Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 Pods
Anyone who hears single origin and expects fruit and flowers will be looking in the wrong direction here. What arrives is nutty and faintly cocoa-ish, medium in body, moderately bitter, with a finish that holds rather than dropping away the moment you swallow, and you can drink it black without wincing. It stands up to being poured over ice or over a scoop of vanilla, where the nuttiness survives both the cold and the sugar. It sits well next to an almond biscuit or a square of dark chocolate, where a fruitier origin would argue. Twelve pods, twelve cups. Dolce Gusto machines only, and it is full-strength coffee rather than a decaf.
Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, in brief.
Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso by Nescafé Dolce Gusto is a twelve-pod box of single-origin espresso for Dolce Gusto machines, a Starbucks roast on the Nescafé pod system, picked into the Teas.co.uk curator selection as the box to buy when you want a pod coffee that tastes of one named country rather than of a house blend built for consistency.
Twelve pods, twelve short drinks, machine specific to Nescafé Dolce Gusto and no other system. A black espresso with no milk portion, nutty rather than fruity, and priced above the everyday blends because the origin is the point of it.
Almost everything sold in a pod is a blend, put together so that the cup tastes the same in March as it did in October. This one is built the other way round: one growing country, named on the front of the box, with whatever character that country gives it left in.
It is a Starbucks recipe on the Nescafé Dolce Gusto system, which is why two names share the front of the pack. Starbucks supplies the coffee and the roast; Dolce Gusto supplies the machine and the pod it goes in. The practical consequence is the one that matters most at the point of ordering: these pods fit Dolce Gusto machines only. They will not work in a Tassimo, a Nespresso or an A Modo Mio, and the pod shapes are different enough that you will know within a second of trying.
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. Common questions are answered in the detailed Q and A tab below.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
Teas.co.uk Curator Rating
4.7 / 5 - Our expert verdict from the curators at Teas.co.uk
The Story Behind Starbucks and Dolce Gusto
Starbucks began as a single shop in Seattle selling roasted beans, and the house style it settled on over the decades is a darker, more developed roast than most European chains use. That style is what people either seek out or avoid, and it is worth knowing which camp you are in before you buy a box. Nescafé Dolce Gusto is the machine platform, made by Nestlé, and it works by forcing hot water through a sealed pod at pressure rather than dripping it through. Because the system is licensed, a number of coffee houses put their recipes into Dolce Gusto pods, which is why a Starbucks box and a Nescafé box sit side by side and fit the same machine.
Packaging: Follow the current UK pack and local-authority guidance; components can require different disposal routes.
Our Commitment To The Planet
- Pod disposal is a scheme, not a bin rule: whether these pods go in a kerbside recycling bin, a brand collection scheme or the general waste depends on what the current pack says and on what your council accepts. Check both before you decide.
- One pod, one cup: an espresso pod makes a single short drink with nothing left in the machine and nothing poured away, which is the least wasteful way a pod system can be run.
Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 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; components can require 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
To get the best out of Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso, you are mostly managing the machine rather than the coffee. The pod is sealed and pre-dosed, so there is nothing to grind, weigh or tamp. What is left to you is the water, the cup and the state of the machine.
The Machine Build
The Long Black Build
Made with this tea
The Short Cup
How to make The Short Cup with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- Fresh cold water in the tank
- A small warmed cup
- Warm the cup with hot water and tip it out. An espresso is a small volume and a cold cup takes several degrees out of it.
- Load one pod and set the machine to its espresso volume rather than the lungo one.
- Brew and stop it short. Letting it run on turns an espresso into a thin americano.
- Taste it black before reaching for sugar; the nuttiness carries its own sweetness.
What you'll end up with: A short, nutty espresso that tastes of one place rather than of a house style. This is the drink the box is built for.
The Long Black
How to make The Long Black with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- 120ml hot water from the kettle
- A warmed mug
- Pour about 120ml of hot water into the warmed mug first.
- Brew one pod of Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso short, straight into the water.
