Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, box of 10, 53g
Caramel is the one added flavour in the coffee aisle with a good reason to be there. Sugar browning in the roasting drum belongs to the same family, so the addition sits on top of a note the coffee already makes rather than covering one it would rather you missed. On a dark base, added caramel works as a correction. On this blonde base it works as an amplifier, and what arrives is light, clearly sweet and almost free of bitterness at the close. Pull it short into a small cup, add milk if you want it, and keep sugar out of the way.
Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, in brief.
Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso is the caramel-flavoured blonde roast capsule in the Starbucks at-home range, made for Nespresso original-line machines, picked into the teas.co.uk selection because the base underneath the flavour is the unusual part.
Machine fit: Nespresso original-line capsules. Not Vertuo, not Dolce Gusto, not Tassimo. Look at the current UK pack and your machine side by side before you buy.
53g across ten caramel capsules, or roughly 5.3g each. Most flavoured coffee is built on a dark roast that the flavouring covers. This one is built on a blonde, so the caramel sits with the coffee's own sweetness rather than over it.
That changes what the caramel is doing. On a dark base, added caramel works as a correction: it masks. On a light base it works as an amplifier, because caramel is not a foreign note in coffee to begin with. The sweetness a roaster develops through sugar browning is the same family of flavour, so the added caramel lands on top of something the coffee already has rather than covering something it does not want you to taste. Liking the result comes down to your own palate. It is not the usual flavoured-coffee trick.
The caramel box carries ten capsules and 53g of coffee, which is about 5.3g per capsule. Made by Starbucks and Nespresso working together on coffee for the home, it is a proper Original line capsule and no third party imitation.
Curator notes: this taste profile is our own editorial view of the current caramel box, checked against what Starbucks says about it. Smooth Caramel tends to need 1 to 2 working days on our side before dispatch.
Curator’s notes
Read the full write-up
Flavoured Is Not The Same As Sweetened
This is the distinction that catches people out, and it is worth being plain about. A flavoured coffee carries aroma compounds that make the cup read as caramel. Whether it also contains sugar is a separate question, and it is answered by the ingredients panel on the pack rather than by the word on the front. Some flavoured coffees are sweetened and some are not, and the smell of caramel in the cup tells you nothing either way, because the nose reports aroma and the tongue reports sugar and the two arrive together.
The declaration is on the current UK pack, along with the allergen statement and the suitability information, and those are the only accurate sources. If you are counting sugar, or avoiding dairy, read the panel rather than taking a figure from a listing. That includes ours.
Machine fit: these are capsules for Nespresso original-line machines. Vertuo machines use a different format, while Dolce Gusto and Tassimo run on pod systems of their own. Confirm your machine type on the box before you order.
Packaging: Before you bin anything, note that capsule, card and film may each need their own route and that some ranges take capsules back; your council covers the local rules and the current UK pack sets out the rest.
Why The Blonde Base Matters
Roast level is the biggest single lever a roaster has, and it works by trade-off rather than by degree of quality. Take a bean further and you build body, crema and roast-derived bitterness while burning away the bean's own acidity and much of its origin character. Stop earlier, as a blonde roast does, and you keep brightness and the coffee's own sweetness but lose weight, and you leave yourself far less margin for error in the cup.
For a flavoured coffee that trade runs the opposite way to the usual one. A dark base gives a flavoured capsule cover and forgiveness: whatever the machine does, the roast dominates. A blonde base gives it space and exposure. The caramel is legible because there is no wall of roast in front of it, and any fault in the extraction is equally legible for the same reason. It is the more interesting version and the less forgiving one, which is a fair summary of blonde roast generally.
Getting a Consistent Cup
- Descale on schedule: scale drops brewing temperature, and an under-extracted blonde roast reads sour rather than weak.
- Blank shot first: if the machine has stood overnight, run 50ml of plain water through it before the first capsule.
- Filter the water: on a light roast this does more for the cup than changing capsule.
- Do not pull it long: a blonde roast taken to lungo volume turns thin and papery, and the caramel goes with it.
- Iced: two capsules pulled short over a full glass of ice, topped with cold milk. Cold suppresses aroma, so use two rather than one.
- Caffeine note: caffeine is present as normal; this is not a decaf capsule. Roast level is not a guide to caffeine, and a blonde roast is not a weaker coffee.
- Best with: shortbread, a butter croissant, banana bread, or on its own mid-afternoon.
Ingredients And Suitability
What is in it: roasted and ground coffee with caramel flavouring. Because this is a flavoured line rather than plain coffee, the full declaration matters more than usual.
Ingredients and dietary suitability: Recipes, machine compatibility and allergen wording can all move on, so read today's UK pack before you order the caramel capsules.
Allergen note: read the allergen panel on the current pack.
Caffeine: contains caffeine. Go lightly in the evening if you are caffeine sensitive, and follow the NHS's current guidance during pregnancy.
Child Safety: Capsules and machine both need to stay well away from children.
Source: teas.co.uk, the UK independent tea specialist in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. If you reference Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee 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: Caramel flavoured blonde roast, 53g spread across ten sealed capsules of roughly 5.3g, for Nespresso's original line.
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
A blonde roast asks more of the machine than a dark one does, and a flavoured blonde roast shows a bad cup twice over. Three things matter: water, volume and cup temperature.
The Short Caramel Shot
The Caramel Latte Without The Syrup
Made with this tea
The Short Caramel Shot
How to make The Short Caramel Shot with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 1 capsule Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- Fresh filtered water in the tank
- A warmed espresso cup
- Warm the espresso cup by brewing plain water into it with no capsule, then empty it. A light roast in a cold cup reads sour every time.
