If you’ve ever walked in to a Starbucks and you’ve read ‘Blonde Roast’ on the menu, or ‘Blonde espresso’, but have no idea what that is, this post is for you.
Let’s start with the obvious question…
What Is Blonde Espresso?
Blonde Espresso, or Blonde Roast, is a light espresso roast created by Starbucks. It has a delicate light flavor and is usually created from a blend of Latin American and East African beans.
Blonde espresso, then, will refer to any shot of espresso made from this light Blonde roast coffee.
Starbucks mentions that they’ve crafted this roast for a ‘more balanced taste that will blend beautifully with milk’ (source)
Actually, Starbucks offers two type of blonde roast coffees:
- Blonde Espresso Roast
- and Veranda Blonde Blend
Blonde Roast vs. Regular Roast
Blonde is the lightest roasting profile, it is ‘weaker’ in taste compared to a Regular roast. Although, there’s no profile called ‘regular’ to be exact. It goes light, medium or dark roast. So a regular would most likely be medium roast coffee.
Blonde roasted coffee beans are quickly roasted and taken off the heat. They produce light bodied coffee that has no bitterness, not in comparison to a medium or dark roast coffee.
Blonde Roast vs. Signature
Signature is Starbucks’s dark roast espresso blend. It’s the blend used from the first Starbucks back in 1975 and according to Starbucks, it’s still roasted the same way.
This blend is a dark one, meaning it will taste strong, heavy and is on the bitter side, even when mixed with milk.
Is Blonde Espresso Stronger? Does It Have Less or More Caffeine?
If you’re asking about taste, Blonde espresso is definitely weaker than regular or Signature espresso roast. If you don’t like the taste of coffee to ‘punch’ you with its boldness, and enjoy a rather smooth and mellow cup, especially with milk, you’ll love the Blonde Roast.
But here’s the surprising part…
Even though Blonde roast is a lighter tasting coffee, it actually has more caffeine content than regular roast.
Reading the nutritional info on Starbucks’s website states that 8 oz of Veranda coffee (blonde roast) contains 180 mg of caffeine, while 8 oz of Starbucks Dark Roast coffee contains 130 mg of caffeine.
So just because it tastes ‘weaker’, it’s not actually the case, because it has more caffeine than regular coffee.
Is Blonde Espresso Sweeter?
It is not sweeter per se, it’s just not as bitter as a dark roast would be. Also, because it’s naturally light in taste, any additives you add to it will taste more prominent. So if you like your coffee on the sweeter side, and do not want the coffee taste to be overpowering, I absolutely recommend trying the Blonde Roast.
Does Dunkin Have Blonde Espresso?
The name ‘Blonde Roast’ was created by Starbucks to market their light roast blends. What Dunkin has is Light Roast coffee, which is basically their equivalent to a Blonde roast, but won’t taste exactly the same.
How To Make Blonde Espresso at Home
Whether you have a classic drip coffee maker, espresso maker, single-serve coffee machine (Nespresso or Keurig), you’ll be happy to know that Starbucks makes their Blonde roast available for home use.
Nespresso Blonde Espresso Capsules
These capsules made for Nespresso by Starbucks. So it’s the same coffee you love in a capsule, ready for you to make with a push of a button. It is available for OriginalLine machines as well as Vertuo machines. (Amazon – Starbucks.com)
Blonde Roast K-Cup Pods
For Keurig machines, you’ll find the Veranda Blonde Roast in the form of K-Cup pods. Each box will contain 32 pods of the Veranda blend. (Amazon – Starbucks)
Veranda Blend or Blonde Roast Espresso in Whole Beans
For drip coffee makers, manual brewers or manual espresso machines, you can always buy whole beans of your favorite blonde roast blend and grind it to suit your preferred brewing method to prepare at home. (Amazon – Starbucks)