Starbucks Americano House Blend by Nescafé Dolce Gusto

This is the pod in the Starbucks Dolce Gusto range that leaves the milk to you. With no milk portion and no flavouring, the whole cup rests on the coffee, which makes it the clearest test of House Blend in pod form.

House Blend, made for a Dolce Gusto

Starbucks calls its signature medium roast House Blend, and presents it as its everyday coffee: balanced and nutty, sitting well short of the dark-roast end of its line. Two names share the box because this is a licensed arrangement. Starbucks sets the coffee and the recipe, while Nescafé supplies the pod system and the Dolce Gusto brewer, so the familiar high-street cup is rebuilt for a kitchen worktop.

The published ingredient list is a single line, roast and ground coffee, and it names none of the 14 major allergens. With no milk powder or flavouring in the pod, what goes in afterwards is entirely your call, whether that is oat milk, cow's milk or nothing at all. In the mug it gives toasted nut up front, a soft cocoa weight through the middle and a clean, dry finish.

Why a pod americano can taste thin

An americano is a shot of espresso stretched with hot water, and a pod machine builds the whole drink in a single pass. Each pod holds a set amount of coffee, so running it long to fill a big mug only adds water, and the cup turns thin and papery. Brew to the length the pack recommends, then add hot water from the kettle if you want a larger drink; the flavour holds up far better that way.

Two more habits help. Brewing onto a little hot water, rather than into an empty mug, keeps the crema intact, and the crema holds in the aroma, which in a black coffee is at its strongest in the first half minute. And keep up with descaling. Scale drops the brewing temperature, a cooler brew under-extracts, and the result tastes weak and faintly sour. A black pod shows this before any milk drink does, so follow the manual, and descale more often in a hard water area.

Choosing it over the milk pods

The Starbucks Dolce Gusto boxes we stock also include two-pod drinks such as the Madagascar Vanilla Macchiato and the White Mocha, where twelve pods make six servings. The Americano is one pod per drink, twelve drinks to the box, and it decides nothing for you beyond the coffee. That makes it the pick for a household that pours oat milk, soya or no milk at all, and for anyone who wants to taste the roast.

Pair it as you would a good filter coffee. The nutty, cocoa-edged cup suits chocolate biscuits especially well: a milk chocolate digestive softens its bitterness, while a dark chocolate florentine or a chocolate ginger biscuit matches it. A plain butter cookie is the quieter choice when the coffee should lead. Check the machine before ordering, particularly for a gift: the pods are Dolce Gusto only and will not go into a Nespresso, Tassimo or Lavazza machine.

The packs we stock

• Starbucks Americano House Blend By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 Pods (barcode 7613036927550)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Starbucks Americano House Blend By Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Coffee (12 Servings), 12 Pods (barcode 7613036927550) names none of the 14 major allergens. Read the current House Blend pod box first; its recipe and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Roast & Ground Coffee.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. Your box of House Blend pods has the last word.

What to eat with it

• McVitie's Milk Chocolate Digestives Biscuits, 266g: A milk chocolate digestive takes the edge off the bitterness of a black mug.
• Thomas Fudge's 6 Dark Chocolate Florentines: Dark chocolate matches the cocoa note in House Blend, a smart after-dinner pairing.
• Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: Ginger warmth and dark chocolate stand up to a proper black coffee.
• Royal Dansk Danish Butter Cookies, 340g: A plain, buttery biscuit for when you want the coffee to do the talking.

Elsewhere in the Starbucks range

• Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast by NESPRESSO Coffee, Blonde Roast, Box of 10, 53g
• Starbucks Breakfast Blend by Nespresso Medium Roast Coffee, 10 Capsules 56g
• Starbucks by Nescafé Dolce Gusto 12 x Madagascar Vanilla Macchiato Coffee (6 Servings)
• Starbucks by Nescafé Dolce Gusto 12 x White Mocha Coffee (6 Servings)
• Starbucks by Nespresso Blonde Espresso Roast Coffee, 10 Pods
• Starbucks by Nespresso Blonde Espresso Roast Decaf Coffee, 10 Pods 55g

The full range is on the Starbucks brand page.

FAQ

Which machines do Starbucks Americano pods fit? Only Nescafé Dolce Gusto machines. The pod shape is specific to that system, so it will not fit Nespresso, Tassimo or Lavazza brewers.

How many drinks does a box make? Twelve. It is one pod per mug, so the twelve pods give twelve servings.

Why does my americano taste weak? Most often the pod has been stretched to fill a large mug, which only adds water. Brew at the pack length and add hot water separately instead.

Is there milk or sugar in the pod? No. The published ingredient list is roast and ground coffee only, so milk and sugar are up to you.

Does Starbucks make House Blend for Nespresso too? Yes, there is a 36-capsule Starbucks by Nespresso House Blend, but Nespresso capsules and Dolce Gusto pods are not interchangeable.

Curator's note: Put a splash of hot water in the mug first, run the pod at its proper length and top up afterwards. With a dark chocolate florentine on the side, that is an after-dinner coffee I would happily serve to guests. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Starbucks Americano House Blend by Nescafé Dolce Gusto

More from the tea wiki

• Starbucks Tea: Café Range and the Teavana Story
• Nescafé: The Instant Coffee Benchmark
• Tea vs Coffee: Taste, Caffeine and Switching
• Caffeine in Tea
• Tea vs Coffee
• Tea for Coffee Drinkers: Where to Start
• Chai vs Coffee

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