Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g
Half the people who dislike this are describing it accurately. The roast is the loudest thing in the cup by a distance: burnt sugar, molasses, a real smokiness and almost no acidity underneath, and anyone who came to capsules hoping to taste where the beans grew will taste the roastery instead. That is the recipe rather than a fault. It is also why it tastes so specifically of the shop, because this is the same roast that sits under most of the menu in their branches, and a cup made at home lands closer to the original than people expect. Set against that, the drinker who found other capsules thin and polite finally gets a floor to stand on. The fit facts matter more than usual with a box this size: these are Nespresso Original capsules, so a Vertuo machine is out, and a Dolce Gusto and a Tassimo are out as well, neither of them taking anything of this shape. And the character described here is drawn from what drinkers consistently report, not from an independent tasting of our own.
Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, in brief.
Starbucks Espresso Roast by Nespresso is the dark roast that sits underneath almost everything the shop sells with milk in it, put into capsules for Nespresso Original machines. This is the box of 36 rather than a sleeve of ten: the same coffee at a meaningfully lower price per shot. Smoky, caramelised and built to carry through a large latte, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection for households that want the shop taste at home.
The character is not subtle and is not trying to be. Espresso Roast is taken dark, built to carry caramel and molasses depth through a large quantity of steamed milk without disappearing, and it tastes recognisably of the shop.
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. Cup lengths, machine care and milk serves are set out in full in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
The Story Behind Starbucks Espresso Roast
Starbucks is a Seattle coffee company, and its house style is the dark end of the roasting scale. Espresso Roast is the blend that runs underneath the whole menu: the shot in a latte, a cappuccino, a macchiato and a mocha. Whatever you think of that style, it is coherent, it is consistent, and a great many people know exactly what it tastes like before they open the box.
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
This is the part that costs people money. 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 entirely. Starbucks sells coffee for all of those systems under similar names and similar packaging, so check the machine rather than the brand.
Within the Original system, the dose is fixed at whatever the manufacturer sealed in, which here is about 5.5g per capsule by simple arithmetic on the box weight. You cannot adjust it, you cannot adjust the grind, and you cannot adjust the temperature. The one control you have is the volume of water you run through, and on a roast this dark that single decision does more to the cup than anything else you could change.
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. One button, and on this roast it matters more than on most.
The Espresso Serve
- Espresso button: about 40ml. The reference serve and the one the blend was designed around.
- Ristretto button: about 25ml. Sweeter and denser, and worth trying first if you find the dark roast severe at 40ml.
- Warm the cup: run a blank shot of hot water into the cup and tip it away. A cold ceramic cup costs several degrees, which on a dark roast is audible.
- 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
- Avoid the lungo button: stretching a dark capsule to 110ml drags the harsh tail of the extraction into the cup. Pull a 40ml espresso and add hot water on top instead. Same volume, far better drink.
- Latte: what this blend exists for.
- Flat white: one 25ml ristretto into 130ml of milk. At that volume a single capsule is plenty.
- Iced: pull two ristrettos straight onto a full glass of ice, sweeten while hot if you want sugar, then top with cold milk. Never pull a long shot for an iced coffee; ice dilutes, so start concentrated.
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.
- Buying big: the case for a 36 box is cost per shot, and it only holds if this is the roast you actually want. Buy a sleeve of ten first if you are unsure.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g, 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 Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g is the shot underneath the shop menu, so the builds below are the shop drinks, made at home with a Nespresso Original machine. Six of them: the reference espresso, the ristretto, the full-size latte, a long black done properly, an iced latte and a mocha.
Made with this tea
The Reference Espresso
How to pull the reference shot of Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Espresso Roast 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 and takes the aromatics with it.
- 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, If 40ml Reads Severe
How to pull a ristretto of Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Espresso Roast capsule
- A Nespresso Original machine
- A small warmed cup
- Press the ristretto button, or stop the espresso button manually at about 25ml.
- Shorter is sweeter, because the harsher compounds come out late in an extraction.
- This is the serve to use as the base of every milk drink below.
What you'll end up with: Denser and sweeter than the espresso, with the smoke still intact. On a capsule machine, cup length is your only real control.
The Full-Size Latte
How to make a shop-sized latte with Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 2 Starbucks Espresso Roast capsules
- 250ml whole or oat milk
- A milk frother or a jug and whisk
- A 350ml mug
- Pull two 25ml ristrettos into the mug.
- Heat 250ml of milk to about 60°C and foam it lightly.
- Pour steadily down the centre to combine.
- One capsule vanishes at this volume. That is why the counter version is built on a double.
What you'll end up with: This is the serve the blend exists for.
Long Black, Not Lungo
How to make a long black with Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 1 Starbucks Espresso Roast capsule
- 100ml hot water
- A warmed 200ml mug
- Pull a 40ml espresso into the mug.
- Add 100ml of hot water on top.
- Do not use the lungo button. Stretching a dark capsule to 110ml drags the harsh tail into the cup.
What you'll end up with: The same volume as a lungo and a far better drink. This one adjustment fixes most complaints about dark capsules.
Iced Latte, Strength First
How to make an iced latte with Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 2 Starbucks Espresso Roast 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.
- Never pull a long shot for an iced coffee. Ice dilutes, so start concentrated.
What you'll end up with: An iced latte that still tastes of coffee at the bottom of the glass. The smoke survives the ice better than a lighter roast would.
Mocha, The Honest Version
How to make a mocha with Starbucks Espresso Roast.
- 2 Starbucks Espresso Roast capsules
- 20g dark chocolate, chopped
- 220ml whole milk
- A pinch of salt
- Melt the chopped chocolate into a splash of the hot milk in the mug, with a pinch of salt.
- Pull two 25ml ristrettos over the chocolate and stir to a smooth paste.
- Heat the rest of the milk to about 60°C, foam it lightly and pour.
- Real chocolate rather than syrup. It takes two minutes longer and tastes like a different drink.
What you'll end up with: A mocha where the coffee and the chocolate argue with each other properly. The smoky roast is what stops it tasting like hot chocolate.
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 dark roast: smoky, caramelised and built to carry through a large quantity of steamed milk without disappearing. |
| Coffee per capsule | About 5.5g | The box weight divided by the capsule count (198g across 36 capsules), not a printed claim. The dose is fixed by the manufacturer and cannot be adjusted. |
| 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 caramel and molasses notes are roast development, not flavouring. |
Pack: Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g; 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.
Origin composition, roast level, capsule material and any certification marks are printed on the current pack.
Sourcing & roast. Starbucks Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g carries the name of a Seattle coffee company whose house style is the dark end of the roasting scale. Espresso Roast is the blend that runs underneath the whole menu: the shot in a latte, a cappuccino, a macchiato and a mocha. Whatever you make of that style, it is coherent and it is consistent, and a great many people know exactly what it tastes like before they open the box. 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 Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g, 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: black coffee brewed without milk or sugar carries effectively no calories.
- Caffeine: caffeinated. A darker roast is not automatically higher in caffeine, 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 Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Dark Roast, Box of 36, 198g, please cite teas.co.uk.
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