What Is Starbucks Blonde Roast? [A Guide For Coffee Lovers]

Last updated on January 22nd, 2024 at 13:32

Light coffee is great, it gets all the marvelous flavors of the origins in your cup, but what is Starbucks Blonde Roast?

To give the quick answer for those in a rush – Starbucks blonde roast is great tasting lightly roasted coffee from the world’s most popular gourmet coffee shop. Be careful as the coffee has a caffeine kick.

Keep reading for more details about the blonde roast at Starbucks.

What Is Starbucks Blonde Roast?

Starbucks blonde roast is a green 100% Arabica coffee blend from Africa and Latin America that has been roasted at 196C (385F) and to the first crack. Blonde roasts have a sharp acidity, an underdeveloped sweetness, grassy flavors and a prominent and slightly toasted taste.

This is typical of all blonde roasts. It produces a smooth creamy mouthfeel and a very smooth finish. It was first available in 2012 and 2017 as an blonde espresso roast and has been expertly roasted for those that enjoy a light and mellow tasting coffee.

The lighter and mellower taste of the Starbucks blonde roast highlights the sweetness of the milk in your coffee.

Don’t be fooled by the lighter flavor and a blonde roast packs more of a caffeine kick than other roast profiles.

But not a lot more, just a little more. See the following table for the amount of caffeine for a variety of coffee beverages and drink sizes for the blonde roast.

Starbucks Blonde Roast Beverage	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Brewed Coffee	180 mg	270 mg	360 mg	475 mg
Cappuccino	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Latte	85 mg	85 mg	170 mg	170 mg
Flat White	150 mg	150 mg	225 mg	225 mg
Single Espresso Shot	85 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A
Doppio Double Espresso Shot	170 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A

Read: Does blonde coffee have more caffeine?

To provide a comparison compare this to the caffeine content of Starbucks Pike Place, see the table below for the same beverages and drink sizes with only one change – the roast.

Starbucks Beverage Pike Place	Short 8 oz (240 ml) Caffeine Content	Tall 12 oz (360 ml) Caffeine Content	Grande 16 oz (480 ml) Caffeine Content	Venti 20 oz (600 ml) Caffeine Content
Brewed Coffee	155 mg	235 mg	310 mg	410 mg
Cappuccino	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Latte	75 mg	75 mg	150 mg	150 mg
Flat White	130 mg	130 mg	195 mg	195 mg
Single Espresso Shot	75 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A
Doppio Double Espresso Shot	150 mg	N/A	N/A	N/A

A blonde roast has evidently more caffeine and can be enjoyed in a number of all types of coffee beverages from an enjoyably different espresso to a lovely latte.

Read: What does blonde roast coffee mean?

When Did Starbucks Introduce Blonde Roast?

Starbucks introduced their lighter roast, their blonde roast coffee in 2012 and is available in whole bean, preground and coffee pods.

Why Is It Called Blonde Roast?

The name of a blonde roast was originally a cinnamon roast, which caused some problems when customers started ordering cinnamon coffee, coffee (of any roast) with the spice added for extra flavor.

Over time, the name of the roast changed to a blonde roast as a representation of the light brown color to avoid confusion. The color of the roasted beans are not blonde but, well, more of a cinnamon like light brown color – hence the original name.

When Did Starbucks come Out With Blonde Espresso?

Starbucks came out with and introduced their blonde espresso in 2017 and has been a popular choice among coffee lovers ever since.

Is Blonde Roast A Starbucks Term?

No,

Blonde roast coffee existed long before Starbucks did. It is hard to find a blonde roast at a regular coffee shop. You need to go to a specialty or gourmet coffee shop like Starbucks to enjoy it.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Is Starbucks Blonde Roast

Is Starbucks Blonde Roast Stronger?

Starbucks blonde roast coffee is stronger than their other roasted coffees due to having slightly more caffeine. This is easily demonstrated when you check their own website and check out how much caffeine is in their beverages made with a blonde roast and comparing with other roasts.

A fine example of this is a regular espresso from Starbucks has 75 mg of caffeine and a blonde roast has 85 mg of the stimulant.

The flavor of their blonde roast coffee is not stronger though; it is lighter in flavor than their other coffees.

What Is The Difference Between Starbucks Blonde Roast And Regular?

Starbucks medium-roasted coffee is rich, balanced and with very approachable flavors. A medium roast makes a very smooth cup of coffee that coffee lovers enjoy.

A blonde roast has a shorter roast time and temperature and is able to bring more of the flavors of the origin into your cup of coffee. It’s mellow, light bodied and more acidic.

Their dark-roasted coffees are more robust, bolder, have a fuller body and are perfect for making shots of espresso and espresso-based drinks.

Read: Blonde roast

Is Starbucks Blonde Roast The Same As Espresso?

No, each espresso blend at Starbucks is unique and has their own flavor profile. Their blonde espresso roast is lighter, brighter, has a creamy body and is a lot smoother and brings out the natural sweetness of the coffee.

It is a completely new and very unique roast profile.

To compare with their signature espresso roast that is used as standard (unless specifically requested), it is bolder and more intense with an overall darker and lingering taste.

What Is Starbucks Mildest Coffee?

The mildest and lightest coffee at Starbucks is their lightest roast, the Blonde roast coffee. The lighter roast, the more of the intricate and delicate flavors from the bean make it into your cup of coffee and is more flavorful coffee with only hints and touches from the roasting process.

It’s a mellow and mild coffee.

Is Espresso Or Blonde Roast Stronger?

In terms of caffeine content, a blonde roast is stronger and packs more of a punch caffeine wise, but the difference is ever so slight that you will not notice the difference.

A fine example is a single shot of espresso has 75 mg of caffeine where a blonde espresso has 85 mg of caffeine. The difference of 10 mg is not a lot and is not something that you will notice.

What Is The Lightest Roast Of Starbucks Coffee?

The lightest roast at Starbucks is their Veranda Blend, which is a blonde roast, the lightest of all coffee roast profiles.

Final Thoughts – What Is Starbucks Blonde Roast?

If you are skimming or scrolling down to find out what is Starbucks Blonde Roast, I advise you read from the beginner to get a full answer.

The bottom line – It’s a great tasting mellow coffee with a touch more caffeine than other roasts.

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