Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods
Nobody argues about this one, which is both the point and the limit. A medium roast in a capsule has nothing loud to hide behind, so what you are judging is balance rather than character: toasted nuts and cocoa, a faint citrus lift at the edges, medium weight, nothing that pushes itself forward. That makes it the standing box rather than the occasional one, the coffee you can have three of in a day without the third one wearing you down. It is also the box that will leave a drinker who came for the roast feeling short-changed, and there is no point pretending otherwise. Nespresso Original machines only: it will not run in a Vertuo, and a Dolce Gusto or a Tassimo takes an entirely different shape of pod. Thirty-six capsules is a real commitment to one recipe, so it helps that this is the least tiring of them.
Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, in brief.
Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend is the middle of the Starbucks capsule range and the one most households should start with: nutty and cocoa-led rather than smoky, less assertive than Espresso Roast and less bright than Blonde. This is the box of 36 rather than a sleeve of ten. Picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the agreement capsule, for a single machine serving people who want different things from it.
The argument for it is agreement. In a household where one person drinks black espresso and another drinks a large milky coffee, the dark roast is too severe for one and the light roast disappears for the other. A medium roast is the one that satisfies both without anybody feeling they compromised, which matters more than it sounds when a single machine serves the whole kitchen.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description, and the serving volumes are our recommended starting points rather than pack instructions. These are Nespresso Original capsules and will not fit Vertuo, Dolce Gusto or Tassimo machines. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind House Blend
Starbucks is a Seattle coffee company, and House Blend is the one in its range that is not making an argument. Where Espresso Roast is built to be recognisable through milk and Blonde is built to show acidity, House Blend is built to be poured all day without anyone noticing it. That is a harder brief than it sounds and it is why it sells.
Roast level, origin composition, the capsule material and any certification marks are printed on the current carton and can change between production runs. Read the box in front of you rather than a figure quoted online, ours included.
Which Machine This Fits, And Which It Does Not
These are capsules for the Nespresso Original system: the small conical capsules that a lever or a button clamps and pierces. They will not work in a Nespresso Vertuo machine, which uses a larger capsule with a barcode rim, and they will not work in a Dolce Gusto or a Tassimo, which use different pods and a different brewing principle. Starbucks sells coffee for all of those systems under similar names and similar packaging, so check the machine rather than the brand. This is the mistake that costs people money.
Within the Original system the dose is fixed at whatever the manufacturer sealed in, and you cannot adjust it, the grind, or the temperature. Your one control is the volume of water you run through the capsule. On a medium roast that control is more forgiving than on a dark one, which is another quiet advantage of this blend: it is harder to make it taste bad.
Pack weight: the weight is printed on the current carton.
Packaging: capsules and their cartons follow different disposal routes, and some capsules are covered by brand-run collection schemes rather than kerbside recycling. Follow the current UK pack and your local authority guidance.
Ideal Extraction Conditions
No grinder, no dose, no temperature dial. The button you press is the whole of your technique, and a medium roast gives you more room to get it wrong.
The Espresso Serve
- Espresso button: about 40ml. The reference serve, and the one to judge the rest against.
- Ristretto button: about 25ml. Denser and sweeter, and the right base for a milk drink.
- Warm the cup: run a blank shot of hot water into the cup and tip it away. A cold ceramic cup costs you several degrees.
- Do not re-pierce: one capsule, one shot. A second pull through a used capsule gives you hot brown water.
The Lungo, Milk And Iced Serve
- Lungo: the one capsule in this range that takes a long pull reasonably well, because there is less harsh tail to drag out of a medium roast. It still reads thinner than a 40ml espresso topped with hot water, which remains the better route.
- Flat white: one 25ml ristretto into 130ml of steamed milk. The cocoa note sits nicely against milk without fighting it.
- Large latte: use two capsules for 250ml of milk. One will disappear, and a medium roast disappears faster than a dark one.
- Iced: two ristrettos straight onto a full glass of ice, sweetened while hot if you want sugar, then topped with cold milk. Start concentrated, because ice dilutes.
Machine Care And Storage
- Descale on schedule: a scaled machine runs cooler and slower, and the first symptom is a flat, thin shot whichever capsule you use.
- Empty the capsule bin: a full bin is the usual cause of a capsule failing to drop and jamming the lever.
- Storage: keep the carton cool and dark. Capsules are sealed individually, so an opened box is not exposed the way an opened bag of coffee is.
- Why a 36 box: this is the everyday capsule rather than the interesting one, so buying it in quantity is the point. Keep a sleeve of something darker beside it for people who want it.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods, 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: follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; capsules and cartons take different disposal routes.
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
Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods is the everyday capsule, so the builds below are the drinks a household actually makes on a weekday. Six of them: the reference espresso, the ristretto, a flat white, a long black, an iced latte and a cortado for the afternoon.
Made with this tea
The Reference Espresso
How to pull the reference shot of Starbucks House Blend.
