Meet the Starbucks® Blonde Roast

What is Starbucks® Blonde Roast?

For the coffee connoisseurs, you’ll know that each roast has a body, varying acidities, processing method and roast profile. Essentially, a blonde roast is the profile type, meaning it’s softer. But it’s about more than just roasting the coffee beans lighter – so what exactly is it?

Ever wondered, “What is a blonde roast?”

You’ve come to the right place for answers. When it comes to a blonde roast, Starbucks roasts the coffee beans at a lower temperature and for less time. (To put it simply, the lighter the roast, the shorter the roasting time and the lower the temperature.)

The lower temperature and shorter roast time give the coffee what we call a ‘mellow’ flavour profile. Still bold and flavoursome, it’s a little more balanced and brings out the sweeter side of the milk. These types of espressos are smoother, with less of a bold roasted edge.

Meet the different types of Blonde Roasts

There are two main types of Starbucks blonde roast beans.

There’s also a Starbucks Christmas Blonde Roast that comes out in time for the festive season. Consider it as a gift for caffeine fanatics or even as a way of saying, “Thanks for having us these holidays”.

Where does Starbucks source its blonde roasts?

Like most of the Starbucks coffee blends, our blonde roasts largely come from beans sourced in Latin America. This is because of the region’s consistent taste and quality. It also features many different microclimates, soils and processing traditions which all affect the taste profile. Our Willow Blend®, on the other hand, is a mixture of Latin American and African beans.

Only the highest quality coffee makes it

Our coffee buying team evaluates over 1,000 samples each year. Yet only a few meet our rigorous standards. From only picking coffee cherries at their peak to tasting a batch of coffee at least three times, we ensure the brew that ends up in your cup is nothing less than exceptional.

How to enjoy Starbucks® Blonde Roast

From sipping your personalised mug at home to experiencing a brew made by our expert baristas, the Starbucks® Blonde Roast can be enjoyed in so many different ways.

Get a Starbucks-style coffee at home

Ever wanted to recreate the delicious blend you experienced in a Starbucks store? While it has a lot to do with the high-quality ingredients we choose, the mix of delicious flavours and the unmatched skill of our dedicated baristas, you can indeed DIY with our roast blends.

But a blend of the best should be treated as such. Make sure that if you’re brewing your own, you use the right proportion of coffee to water, choose the right grind method for your brewing needs and use clean, just-boiled water.

For the best tips, visit our blog on how to prepare great coffee and keep it fresher for longer!

Where to buy the Starbucks® Blonde Roast?

There are lots of places you can pick up the light espresso. Starbucks stores are the best place to start, but we also stock the roast in supermarkets and some online retailers.

BONUS TIP: Just because you buy the beans, doesn’t mean you have to grind them yourself. If you ask our instore baristas, they’re more than happy to grind a bag of beans to suit your brewing setup! Why not try it next time you visit us instore?