I taste tested Starbucks Colombia Roast Nespresso Capsules: My Review, Photos

by Nigel Ong

Starbucks Colombia Roast is one of the more popular single-origin coffee from the coffee giant. Aside from the regular whole bean roasts, there are other versions, such as ground, Via instant coffee, and capsules.

In this post, I will review the Starbucks Colombia Roast Nespresso, one of the capsule versions of the roast. I will brew the coffee several ways and then compare it against other related coffee in my collection.

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Decaf vs. Regular Coffee: My Taste Test Comparison (with Photos)

major dickason dark roast decaf and regular coffee beans side by side

QUESTION: I seem to have problems sleeping well if I have coffee after lunch, which leads me to consider decaf coffee. I am concerned about the loss of flavors – many told me the decaf coffee is not as flavorful as regular ones, even if they are of the same roast. How true is this? – Cindy C. 

NIGEL ONG AT CLEARLY COFFEE REPLIES: What you have heard may be true and not true. This is because how well a decaf coffee tastes may depend on many factors, with some decaf coffee taste much better than others. 

Let’s look at each of the factors below and then compare between actual coffee roasts.

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I Used the Wacaco Minipresso NS portable pod coffee maker (Photos & Review)

by Nigel Ong

I am a fan of Wacaco Minipresso, having been using their Minipresso GR for a long time to make my espresso shots. They are small, portable, and sturdy espresso makers that you can easily carry around in your backpack.

With the popularity of coffee pods, I thought I would pick up Wacaco’s portable pod espresso maker, the Minipresso NS, and try it out. Let’s see if it will give me a similar experience to my Minipresso GR.

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Taste Test: Starbucks Espresso Roast Coffee: Nespresso Pod vs. Whole Beans (Review & Photos)

Starbucks espresso roast nespresso pods and whole beans

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. 

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Taste Tested: IKEA Patar Medium Roast Coffee (Review & Photos)

by Nigel Ong

You may associate IKEA with cheap, well-designed furniture, but it does much more than that. If you have not seen it yet, IKEA makes a wide range of food items, including coffee. 

IKEA offers several coffee roasts under the Patar range, roasted Euro-style. We have looked at IKEA Patar Dark Roast and Espresso Roast, but what about its Medium Roast? Will it rival what we regularly drink here in the US? Let’s find out.

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Taste Tested: Community Coffee Breakfast Blend Coffee (Review & Photos)

community coffee breakfast blend

by Nigel Ong

Aside from the major coffee houses, there are many small and independent coffee roasters that produce great coffee. One of them is Community Coffee. One of their most famous coffee roasts is their Breakfast Blend. 

How good is the Community Coffee Breakfast Blend? I picked up a bag of it to try out. I’ll brew it several ways and then sample it black and with popular flavorings. Finally, I compare it with other popular roasts I have in my collection.

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I Taste Tested Peet’s Big Bang Medium Roast Coffee (Review & Photos)

peet's big bang medium roast coffee

by Nigel Ong

Peet’s is a popular coffee roaster, probably most known for its Major Dickason Dark Roast. However, there are also other roasts in its offerings, which are also rather popular. 

One of these is the Big Bang Roast. It seems to have received many good endorsements from coffee reviewers, which interested me in trying this coffee out myself. 

I reviewed The Big Bang Roast from Peet’s Coffee in this post. I will brew the coffee three ways and then sample it with flavorings. I will also compare it against other medium roasts and decide who would enjoy the coffee.

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I Tried Dunkin’ 100% Colombian Roast Ground Coffee (Review & Photos)

dunkin 100 percent columbian ground coffee

by Nigel Ong

Aside from its popular Original Blend, Dunkin also carries many other styles of roasts that you can try. These include the Cold Brew, Decaf, or Espresso Roast. 

One such popular Dunkin coffee roast is the 100% Colombian. Balanced and easy to drink, it probably powers hundreds of thousands of Americans through their day. I thought I’ll pick up a bag and try it out. 

In this post, I will brew and sample Dunkin’s 100% Colombian coffee roast. I will also compare its flavors against other relevant coffee, and decide if you should give this roast a try.

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Taste Tested: Indonesian Flores Single Origin Coffee (My Review & Photos)

indonesian flores single origin coffee

by Nigel Ong

Flores is a less-known island in Indonesia, east of Bali and Komodo island. However, some coffee heads may have heard of or sampled Flores coffee, one of the main premium coffees from Indonesia.

How good is Flores coffee? I picked up a bag to sample and find out. I will share my findings in this post and compare the taste of Flores coffee with other coffee in my collection. 

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My Taste Test: Indonesian Single Origin Java Preanger Coffee (Review & Photos)

by Nigel Ong

When it comes to coffee, Indonesia is a huge playground. All its major islands produce great coffee, each with unique flavors and characteristics. The island of Java alone has many great coffee regions. 

One such is the Preanger, also known as Parahyangan or Priangan. This is probably one of Java’s most celebrated coffee regions, producing some of the best quality Indonesian Arabica coffee

In this post, I review the Java Preanger Tilu single-origin coffee. I will brew it three ways before sampling it black and with popular flavorings. I will also compare it with other related coffees in my collection.

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