- 1 Starbucks House Blend capsule
- A Nespresso Original machine
- Filtered water in the tank
- A small warmed cup
- Warm the cup with a blank shot of hot water and tip it away.
- Drop the capsule in, close the lever and press the espresso button for about 40ml.
- Drink it within a minute, before the crema settles.
- One capsule, one shot. A second pull through a used capsule gives you hot brown water.
What you'll end up with: Judge every other serve against this one.
The Ristretto, For Milk Drinks
How to pull a ristretto of Starbucks House Blend.
- 1 Starbucks House Blend capsule
- A Nespresso Original machine
- A small warmed cup
- Press the ristretto button, or stop the espresso button manually at about 25ml.
- Shorter is denser and sweeter, because the harsher compounds come out late in an extraction.
- On a medium roast the gain is smaller than on a dark one, but it still helps under milk.
What you'll end up with: A concentrated base that will not vanish the moment milk goes in. Use this for every milk drink below.
Flat White
How to make a flat white with Starbucks House Blend.
- 1 Starbucks House Blend capsule
- 130ml whole or oat milk
- A milk frother or a jug and whisk
- A 160ml cup
- Pull a 25ml ristretto into the warmed cup.
- Heat 130ml of milk to about 60°C and foam it lightly, not stiffly.
- Pour to combine, holding a thin layer of foam back for the top.
- At this volume one capsule is plenty. At 250ml, use two.
What you'll end up with: The cocoa note sitting neatly against the milk without fighting it. The everyday drink this box is for.
Long Black, And Why Not Lungo
How to make a long black with Starbucks House Blend.
- 1 Starbucks House Blend capsule
- 100ml hot water
- A warmed 200ml mug
- Pull a 40ml espresso into the mug.
- Add 100ml of hot water on top.
- The lungo button works better on this capsule than on a dark one, but this route still reads fuller. Try both.
What you'll end up with: A mug of coffee that holds its shape to the bottom. A medium roast lengthens more gracefully than a dark one.
Iced Latte, Strength First
How to make an iced latte with Starbucks House Blend.
- 2 Starbucks House Blend capsules
- A tall glass filled with ice
- 100ml cold milk
- Syrup or sugar to taste
- Pull two 25ml ristrettos straight onto the ice.
- Sweeten now if you want to; sugar will not dissolve in a cold glass.
- Top with 100ml of cold milk and stir once.
- Two capsules, not one. A medium roast fades under ice and milk faster than a dark one.
What you'll end up with: A clean, nutty iced latte that still tastes of coffee at the bottom of the glass.
Afternoon Cortado
How to make a cortado with Starbucks House Blend.
- 1 Starbucks House Blend capsule
- 40ml whole milk
- A 90ml glass
- Pull a 40ml espresso into the small glass.
- Heat 40ml of milk to about 60°C with almost no foam.
- Pour it straight through the middle of the crema.
- Equal parts, no foam. That is the whole recipe.
What you'll end up with: The best afternoon use of a medium roast. Enough milk to round it off, not enough to bury it.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Ingredient | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee | 100% | The whole of the product, ground and dosed for a sealed capsule and taken to a medium roast: enough development for weight and a nutty, cocoa-led character, stopped before the smoke of a dark roast. |
| Coffee per capsule | See current pack | It is printed on the current carton. |
| Origin composition and roast level | Printed on the pack | Stated on the current carton and liable to change between production runs. Read the box rather than a figure quoted online. |
| Additives, flavourings, sugar | None | Nothing is added to roasted coffee. The nut and cocoa notes are roast development, not flavouring. |
Pack: Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods; 36 capsules for Nespresso Original machines, caffeinated. Best before date printed on the carton; each capsule is sealed individually, so an opened box is not exposed the way an opened bag of coffee is.
Net weight, origin composition, roast level, capsule material and any certification marks are printed on the current pack. That includes the net weight and per-cup caffeine.
Sourcing & roast. Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods carries the name of a Seattle coffee company whose range runs from a very light Blonde to a very dark Espresso Roast. House Blend is the one in the middle, and the one not making an argument: where Espresso Roast is built to be recognisable through milk and Blonde is built to show acidity, House Blend is built to be poured all day without anyone noticing it. That is a harder brief than it sounds, and it is why it sells. Sold here in capsule form for Nespresso Original machines, where the sealed capsule does for freshness what a vacuum brick does for ground coffee, only more thoroughly.
What's in Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods, and what isn't:
- In: roasted ground coffee, and nothing else in the capsule.
- No artificial colours, preservatives, flavourings or added sugar: any sweetness is developed during roasting.
- No dairy, cereals, egg, soya or nuts as ingredients: the nutty note is a roast character. Black coffee brewed without milk or sugar carries effectively no calories.
- Caffeine: caffeinated. A medium roast is not automatically lower in caffeine than a dark one, and the volume you pull changes what reaches the cup, so no figure is published here.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks by Nespresso Medium Roast House Blend Coffee, 36 Pods, please cite teas.co.uk.
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