Starbucks – Pike Place Roast
By: Chase
Coffee: Pike Place Roast
Company: Starbucks
Brewing Method: Coffeepot
Origin: ?
Description: “With a smoother finish and subtle flavors of cocoa and toasted nuts, this coffee can be enjoyed fresh all day, every day.”
This is the every day Starbucks "House" blend. It is their coffee that they serve in house every day. If you go into a store, ask for their house coffee, they will give you this blend. Pike Place Market is in Seattle and is also where the first store was opened up. The original store on Pike Place street apparently is no longer there, but they moved it down the way and call the new store the 'original' store. Go figure. There are about 15,000 Starbucks stores - give or take a few. Each store, at the very least, serves 1 5lb bag of Pike Place Roast. Odds are most do 2+. Lets just say 1, though. That means about 75,000 pounds of Pike Place Roast is ground up and served daily at the very least.
How does it taste, though? It isn't that bad. Starbucks gets a bad rep for having over roasted and bad coffee. Considering they have to have about 27,375,000 pounds a year of this bean roasted up - it isn't that bad. The thing a lot of people forget is when you are a smaller coffee roaster you have the ability to take a small batch of incredible coffee and make something really unique with it. Starbucks can't afford that option, even their small batch coffees have to be incredibly large, and so they make a decent cup of coffee out of a massively produced amount of beans. The taste is mellow, with a hint of fruit and a nutty finish.
This coffee was made for cream and sugar - but that is okay. Thats what most of us enjoy, and what most of us drink. Nothing is too overpowering or strong about this coffee, it is mellow - almost weak - but it does what it sets out to do.
Starbucks – Breakfast Blend
By: Chase
Coffee: Breakfast Blend
Company: Starbucks
Brewing Method: Coffeepot
Origin: Latin American
Description: “Bright citrus notes dance across your tongue, awakening your taste buds without overwhelming them And the finish is clean, leaving your palate refreshed.”
Once upon a time, this was the coffee I would suggest to people. A Starbucks starter blend. I guess, at the time, I felt that a mild coffee was a good introduction. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. People are usually not used to how strong and smokey Starbucks coffee actually tastes. Breakfast Blend isn't as bad, because it is weaker. Still, I don't think I would suggest this as a start anymore. My taste buds and my mind has changed, in general, to what I might consider a good starter coffee. This coffee has a strong acidic taste to it, with a weak body and a tangy after taste. While I would agree that it doesn't overwhelm you with citrus, it comes close. This coffee reminds me slightly of the familiar flavors in some Intelligentsia blends. I wonder if it doesn't have as much of the Starbucks signature roast (which tends to be darker then other roasts).
Starbucks – French Roast
By: Chase
Coffee: French Roast
Company: Starbucks
Brewing Method: French Press
Origin: Latin American
Description: “French is all about the roast. It's our darkest and boldest and not for the faint of heart. We roast the beans to their edge for a singular smoky flavor. And that's the French Roast calling card. Normally you wouldn't expect such a bang from a coffee with low acidity and light body, but this is no ordinary brew. It's delectably smoky cup, intense and uncompromising.”
French Roast has always been the kind of coffee I assumed just wasn't for me. When people say a coffee has a smoky flavor, this is what they are referencing, but on a smaller scale. This coffee is dark, black as oil, and the flavor - if you would call this flavor - is of smoke. Everything smoky come's to mind, when I sip this coffee. From wildfire's to burnt ash, this coffee kicks you in the face with one singular flavor. I like to think it is a good learning tool for people to find out what "Smoky" really tastes like, but really, this coffee isn't very good. I realize not everyone like's the same, but this coffee really is a niche coffee. They roast the bean right up until it catches fire. Come on. Smoky? More like burnt. Stay away from French Roast unless you really, really, enjoy smoky flavors. It's like smoking, without the cigarette.
Starbucks – Anniversary Blend
By: Chase
Coffee: Anniversary Blend
Company: Starbucks
Brewing Method: French Press
Origin: Asia/Pacific, Aged Indonesian
Description: “Smooth with deep, spicy flavor notes, this is a big, bold, satisfying blend created once a year to salute our heritage.”
Each year Starbucks comes out with a different but familiar "Anniversary Blend". Definitely a stronger and darker blend of bean, this coffee has a thick body and a smoky flavor. Again, the smoky flavor seems to be indicative of Starbucks way of roasting in general. I can taste the spicy. I suppose. It IS there - hidden underneath the taste of smoke. Burnt ash. This coffee is terrible. A friend once described it as tasting of feet. I can't help but agree with that assessment. No amount of sugar or cream will cover this abomination.
Starbucks – Holiday Blend
By: Chase
Coffee: Holiday Blend
Company: Starbucks
Brewing Method: Coffeepot
Origin: Aged Sumatra, Asia/Pacific, Latin America
Description: “With winter outside – and friends and family inside – the holidays are the perfect time to enjoy delicious coffee. Starbucks® Holiday Blend goes perfectly with all your favorite winter foods, from hearty soups to rich desserts, and everything in between. The unique taste of Starbucks® Holiday Blend comes from a trademark recipe of coffees with a variety of flavors and origins. From Latin America come bright, sparkling beans. Asia/Pacific beans provide their own smooth, full-bodied taste. And Aged Sumatran coffees – carefully held for 3 to 5 years – complete the blend with its signature spicy flavor.”
This coffee is Starbucks version of a holiday blend. It seems every major coffee company has one. This coffee has a fairly mellow body, not too over powering, and it has a smokey finish. Definitely a different creature from Intelligentsia's blends, Starbucks is often criticized for 'over roasting' their beans. This is probably where that smokey (almost burnt) after taste seems to come from. There is a hint of spice. Personally, if I were to drink this cup of coffee, I'd prefer to add some cream and sugar to mellow out the after taste.
Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts
By: David West
The silence has been long, but I have never stopped drinking coffee; indeed, none of us have. I am breaking the silence because of a great shocking occurrence that befell me recently. A friend of mine in the building across the way called me up and said "I have brewed a pot of Dunkin Donuts coffee, if you're interested. Come get a cup!"