by Nigel Ong
Starbucks is known to be one of the most innovative coffee companies, pioneering and introducing many coffee roasts, products, and marketing campaigns. It also widely experiments in how it sells its products.
Aside from regular whole bean roasts, you can get Starbucks roasts in many forms – ground, instant coffee, and pods. Their Nespresso Pods are selling particularly well, especially the Starbucks Espresso Roast.
However, how good is the Nespresso version of the Starbucks Espresso Roast? Will it taste as good as a traditional espresso made from fresh whole-bean coffee or a low-quality replacement, like their Frappuccino?
In this post, I compared the whole bean version of the Starbucks Espresso Roast and the Nespresso Pod version. I will brew both and then sample them to see how each performs.
About Starbucks Espresso Roast
Starbucks Espresso Roast is one of the mainstays in the company’s lineup. It was introduced to the market as early as 1975.
Despite its age, it remains one of the most popular roasts in Starbucks’ lineup. It is also one of their best sellers. Many drinkers appreciate its dark, smoky, yet caramelly flavor, with a rich, thick crema.
The Starbucks Espresso Roast is a blend made by combining high-quality Arabica coffee beans from Latin America and Asia Pacific. This helps to create a balanced espresso blend with satisfying flavors.
These beans are also roasted deep brown with an oily gloss outside. This should help to bring in a strong, full-bodied espresso with caramel sweetness and smoke.
On Starbucks’ scale of coffee roast darkness of 4-12, the espresso roast is at a pretty high end of the scale, suggesting it is a very dark roast. It has a roast intensity of 11.
There are several versions of Starbucks Espresso Roast, indicating its popularity. You can get the Espresso Roast as whole bean, ground coffee, and pods, specifically Nespresso pods.
Starbucks Espresso Roast: Nespresso Pod vs. Whole Bean
I already have a bag of whole-bean Starbucks Espresso Roast in my collection. For this review, I only need to pick up some Nespresso Pod versions of the roast.
Mine comes in a stick-like packaging, each containing 10 pods inside. My particular pack of Nespresso pods is made in Switzerland by Nestle – the owner of the Nespresso brand.
As for the labels and wordings on the pods, they indicate that it is a similar roast to the whole bean Starbucks Espresso Roast. The naming on both packaging is the same. Both packaging also show a similar level of roast intensity – 11 out of 12.
As for my Espresso Roast whole bean, my coffee bag for this review is designed for the Asia Pacific market.
This means the packaging is slightly different in other regions of the world. Still, checks with the barista show that they are roasted to the same standard. In theory, the beans should taste the same, no matter how the packaging may slightly differ.
Appearance
The Espresso Roast beans are dark, with a little shine on them. The beans should be roasted dark, with some of the coffee’s oil brought out to the surface of the beans.
However, to claim that the beans are roasted extra dark or within an inch of their life would be too much. I have seen much darker roasts with much more oil on the beans.
The beans have a pleasant aroma. There is a good amount of smoke and carbon, but there’s also some sweetness, possibly caramel.
There’s also a little bit of a sour smell. I won’t describe it as citrusy, but just a general sourness. I suppose Starbucks Espresso roast would be slightly acidic, but let’s see.
As for the Nespresso pods, each weighs about 5.7 grams, about 0.2 ounces. The pods are also made from 80% recyclable aluminum, which is environmentally friendly.
I took up a pod and started shaking it close to my ear. From the sounds made, I believe the pod’s content is coffee ground or powder.
You can use each pod to pull a shot of espresso or a ristretto. You can then use the espresso shot as the base to make other drinks, such as Americano, Latte, or Cappuccino.
Aroma-wise, there’s nothing to smell from the pods, unfortunately. I will have to brew the contents inside to really appreciate it, so let’s get to that.
Brewing Process
I first grind the whole beans into fine, espresso-level ground coffee for the whole beans. I then pulled out my Wacaco Minipresso GR for the brewing work. The GR name on the Minipresso stands for ‘ground,’ meaning the tool works specifically with ground coffee.
Before assembling everything, I filled the filter basket with coffee and the water tank with enough hot water. Then, I flipped the Minipresso upside down and began pumping on the pistons.
Soon, I have a fresh cup of espresso, smelling and looking excellent.
I then went to my Wacaco Minipresso NS and started brewing the Nespresso pod Starbucks Espresso Roast. The NS means Nespresso, meaning this Minipresso is compatible with all Nespresso pods.
I simply popped the pod on the basket and filled the water tank with hot water before assembling and pulling a shot.
Aroma
In front of me are two beautiful cups of Starbucks Espresso Roast coffee. The crema is thick, rich, fragrant, and slightly dark. This is expected since they are proper espresso roasts anyway.
Both espresso have a strong but pleasant and fragrant aroma. I would describe the smell as smoky and woody, with some sweetness underneath. The smell would instantly make you think of a beautiful cup of espresso.
