I Tried Starbucks Pike Place Roast Nespresso: Review & Photos

by Nigel Ong

Starbucks Pike Place Roast is a popular one, so Starbucks made the roast available in many forms. This includes the Nespresso capsules as well.

Curious to see if Starbucks can keep the original flavor of the Pike Place Roast with the Nespresso capsules, I decided to pick up a pack and try it. 

I will brew the coffee in several popular recipes and then sample it. I will also compare the roast against other similar coffee types. Finally, I have decided that you should give the Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso a try.

About Starbucks Pike Place Roast

Starbucks offers various roasts, and Pike Place is among its most popular. It was introduced in 2008 and was given the name to celebrate the iconic Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. 

The Pike Place Market store was Starbucks’ first store, opened in 1971. The blend was created to pay tribute to the company’s roots and remind everyone of its earlier, humble days. 

The Pike Place Blend blends Latin American and East African coffee beans roasted mediumly. The blend is also 100% Arabica, ensuring a great aroma and decent caffeine hit. There are also decaf versions available.

Within Starbucks’s intensity metric from 1-12, the Pike Place roast comes in at 7. The result is a medium-roasted, hearty cup of coffee that can be enjoyed throughout the day. 

The Pike Place Blend is currently available in many forms, such as: 

• Whole beans, 
• Ground, 
• K-cups, 
• Nespresso pods, and
• Instant coffee (Starbucks Via)

First Impression

My Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso coffee pack comes in a long stick form, with 10 capsules inside each pack. On the tube, the color code is on the lighter green side, specifically turquoise. 

This helps you to tell apart the capsules from other roasts, such as Colombian (Orange), Sumatra (Brown), or Espresso Roast (Gray).

On the tube, Starbucks labels the coffee intensity at 7 out of 12, meaning it is at a similar intensity to the original Pike Place Roast. 

There are also recommendations for you to brew the capsule as a Lungo, which means to brew the coffee as a long shot to add more hot water to the coffee. This is a good idea since the Pike Place Roast is a medium blend and probably not intended to be drunk as Espresso.

As for the capsules themselves, they look like your regular Nespresso capsule, made from aluminum. These capsules should work with Nespresso-compatible coffee brewers. 

How To Brew Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso

The Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso comes in aluminum capsules, specific for Nespresso. This means to brew the coffee here, you will need a Nespresso-compatible coffee maker to brew it. 

On this, you can either bike the bullet and pick up a Nespresso brewer or use the Wacaco Minipresso NS. This is a smaller, portable, and more affordable Nespresso capsule brewer. 

The Minipresso also does not require electricity or charging since it is manually operated.

To brew Espresso using my Wacaco Minipresso NS:

1. Add hot, off-boil water into the water tank.
2. Put on the main body. Place it on top of the water tank and twist it slightly. 
3. Now drop in the coffee pod on the top end of the main body. T
4. Screw in the outlet cap. You may need to push down slightly before twisting the top cap in. 
5. Push down at the piston, then twist anti-clockwise to release the piston. 
6. Turn the device upside down. This means the water tank faces up, and the outlet cap is at the bottom. 
7. Start pumping. It may take about 8-10 pumps to build enough pressure inside the Minipresso NS. 
8. Continue to pump until the pushback force gradually disappears and the Espresso has slowed to very slow drips. 
9. Done. Enjoy sipping away!

How Does Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso Taste?

One issue with the Minipresso NS is that it only brews espresso. Add water, milk, or other ingredients if you intend to make other types of coffee. This also means the coffee is also an espresso-based recipe.

So, in this section, the coffees I make with the Pike Place Nespresso would be espresso-based recipes. I organize the coffee in intensity, with the boldest first and the mildest last.

Espresso

I started by pressing out a capsule into a fresh cup of Espresso. The Espresso looks great, with a rich, creamy crema. 

The color is inviting, with the crema looking like a beige-brownish color. This makes sense since the coffee is a medium roast, meaning the crema would not look too dark. Smell-wise, I can pick up some nutty notes with a hint of cocoa-like aroma.

The Espresso is surprisingly a bit toasty and packs more punch on the palate. Some extra smoke is not common in medium roasts, and there is more earthiness and bitterness in the coffee. 

However, they are not too much that it becomes a dark roast, nor does it become too much to handle. The Espresso is still nicely sippable. The coffee has some chocolate, nutty notes, and a decent finish. 

Long Black

Popular in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, Long Black is a more intense form of Americano. It uses a 1:1 espresso-to-coffee ratio, unlike Americano (usually 1:2). 

The order of pouring is also different. Long black pours the Espresso into hot water while Americano reverses it. This usually results in the Long Black having less crema. 

