demitasse, then tip it out.
- Refill the tank from the tap each time instead of topping up yesterday's.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting, about 40ml.
- Drink it promptly, while the fruit is still at the front.
What you'll end up with: The cleanest espresso in the range. If it reads sour, suspect the machine before the capsule: an under-extracted light roast always does.
Cortado
How to make a Cortado with Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast capsule
- 60ml whole or oat milk
- A thermometer, or a steady hand
- A 90ml glass
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting straight into the glass.
- Steam 60ml of milk to roughly 60°C, aiming for a fine, silky texture with little froth.
- Pour the milk gently into the crema, in one steady stream.
- Serve straight away.
What you'll end up with: About the largest milk drink this roast survives. Past 60°C the milk loses the sweetness that was meant to meet the fruit.
Iced Blonde Black
How to make an Iced Blonde Black with Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast capsule
- A tall glass of ice
- 120ml cold water
- A slice of orange, optional
- Fill a tall tumbler with ice cubes and pour 120ml of cold water over them.
- Pull the Blonde capsule on the espresso button right over the ice and water.
- Stir once, gently.
- Add a slice of orange if you want the fruit pushed forward.
What you'll end up with: Cold exaggerates bitterness, and there is barely any here to exaggerate.
The Americano
How to make an Americano with Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast capsule
- 100ml hot water from the kettle
- A warmed mug
- A twist of lemon peel, optional
- Pour 100ml of kettle hot water into the warmed mug to start.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting directly on top of the water.
- Leave the crema undisturbed rather than stirring it in.
- Add a twist of lemon peel if you want the aroma lifted.
What you'll end up with: Coffee onto water rather than water onto coffee, and far better than stretching the capsule on the lungo button, which turns it sour.
Cold Milk Over Ice
How to make Cold Milk Over Ice with Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast.
- 2 Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast capsules
- A tall glass of ice
- 150ml cold milk
- A long spoon
- Fill a highball with ice cubes and 150ml of cold milk.
- Pull two capsules short, straight over the ice and milk.
- Stir once, then drink up before the ice dilutes it.
- Skip the syrup; the sweetness is already in the beans.
What you'll end up with: Two shots rather than one, because a light roast is outnumbered by 150ml of milk and a glass of melting ice on its own.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee | the entire contents | The whole product. The Blonde capsule holds no flavouring, sweetener or preservative. At this roast level most of what you taste is the beans rather than the roaster. |
| Roast level | Taken out of the roaster earlier, so less sugar is caramelised. No smoke, very little cocoa, and much more of the origin's own sweetness and acidity left in the cup. | |
| Grind and dose | set for an espresso | Chosen for an extraction of roughly 40ml. Stretched long, the brightness turns thin and sour rather than becoming a pleasant long black. |
| Aluminium capsule | 10 per carton | An absolute barrier to oxygen and light, which matters more on a light roast because origin aromatics are the first thing to be lost. |
| Pack contents | 10 capsules, 53g net | Ten short shots, about 5.3 grams of coffee in each. |
Pack: Ten Blonde Espresso Roast capsules, 53g in all, caffeinated and made for Nespresso Original machines. Brew them before the best before date stamped on the carton.
The table lists what defines it: the coffee is everything inside, and the capsule is just its container. The 53g figure is the net weight of the coffee across the ten capsules, about 5.3 grams each, rather than the weight of a single capsule. The capsule count is taken from the pack name, which states a box of 10.
Sourcing & blend. Starbucks by Nespresso is the Starbucks range made for the Nespresso Original system rather than a third-party capsule that happens to fit it, which is why the box carries both names. A blonde roast is the lightest of the three roast names Starbucks uses, and it exists to answer a specific complaint: that espresso tastes burnt. Taking the beans out earlier removes the compounds responsible for that, and leaves the coffee with nowhere to hide. The bean composition and origin breakdown are printed on the current UK pack and are not restated here.
What's in Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast, and what isn't:
- In: blonde roasted ground coffee, sealed in aluminium, with nothing more.
- No artificial colours, flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives: the sweetness in the cup comes from the beans rather than an addition.
- Not weak: a lighter-tasting coffee, not a smaller dose of one. Roast depth is not a caffeine rating.
- Not a Vertuo capsule: Nespresso Original only. A Vertuo checks for a barcode on the capsule rim and so refuses these.
- Not decaffeinated: there is a decaffeinated blonde capsule in the range if you want the same shape for the evening.
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Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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