I could not detect any significant difference in the aroma of both espresso. Maybe if I am to be pedantic, I would say the Nespresso cup may have a bit more sweet aroma, but this is very subtle. I may have overanalyzed the smell here.
Taste & Flavor
After the sniffing, it is time to do the drinking. I prepared a bottle of carbonated water to cleanse my palate between drinks.
Both are beautiful cups of espressos. The dark and rich flavors give me a good punch on my palate. The smokiness and woody notes of the espressos are also deeply satisfying and successfully scratch my ‘itch’ to taste a strong cup of espresso.
As I sipped the espressos, I could not help but detect a deeper flavor with the cup made from Nespresso. The cup has a slight malty sweetness, especially when I am about to swallow it down.
Worrying that this was a mistake, I checked the settings on my grinder, ensured I ground my beans right, and did not extract my cup of ground espresso. All settings are correct.
I went for a few more sips and confirmed this. The only way I could explain why the ground espresso has less depth may be the issue of freshness. The bag of coffee may have been with me for over three weeks now, although I have always sealed them and have kept the bag in an airtight box.
However, I have to say the taste difference may be quite subtle. Unless you are very serious about coffee, you may not notice them.
Starbucks Espresso Roast Nespresso Pod: Pros & Cons
Pros: Fast, Easy, Less Messy
One thing I like about the pod version of the Starbucks Espresso Roast is the ease of making it.
Instead of having to grind your beans down and scoop them into the filter basket, you simply pop the pod into the basket to brew with the Nespresso pod. You save time, since you do not have to wait for the grinder to get to work.
On top of that, when you work with coffee grounds, there will be spills, meaning you need to spend time cleaning up after brewing the espresso. No such thing with the Nespresso pod. When you are done, simply chuck the pod into a recycling bin.
Cons: Expensive
One problem with the Starbucks Espresso Roast Nespresso Pod edition is the price. It is much more expensive than the regular ground coffee.
My Starbucks Espresso Roast Nespresso Pod costs $37 for a 60-pod pack. Broken down, it is around 60 cents per shot of espresso.
If I buy a regular Starbucks Espresso Roast Whole Bean, I pay around $18 for a 28 oz bag. Assuming I use a regular portion of 7 gm (about 0.24 ounces) of coffee grounds per shot of espresso, that comes down to about 16 cents per shot.
With ground coffee, you can get about 4 espresso shots for the price of a shot made from the Nespresso pod. Such is the price for convenience.
Cons: Nespresso Pods Are Not Very Popular
Another issue is that Nespresso Pods are not very popular. On the surface, this may not sound too odd, but it can be an issue in the long run.
K-cups are the most popular pod coffee formats in North America. At the same time, Nespresso is usually seen as a more ‘European’ format. The issue is not on the origin but more on the brewing equipment.
If you invest in a Nespresso brewing system, you may be stuck with only coffee with Nespresso pods. To try coffee in K-Cup pods, purchase another K-Cup compatible brewing system.
You may find buying Nespresso systems less appealing, since you may have less choice of Nespresso pods to buy from in North America, compared to if you are in Europe.
Starbucks Espresso Roast Whole Bean: Pros & Cons
Pros: Bang For The Buck
If you care about the dollars and cents, you always go for the Starbucks Espresso Roast whole bean. The reason? You do get a lot more espresso for each dollar.
With the same amount of money, you can make up to four cups of espresso with whole-bean coffee or a single cup of Nespresso pod coffee.
This simply makes more sense if you sink a lot of espresso or if you run a coffee shop and use Starbucks’s espresso roast.
Cons: Less Convenient
The downside? You spend more time and effort per cup of espresso. You need to start by grinding the beans down with a grinder. This means you need to wait for maybe a minute or two to finish the grinding process.
Then, you must scoop the coffee grind and fill the small filter basket with them. This, again, takes up a bit more time.
On top of that, you may end up with coffee grind spills, which means you need to clean afterward. Cleaning the filter basket after brewing is also messy since you need to get the coffee grind out, and they usually get all over your kitchen sink.
Which Version Should You Get?
Taste-wise, there is not much difference between the two – I think Starbucks did a good job here.
Some of their instant product versions have fallen way short of taste and quality, such as the hand-made vs bottled Frappuccino. I am happy to report this does not happen with the Nespresso Pod Starbucks Espresso Roast.
However, the issue here is between cost and convenience. The whole-bean coffee is much cheaper per shot of espresso but will be a bit of a hassle to brew. The Nespresso pod version would be more expensive but much easier to make.
If you value the savings, then go for the whole bean. Suppose you do not mind paying extra for the convenience or the novelty of using a coffee pod. In that case, the Nespresso pod version will suit you much better.Ready to choose? Pick up a bag of Starbucks Espresso Roast in whole bean or Nespresso pod version now.