Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 Pods
Make it and drink it. The toasted nut and the citrus lift sitting on top of this one are the first things to leave, and five minutes waiting on a desk costs you most of them, which is ordinary behaviour for a coffee held at a middling roast rather than a fault in the capsule. Look at what comes out, too. A clear reddish brown you can see through under a light crema, where the boxes either side of it on the same shelf pour close to black. That is the difference in one glance. Machine check before you buy, since the aisle is genuinely confusing on this point: these are Nespresso Original capsules and a Vertuo will not take them. One expectation to set, though. The character here is quiet rather than showy, a clean brightness with caramel underneath, and anyone who has read enough about single origin to expect fireworks will find it restrained.
Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, in brief.
Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 Pods is one of the few boxes in a supermarket capsule aisle that names a country on the front instead of a style. Picked into the Teas.co.uk selection as the range's best black coffee.
Machine check: these are Nespresso Original capsules. They are not Vertuo capsules and will not work in a Vertuo, which takes only its own barcoded capsule.
Almost every capsule is a blend, because blending is how a roaster keeps a cup tasting the same all year. This one gives that up for character: clean citrus under caramel and toasted nut, at a middling roast. The shelf price moves about between retailers, so the price in your basket is the price.
Almost every capsule sold is a blend, and blending is not a compromise: it is how a roaster keeps a cup tasting the same in March and in November, whatever that year's harvests did. Put one origin in the capsule and you give that up. The coffee now has to be good enough on its own to carry a box, and it will shift a little from crop to crop rather than being smoothed out against something else. What you buy in exchange is character you can actually name, and in Colombian coffee that character is usually a clean citrus brightness sitting under caramel and toasted nut.
Curator notes: the tasting profile is our own editorial assessment against the current pack format and the brand's published description. We run same-day UK dispatch on every order placed before 2pm Monday to Friday.
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 price in your basket at checkout is the price you pay, and it is the only figure we will stand behind.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and your local-authority guidance. Aluminium capsules are widely recyclable, but almost never through the ordinary kerbside bin with the coffee grounds still inside them, and the carton and the capsules usually take different routes.
What Single Origin Buys You, And What It Costs
A single origin tells you where the coffee grew and nothing else about how it will taste; country is a coarse instrument, and Colombia is a large country with very different growing conditions inside it. What the label does guarantee is that nobody has blended the distinctive parts away. The roast supports that decision: held at a middling level, because taking a single origin dark would replace the country's character with the roaster's, and at that point the label stops meaning anything.
The cost is consistency. A blend is engineered to be identical box after box, and a single origin is not, so the cup you get in eighteen months may be a shade different from this one. If that variation interests you, this is the box in the range worth paying attention to. If you want the same cup every morning without thinking about it, a blend does that job better and is not a lesser coffee for it.
Getting A Consistent Cup
- Descale on schedule: scale lowers the water temperature at the group more than it restricts the flow, so a scaled machine under-extracts quietly rather than failing loudly.
- Keep the capsules sealed: leave them in the carton until the moment of use; the individual seal is the entire preservation system.
- Empty the capsule bin: a full bin is the most common reason a capsule fails to seat and pierce cleanly.
- Filtered water: in a hard-water area a filter jug does more for the cup than changing capsules will.
- Do not re-run a used capsule: the second pass gives you the bitter tail of the first extraction and nothing else.
- Caffeine note: a regular caffeinated coffee rather than a decaf. Check the current pack if you need a figure per cup.
- Best with: a croissant, a lemon tart, or on its own mid-morning.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it:roasted ground coffee in a sealed aluminium capsule, and nothing else. No added flavourings, no sweeteners, no preservatives.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations, certification marks and allergen advice can change.
Caffeine:contains caffeine. Not one for late in the evening if you are sensitive, and worth moderating during pregnancy in line with current NHS guidance.
Child Safety:Keep hot drinks, capsules and the machine out of reach of children.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 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 your local-authority guidance. Aluminium capsules are widely recyclable, but almost never through the ordinary kerbside bin with the coffee grounds still inside them, and the carton and the capsules usually take different 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
The machine does the extraction here, so the variables left to you are the button, the cup and the state of the machine. A single origin rewards care more than a dark blend does, because there is a top note to lose.
The Straight Espresso
The Milk Build
Made with this tea
The Straight Espresso
How to make The Straight Espresso with Starbucks Single Origin Colombia.