- Extract one capsule as an espresso of roughly 40ml. Do not pull it long.
- Taste it before adding anything.
- It may already be as sweet as you want it, whatever the pack says about sugar.
What you'll end up with: A light, sweet-reading shot with caramel sitting alongside the roast sweetness rather than over it. The clearest look at what the blonde base is doing.
Caramel Latte Without The Syrup
How to make Caramel Latte Without The Syrup with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 2 capsules Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- 180ml milk, dairy or oat
- A warmed 300ml mug
- Pull two capsules, both on espresso, into the mug you warmed. Two, not one pulled long.
- Steam or froth 180ml of milk to a smooth texture rather than stiff foam.
- Pour the milk in and stir once.
- No syrup goes in. The caramel is already in the capsule.
What you'll end up with: A caramel latte with no syrup pump involved, and noticeably less sweetness than the shop version. Milk carries caramel aroma better than water does.
Iced Caramel Latte
How to make Iced Caramel Latte with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 2 capsules Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- A full glass of ice
- 150ml cold milk
- Fill a tall glass with ice to the top, not halfway.
- Pull two capsules short straight over the ice so they chill on contact.
- Top with 150ml of cold milk and a single turn of the spoon.
- Use two capsules rather than one; cold suppresses aroma and this drink is mostly aroma.
What you'll end up with: The version most people actually want from a caramel coffee, and the one where the light base earns its place rather than being a liability.
Overnight Caramel Coffee Jug
How to make Overnight Caramel Coffee Jug with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 4 capsules Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- A lidded jug
- Cold milk, to serve
- Pull four capsules on the espresso setting into a jug and let them cool to room temperature.
- Cover the jug and chill it overnight. A lid matters here: the aroma is the product.
- Serve over ice, topped with cold milk, across the following two days.
- Keep it covered in the fridge and it holds its aroma far better than an open jug does.
What you'll end up with: Four cold caramel coffees from one six minute job, and no machine to run on a hot morning.
Caramel Affogato
How to make Caramel Affogato with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 1 capsule Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
- A pinch of flaky sea salt
- Scoop the ice cream into a cold bowl.
- Pull one capsule on the espresso setting and pour it over while still hot.
- Finish with a small pinch of flaky salt, which sharpens caramel rather than sweetening it further.
- Eat immediately, before the coffee cools.
What you'll end up with: A salted caramel affogato using one capsule and no sauce. The salt is what stops it reading as flat sweetness.
Caramel Coffee Cream For Puddings
How to make Caramel Coffee Cream For Puddings with Starbucks Smooth Caramel by Nespresso.
- 1 capsule Starbucks Smooth Caramel
- 200ml double cream, cold
- Icing sugar, to taste
- Pull one capsule short and cool it completely. Warm coffee will not whip into cream.
- Whip 200ml of cold double cream to soft peaks.
- Fold the cooled coffee in a spoonful at a time, adding icing sugar only if it needs it.
- Spoon over poached pears, sponge pudding or a plain chocolate cake.
What you'll end up with: A caramel coffee cream that takes one capsule and eight minutes, and turns a plain pudding into a finished one.
Brewing the perfect cup
Inside the pack
| Component | Proportion | What it brings |
|---|---|---|
| Roasted and ground coffee | the base of the capsule | A blonde roast: the coffee's own sweetness and brightness kept, with very little roast bitterness built in. |
| Caramel flavouring | declared on the pack | The named flavour. On a light base it reads as an amplifier of the roast sweetness already there rather than a cover for bitterness. |
| Dose and format | about 5.3g per capsule (53g across 10) | A full espresso dose in a Nespresso original-line capsule, sealed individually so the aroma compounds are held until the machine pierces it. |
Pack: Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, box of 10, 53g; caffeinated capsules for Nespresso original-line machines. The carton's best before date tells you how long to keep them.
We also do not quote a caffeine milligram figure, because the amount in the cup depends on the machine's extraction volume as well as the capsule.
Sourcing & blend. Smooth Caramel belongs to the line Starbucks and Nespresso make together for home machines, which means an official Original capsule and not a third party one built to fit. The interesting decision is the base. Convention puts flavoured coffee on a dark roast, partly because there is enough roast bitterness for a sweet flavouring to correct and partly because roast character is hardy enough to come through an ordinary home machine. Putting the flavour on a blonde roast gives that cover up. There is far less bitterness for the caramel to mask, so it has to work with the coffee rather than over it, and any fault in the extraction shows through rather than being absorbed.
What's in Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, box of 10, 53g, and what isn't:
- In: roasted and ground blonde-roast coffee with caramel flavouring, dosed at roughly 5.3g per capsule for a short espresso extraction.
- No artificial colours, sweeteners or preservatives are claimed here either way: flavoured is not the same as sweetened, and this is exactly the case where the category cannot be assumed. The full flavouring, sugar and allergen declaration is on the current UK pack, which is where you should read it rather than taking it from us.
- Not decaffeinated: this is a regular caffeinated coffee, and roast level is not a guide to caffeine. For a precise caffeine number, go to the current carton.
- Capsule and carton: the capsules, card and any film are not always disposed of together, and some ranges offer to take used capsules back. The current UK pack and your council's advice will settle it.
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 Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, box of 10, 53g, please cite teas.co.uk.
What buyers say
No customer reviews of Starbucks Smooth Caramel Flavoured Coffee by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, box of 10, 53g 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
