by Nigel Ong
One thing about gourmet coffee drinkers, they like to dismiss big coffee houses such as Starbucks. In fact, the common moniker given to Starbucks is ‘Starbucks,’ as it has a reputation for roasting its beans a little darker.
Is this true? Or just a way for these coffee snobs to dismiss popular roasts? I picked up a bag of Starbucks coffee to find out. This time, I have the Veranda Blend.
In this post, I will brew the Starbucks Veranda Blend three ways and taste it. I will also experiment by adding flavorings to the coffee and see if they improve the taste of the coffee. Finally, I compare it against other light roasts and decide who will enjoy the coffee most.
About Starbucks Veranda Blend
Compared to some of Starbucks’ signature blends that have been around for decades, the Veranda Blend is a recent addition. It was introduced in 2012 to develop more offerings on their light roast coffee.
The blend is made using 100% Arabica beans sourced from Latin America. These beans are then lightly roasted to preserve the natural characteristics of the coffee.
Starbucks has a scale to rate coffee roast intensity, from 4 (lightest roast) to 12 (darkest). The Veranda Blend sits at about 5. Popular roasts such as Pike Place Blend sit at 7, while the House Blend is about 9.
The packaging in my hand is slightly different, as it was meant for Europe and Asia. However, the coffee should be roasted to the same standards as Starbucks desires it to. The packaging instructed me to brew the coffee using a 1:18 ratio, which I duly followed.
About Does Starbucks Veranda Blend Taste?
To sample the coffee best, I decided to brew the coffee in three ways for many reasons.
French Press: This is my default brewing style, allowing me to enjoy the coffee with all its oils and particles. With this one, I expect a murky, full flavor and sediments at the bottom of my cup.
Pour Over With Filter Paper: This best simulates the regular coffee brewer most of us have at home. Plus, the filter paper helps to filter away coffee particles and some coffee oils, allowing me to sample a ‘cleaner’ version of the coffee.
Espresso: You generally do not make espresso with light roasts. However, I’ll make one to sample the coffee’s flavor in a more concentrated form. It should be a smooth and easy espresso with a light roast like this, but let’s see.
First Impression
Opening the coffee bag, I was greeted with a great aroma of coffee. The smell is light, slightly acidic, and makes me drool in some ways. I think the slightly acidic smell helps with that.
I also seem to detect an aroma that reminds me of toast and tomatoes. The acidic aroma may also smell tangy, like mustard or mayonnaise. It makes me imagine a great savory meal, like a big fry-up breakfast or a hearty piece of meat pie.
All right, time to get brewing. I pulled out my coffee gears and got started. Here are the things I use in this review:
- Bodum Caffettiera French Press
- IKEA Overst Coffee Pour Over Set
- Hario Coffee Filter Paper
- IKEA Riklig Glass Pot
- Wacaco Minipresso GR Espresso Maker
French Press
I brewed my coffee using my trusty Bodum Caffettiera French press and brewed a 2-cup batch. I used the 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio recommended by Illy Coffee.
I added 15 grams of coffee, and 180ml of hot water, at around 185°F (about 85°C). I let the hot water brew with the coffee ground for 4 minutes before pouring a cup for myself to drink. As I brew, my kitchen starts to smell coffee.
I smell the aroma more intensely as I bring the coffee close to my mouth. It has a bit of cocoa, chocolate-like flavors, which is accurate to what Starbucks put on its packaging.
Flavor-wise, it is a very light cup of coffee with some smoke. The smoke and bitterness likely come from the coffee residue inside the cup. I wonder if they would go away if I brewed the coffee using filter paper later.
I also sense some acidic, slight tang flavor in the coffee. It reminds me of mustard, mayonnaise, or ketchup, making me want a nice savory meal with this coffee. A quiche, perhaps?
There is some light sweetness; I will describe it as sugarcane-like. After a few sips, I like this coffee’s long, slightly spicy finish.
Pour Over With Filter Paper
I then drank some water to cleanse my palate. Next, pour over the brewing. I use my IKEA Overt Pour Over Set and the IKEA Riklig tea/coffee pot here for this method.
You can just brew the coffee directly into your cup using the pour-over set, but I thought I wanted to showcase the coffee’s color better, so I used the pot.
I use the pour-over brewing method from Starbucks. I added 20 grams of ground coffee and slowly poured 360ml of water. When I started, I first focused on wetting and blooming the coffee grinds.
Once I cover all areas, I slowly add more water to brew the coffee. It took about 5 minutes to brew the pot.
The initial filtering work reveals that the coffee does look a little cleaner. The filtered coffee looks slightly lighter in color, and there is also less sediment on the bottom of the cup.
As expected, when there are fewer coffee particles, the coffee does not taste as bitter and smoky as the French press. In fact, the cocoa note is present on my tongue, too, not just on my nose.
There is also more sweetness in the coffee and less acidic flavors. I would say the coffee becomes much lighter and easier to sip. This cleaner version of Veranda Blend may work well with sweet treats, like a slice of cake or an apple pie.