- 1 Starbucks Single Origin Colombia capsule
- Fresh water in the machine tank
- A Nespresso Original machine
- A warmed demitasse
- Rinse a blank shot of hot water into the cup to warm it, and tip it out.
- Refill the tank with fresh water rather than topping it up.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting, about 40ml.
- Drink it promptly, while the crema is still holding.
What you'll end up with: The cup the capsule was dosed for. The lungo button stretches it past the point where the citrus reads thin instead of bright.
Cortado
How to make a Cortado with Starbucks Single Origin Colombia.
- 1 Starbucks Single Origin Colombia 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 about 60°C, keeping the texture fine rather than foamy.
- Pour the milk through the crema in one steady motion.
- Serve straight away.
What you'll end up with: The largest milk drink this roast survives. Any more milk and the citrus is simply outnumbered.
Iced Colombia
How to make an Iced Colombia with Starbucks Single Origin Colombia.
- 1 Starbucks Single Origin Colombia capsule
- A tall glass of ice
- 100ml cold water
- A slice of orange, optional
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in 100ml of cold water.
- Pull the capsule on the espresso setting straight over the top.
- Stir once, gently.
- Add a slice of orange if you want the citrus note pushed forward.
What you'll end up with: The best use of this capsule in warm weather. A cold cup exaggerates bitterness, and there is almost none here to exaggerate.
Cold Milk Over Ice
How to make Cold Milk Over Ice with Starbucks Single Origin Colombia.
- 1 Starbucks Single Origin Colombia capsule
- A tall glass of ice
- 150ml cold milk
- A long spoon
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour in 150ml of cold milk.
- Pull the capsule short, straight over the ice and milk.
- Stir once and drink before the ice thins it.
- Skip the syrup; the caramel is already in the coffee.
What you'll end up with: Milk and ice together round the citrus off without hiding it. Pull short, because melting ice dilutes the drink a second time.
The Long Black
How to make The Long Black with Starbucks Single Origin Colombia.
- 1 Starbucks Single Origin Colombia capsule
- 100ml hot water from the kettle
- A warmed mug
- A twist of lemon peel, optional
- Pour 100ml of hot water into the warmed mug first.
- 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, not water onto coffee. It keeps the crema intact, and it beats stretching the capsule on the lungo button.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee, Colombia | the entire contents | The whole product, from a single named country rather than a blend. Nothing is added: no flavouring, no sweetener, no preservative. |
| Roast level | held at middling | Deliberately not taken dark. Roast character and origin character compete, and a dark roast would replace the country's citrus edge with the roaster's cocoa. |
| Grind and dose | set for an espresso | Chosen for an extraction of roughly 40ml. Stretching it on the lungo button pushes past the point where the citrus turns thin and sour. |
| Aluminium capsule | 10 per carton | An absolute barrier to oxygen and light, and rigid enough to hold its shape under nine bars so the water passes through the bed evenly rather than round the edge. |
Pack: Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 Pods; caffeinated coffee capsules for Nespresso Original machines. Go by the best before date printed on the pack.
Characterising components shown; the coffee is the entire contents and the capsule is the packaging.
Sourcing & blend. This is not a blend, which is the point of it. Starbucks by Nespresso is the Starbucks range made for the Nespresso Original system rather than a third-party capsule that happens to fit, which is why the box carries both names and why there is no compatibility question to weigh. Naming a single country on the front commits the roaster to a coffee that has to carry a box on its own and that will shift a little from crop to crop, rather than being smoothed out against other origins.
What's in Starbucks Single Origin Colombia, and what isn't:
- In: roasted ground coffee from Colombia in a sealed aluminium capsule, and nothing else.
- No artificial colours, flavourings, sweeteners or preservatives: this is plain coffee, and any sweetness in the cup is the roast rather than an addition.
- Not a blend: one named country, which is unusual in a supermarket capsule aisle.
- Not a Vertuo capsule: Nespresso Original only. A Vertuo machine reads a barcode on the rim and will not take these.
- Not decaffeinated: a regular caffeinated coffee.
Asked about this product
Ask the curator
Send a product question through the contact form; replies usually come within one working day.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 Pods, please cite teas.co.uk.
What buyers say
No customer reviews of Starbucks by Nespresso Single Origin Colombia Espresso Coffee, 10 Pods yet.
Bought this from us? Log in to your account, then come back to this page to review it. Only verified buyers can review, and every review is checked before it appears; approved reviews earn 50 reward points.
More from Starbucks
Other Coffee worth comparing