- Leave it alone. Coffee into water keeps the crema on top; water poured onto coffee breaks it.
- Adjust the ratio next time. One part espresso to three parts water is the starting point, not the rule.
What you'll end up with: A full mug that still tastes of the origin, because the coffee was extracted properly and then diluted rather than over-extracted to fill the cup.
Flat White From One Pod
How to make Flat White From One Pod with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- 100ml whole milk or oat milk
- A small warmed cup, not a mug
- Steam or froth 100ml of milk to about the temperature you can still hold the jug at.
- Brew one pod short into a small warmed cup.
- Pour the milk in from low down so the foam settles on top rather than sinking through.
- Stop at 150ml total. Go bigger and one pod of coffee disappears into the milk.
What you'll end up with: A proper flat white where the coffee is still the loudest thing in the cup. The size limit is the whole trick.
Iced Colombia Espresso
How to make Iced Colombia Espresso with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- A tall glass filled to the top with ice
- 100ml cold water
- Fill the glass with ice properly. A half-filled glass melts into a weak drink within a minute.
- Brew one pod short, straight over the ice.
- Lengthen with cold water rather than hot, so nothing else melts.
- Stir once and drink it while the ice is still holding.
What you'll end up with: A cold black coffee that still has body, because it was brewed strong and chilled fast rather than brewed long and left to cool.
Espresso Tonic
How to make Espresso Tonic with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- 150ml chilled tonic water
- Ice
- A strip of orange peel
- Fill a tall glass with ice and pour the chilled tonic over it first.
- Brew one pod short and pour it slowly over the back of a spoon so it layers on top.
- Twist a strip of orange peel over the glass and drop it in.
- Serve unstirred and let the drinker mix it.
What you'll end up with: A long, bitter-sweet summer drink. The quinine sharpens the nutty side of the coffee rather than fighting it.
Affogato
How to make Affogato with Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso.
- 1 Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso pod
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- A few toasted hazelnuts, chopped
- Put two scoops of ice cream in a cold bowl or glass.
- Brew one pod short and pour it straight over while it is still properly hot.
- Scatter chopped toasted hazelnuts over the top.
- Serve immediately, with a spoon rather than a straw.
What you'll end up with: A two-minute pudding that makes the nutty side of this coffee obvious. The hazelnuts are there to point at it.
Brewing the perfect cup
What’s in it, what to know
Inside the pack
| Ingredient | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted ground coffee from a single named origin, sealed in the pod | The whole pod | Everything the cup tastes of. One growing country rather than a blend, which is why the character is nutty and particular rather than smoothed out for consistency. |
| Milk, sweetener or flavouring | None | Deliberately absent. This is a black espresso pod, so anything in the cup beyond coffee and water is something you added yourself. |
| Water from your machine | The rest of the cup | Even in a short drink, most of the liquid is water from your tank. Fresh cold water and a descaled machine change this cup more than the brand on the box does. |
Pack: Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso by Nescafé Dolce Gusto, 12 Pods; black espresso pods for Nescafé Dolce Gusto machines, one pod per short cup, twelve drinks to a box. Use by the date printed on the pack.
Characterising components shown.
Sourcing & blend. Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso by Nescafé Dolce Gusto pairs a Starbucks roast with the Nescafé Dolce Gusto pod system, which is why two names share one box: Starbucks supplies the coffee and the roast profile, Dolce Gusto is the machine platform and the sealed pod that goes into it. The pack names Colombia as the growing country, so this is a single-origin coffee rather than a multi-country blend.
What's in Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso by Nescafé Dolce Gusto, 12 Pods, and what isn't:
- In: roasted ground coffee from one named origin, sealed in pods for one machine system, and nothing else.
- No milk, no sugar, no flavouring: it is a black espresso, so the cup is yours to build after it is brewed.
- Caffeinated, not decaffeinated: this is the standard version. A short drink is a small volume, not a small dose.
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Source: Teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Single-Origin Colombia Espresso By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 Pods, please cite teas.co.uk.
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