Espresso
The Veranda Blend is a light roast, but I wanted to explore how this coffee tastes like an espresso. I grabbed my Wacaco Minipresso GR and pulled a shot. The coffee ground is coarse, so I first ground it to a finer consistency.
The result is a surprisingly fragrant and fresh espresso. It, however, does not have thick, rich crema. When I smell the crema, it is actually light and slightly acidic, without the charred, smoky smell most dark roast espresso has.
The espresso concentrates the flavor of the roast, which helps me to sample the drink better. In espresso form, the coffee has a stronger taste of cocoa bitterness, especially on the crema.
The acidic taste is also stronger and tastes more towards the tomato ketchup side. I would not be exaggerating to say the acidic taste is a little like Heinz ketchup.
What Flavoring Works Best With Starbucks Veranda Blend?
Now that I have sampled the black coffee, I thought I’ll experiment further and add flavorings to the coffee. The idea is to find out if these flavorings help improve the coffee’s taste. For this, I’ll use Veranda Blend’s pour-over version.
Sugar
Here’s the thing, I never liked my coffee with sugar. However, I decided to remain neutral and add sugar to my coffee for this review. For half a cup, I added a stick of brown sugar.
From my experience, sometimes the sugar helps to take away the smoke in the coffee, sometimes not. The sugar blends with the smoke, in this case, producing a bittersweet taste.
The sugar also slightly masked the acidic taste. I am not a fan of this, but I suppose some drinkers would love this mixture of flavors.
Sweetener
I poured another fresh cup, and this time, I dropped a single drop of Equal artificial sweetener. In my previous tasting experience, I seemed to enjoy how Equal artificial sweetener (Aspartame) added some mild sweetness to the finish of the coffee.
A single drop of Equal works well with the Veranda Blend. The sweetness does not become too overpowering and allows other flavors to shine. The sweet finish also helps the coffee taste linger longer on the tongue.
Creamer
For creamer, I went with two sticks of Coffee Mate. I added that into a full cup of hot Veranda Blend. The results? Great creamy and satisfying coffee.
I prefer a creamy taste, which I think helps me enjoy the coffee better with creamer. The creamer also adds some slight sweetness to the coffee, which makes it taste even better.
The creaminess of the coffee complements the light smoke well and cuts into the acidic, tomato-like flavors. If you find the acidic taste hard to accept on black coffee, try it with some creamers.
Milk
Milk is generally less creamy than creamer but may help make the coffee sweeter since it has lactose inside. As a result, I thought I’ll try the coffee with some milk too. In this case, I added a shot of UHT, fresh cow’s milk, into a cup of coffee.
The milk does not mask the smoke as well as the creamer, which means you will get more smoke. However, the lactose does help to make the coffee a little sweeter, compared to using the creamer.
Iced
Finally, I thought I’ll try the black coffee, but ice-cold instead. When I sip iced coffee, I notice that the flavor is more muted, but the drink is much more refreshing.
With the Veranda Blend, the coffee drink becomes even less bitter. Replacing the bitterness is surprisingly a stronger acidic flavor, which may appeal to some drinkers. I am not sure if I like this, but I still found myself sipping it all since it’s so hot today.
Starbucks Veranda Blend vs. McCafe Breakfast Blend
Since the Veranda Blend is a light roast, I thought it would also make sense to compare it to another of my favorite light roast, McCafe’s Breakfast Blend. To me, the Veranda Blend has more smoke compared to the Breakfast Blend.
It also has more acidic flavors compared to the Breakfast Blend. The Breakfast Blend also has some tomato-like acidic flavors, but not as strong. The Veranda Blend is a little stronger, to the point I started to think about mustard and mayonnaise.
This may be a bit subjective, but the Breakfast Blend also seems to leave me more satisfied after sipping it. I do not seem to get the same feeling with the Veranda Blend.
At least for my palate, I seem to prefer the McCafe Breakfast Blend.
Starbucks Veranda Blend vs. Regular Coffee
Starbucks Veranda Blend is an easy-to-sip coffee. I think the blend was made to be light on the palate and allow you a refreshing experience.
Veranda Blend may not rival better-tasting light roasts, such as the McCafe Breakfast Blend. However, it is better than your regular convenience shop or gas station coffee.
While regular gas station or convenience store coffee can help you taste coffee bitterness, the Starbucks Veranda Blend can provide you with more satisfying sips. The flavors are more complex and have more depth. Regular coffee, in most cases, just tastes bitter and flat.
The Starbucks Veranda Blend will also beat many instant coffee, even premium ones. Only the Illy Classico roast can come closer to the McCafe Premium Roast.
Who Are The Starbucks Veranda Blend For?
To me, the Veranda Blend is the type of coffee that should not really offend anyone. It is probably blended to satisfy most palates. Even if you are a hardcore espresso drinker, you may appreciate light coffee occasionally, and you will like the Veranda Blend.
The simple and light flavors make it a good starter coffee for many. It is also not too expensive, meaning you can buy and sample it.
If you are a casual coffee drinker and just want an all-in-one coffee that you can drink all day, this is also the perfect coffee. I can easily see this coffee being served for breakfast, lunch, or evenings.