I made my Long Black with my Pike Place Nespresso this way:

1. I pulled an espresso shot from the Nespresso capsule. 
2. Then, I poured a single shot of hot water into a warm cup.
3. I then poured the Espresso shot into the cup after the water. 

The coffee is intense and bold but more enjoyable than Espresso. If you find the Espresso too bold and want to gulp it, perhaps you may find the Long Black version more sippable.

The finish is also milder and shorter. There is a lingering sweetness of chocolate at my tongue tips, too. 

Americano

Off to the most popular black coffee around. The Americano is a recipe created in Italy, of all places, thanks to the interactions between Italian baristas and American soldiers. 

As they fought through Italy during World War 2, these American soldiers started ordering coffee from local baristas. The local Italians noticed how the soldiers liked to add hot water to their Espresso to make it taste more like the regular coffee at home. 

After some time, the formula eventually settled to a 1:2 espresso-to-water ratio.

I made mine the following way:

1. I pulled an espresso shot from the Nespresso capsule into my final cup. 
2. With the Espresso inside, I poured two shots of hot water into the final cup. 
3. Done!

Americano is probably the most enjoyable way to drink the Pike Place Roast. Perhaps Starbucks created the blend with the intention for it to be enjoyed like a regular cup of joe.

The coffee retains its smoky edge, but with the nutty and chocolate notes more subtle, it gives the coffee a smoother taste. I thoroughly enjoyed this Americano cup, perhaps due to the colder weather.

Macchiato

Macchiato means ‘stained’ in Italian, likely to mean how a regular cup of Espresso is ‘stained’ with some milk. There are, however, versions of Macchiato. If you want the traditional Macchiato, order it as ‘Espresso Macchiato.’

The recipe was first invented in 19th-century Italy. The story is that many started wanting a softer espresso in the afternoons after a long day at work. 

Baristas learned that they can soften the Espresso with a splash of milk, creating the Macchiato recipe.

To make my Macchiato: 

1. I pulled a shot of Espresso into an espresso cup with my Minipresso NS.
2. I steamed some whole UHT and cow’s milk to warm it up. 
3. I then scooped in a spoonful of steamed milk on top.
4. Done!

The Pike Place Nespresso itself tastes like a softer cup of Espresso here. When you add in milk, the Espresso becomes smoother. This makes the cup enjoyable, especially if you want a softer espresso.

I love how, just at the peak of the bitterness of the Espresso, the milk comes in and takes away the edge, making the coffee smoother and enjoyable.

Latte

Latte is probably the most popular form of espresso coffee with milk recipe, probably because of how milky it is. You make Latte using one part espresso and two parts of steamed milk. 

This is how I made mine:

1. I pulled a shot of Espresso into my final cup with my Minipresso NS.
2. I steamed some whole UHT and cow’s milk to warm it up. 
3. I slowly poured milk into the Espresso. 
4. I then scooped in some milk foam and added it to the top of the cup.
5. Done!

The result is a beautiful cup of coffee. The aroma is smoky yet creamy with chocolate sweetness.

The moment the coffee touched my tongue, I picked up the coffee’s rich milk taste, nuttiness, and bitterness. There is also some sweetness, probably from the lactose from the milk. 

This is my second best way to enjoy the Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso, after Americano.

Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso vs. Pike Place Formats

Aside from Nespresso capsules, I also have the Starbucks Pike Place in whole bean and instant coffee (Starbucks Via). I thought I’d compare all of them. 

I made Americanos with the Nespresso and whole bean version. With the Starbucks Via, I made the coffee as intended on the packaging. 

Taste-wise, there is little difference between the two, particularly between the Nespresso and whole bean versions. The instant coffee version seems to be a little bit more acidic and lighter. However, it is not to the point that the coffee is significantly inferior. 

This is good to see, as one of the things many roasters fail to get right is to ensure consistent taste across formats of the same coffee roasts.

Starbucks Pike Place Nespresso vs. Other Nespresso 

Aside from the Pike Place Nespresso, I have other Starbucks Nespresso capsules. I decided to make Americano cups of them and sample the coffee against each other:

• House Blend Nespresso
• Sumatra Roast Nespresso
• Espresso Roast Nespresso
• Colombian Roast Nespresso

Of these Nespresso capsules, I would say I prefer the taste of the House Blend the most. This is likely due to my preference for milder, lighter coffee. Smokey and dark coffee, like Pike Place, usually does not do well for me. 

The Sumatra Roast has these mushroomy, herbal notes that I agree with. Still, I prefer something nutty and chocolatey, making the House Blend a better coffee overall.

You may have a different flavor preference, meaning you want to try this coffee yourself before making any significant purchase decision, such as buying in bulk.