by Nigel Ong
One of the best things about Starbucks is its wide offering of coffee roasts. For light ones, you have Veranda Roast. Medium ones, the House Blend or the Pike Place Roast. What about darker roasts? Enter the Caffe Verona Roast.
In this post, I will review the Starbucks Caffe Verona Roast. I will brew it three ways and then sample it with popular flavorings such as sugar and creamer. Finally, I compare it against dark roasts from other roasters.
This review is part of my extensive review of Starbucks’ roasts. Consider checking out my review on other Starbucks roasts, including the House Blend, Veranda Blend, Espresso Roast, and Pike Place Blend.
About Starbucks Caffe Verona Roast
The Verona Roast is part of Starbucks’ lineup of dark roast blends, including French Roast, Italian Roast, Morning Joe, and more. The roast blends coffee beans from Latin America and Asia Pacific and contains 100% Arabica beans.
Starbucks first concocted the Verona Roast in 1975 just for a local Seattle restaurant. At the time, it was called Jake’s Blend, and it was very well received by many.
In fact, the reception was so good Starbucks had to begin hand-scooping and blending it to sell in its coffee shop. Starbucks renamed the roast 80/20 Blend and settled on Verona, after the city that ‘inspires so many.’
Within Starbucks’ range of roast intensity, Verona is high up the scale. The scale ranges from 4 (blonde roast) to 12 (almost charred), and Caffe Verona sits high at 10. This should be a strong, bold roast with dark flavors.
Starbucks describes the coffee beans as having flavor notes of cocoa and caramelized sugar. This should be right for a dark roast, but let’s see how true it is when we sample them next.
The bag of Verona roast I have in my hand is designed for the Asia Pacific market. However, checks with the barista confirmed that the coffee should taste the same, as they are blended to the same standard.
Alright, enough with the talking. Let’s tear into the coffee bag and start brewing.
How Does Starbucks Caffe Verona Roast Taste?
The coffee bag itself has some brewing instructions printed. It advises you to keep to a 1:18 coffee-to-water ratio and to use hot water. Since it does not mention any temperature, I’ll stick to the usual brewing temperature of around 185°F (about 85°C).
I will brew the coffee three ways: the French press, pour-over with filter paper, and espresso. I believe I can sample the coffee more thoroughly with these three brewing styles.
First Impression
When I opened the coffee bag, I was hit by the aroma of the coffee. This is probably because the coffee is 100% Arabica, which should have a strong aroma. It is slightly acidic, with a citrus-like aroma.
When I open the packet, I can smell some coffee. Not strong, but the smell is pleasant and comforting. When you smell it, you know you’ll be able to make a nice cup of coffee from them.
I’ll describe the aroma of the coffee ground as slightly sweet, containing some roasty, perhaps even toasty tones. I think you will appreciate having the aroma wafting down your hallway, perhaps to wake up the whole family too.
French Press
My first brew is with a French press. This brewing method should allow me to sample the coffee in all its glory, with all its oils and fine particles. With the French press, I expect a murky, full-flavored coffee with particles floating about.
I use my trusty Bodum Caffettiera French press for this one, although you can always use your French press of choice. If you prefer a cheaper option. Check out IKEA’s Upphetta French press.
With the French press coffee, I was initially greeted with some smoke, but not as intense as the Pike Place Blend. To my surprise, The smoke and bold flavor dissipated rather quickly too.
What remains are deep, dark flavors I usually associate with dark roasts. I can taste the dark cocoa note in the coffee, with some bittersweet taste. I am inclined to say it’s the caramelized sugar, although I am unsure.
After I swallow the coffee, it leaves a rather long finish. I can feel the taste in my mouth longer than other coffee I have sipped, which makes the coffee very nice to sip slowly to savor. You would not feel the pressure to chase the flavor by sipping frequently.
Pour Over With Filter Paper
I wonder how the coffee will taste cleaner, with less oil and particles. I decided to brew the coffee using the pour-over method and filter paper to get that.
For this, I use the following gear:
I use the pour-over brewing method from Starbucks. I added 20 grams of ground coffee and slowly poured 360ml of water. I first focused on wetting and blooming the coffee ground when I started.
Once I cover all areas, I slowly add more water to brew the coffee. It took about 5 minutes to brew the coffee.
As expected, the pour-over coffee tastes lighter and cleaner. It is definitely less ‘dirty’ than the French press brew. It has even less smoke and is also less bitter. This may be because the filter paper removed some coffee oils and particles.
With less bitter flavors, I could pick up stronger flavor notes from the coffee. I can definitely notice the cocoa notes and perhaps some nutty flavor. The nutty notes actually remind me of Vietnamese coffee.
The sweetness has some caramel character, although I would also describe the slight sweetness as sugar cane-like.
I still prefer the French press brew, although I can see people enjoying pour-overs since they taste clean and light.
Espresso
It only makes sense to try to brew some espresso with a dark roast. It should be dark enough to produce hearty, satisfying espresso that will punch your palate hard.
I do not have an espresso machine at home. Instead, I relied on my Wacaco Minipresso GR and used it to pull out a shot. The coffee ground is coarse, so I first ground it to a finer consistency.
The result is an espresso with rich, thick crema. The crema does not smell smoky and has a stronger acidic smell than French press and Pour over brew. I was able to pick up some toasty smell too.
The espresso tastes bold and satisfying. It punches my palate with bitterness and smoke and then disappears slightly, revealing some cocoa notes. The crema especially has a strong cocoa flavor.
You may enjoy the espresso best by slowly sipping it instead of gulping it in. Try to sip in some air, crema, and coffee together for the best taste and flavor.
What Flavorings Work Best With Starbucks Caffe Verona Roast?
Not many people drink their coffee black and enjoy flavoring them with things. I can do that, too, and see if they help make the coffee taste better.
Sweetener
For sweeteners, I made two full cups of French press brew. For the first cup, I added two drops of Equal artificial sweetener. For the second cup, I added a stick of brown cane sugar.
Regular sugar helps to turn the coffee into a silkier and smoother concoction. The sweetness helps mask the smoke slightly, making it smoother to drink. I think it brings out the cocoa notes a little bit more too.
As for the Equal, the aspartame sweetener helps to remove the bitterness. It also helps give the coffee a smoother finish, with a longer sweet aftertaste lingering on my palate. I, however, think the sweetness came a little later than the sugar, which may not be too natural.
Milk
I made another French press brew and added a shot (about 30ml) of fresh, whole, UHT cow’s milk into a regular cup of pour-over brew.
The taste is as I expected. The slight sweetness from the lactose in the milk feels natural to my palate. The creaminess from the milk also blends well with the smoke without overpowering it.
I think milk blends well with this coffee and does a very good job of mellowing and smoothening the flavor of this coffee.
Creamer
With lactose intolerance growing, more are switching to non-dairy creamer. In this case, I turned to the trusty Coffee Mate and poured a stick of it into my cup of French press brew.
The creamer adds more cream to the coffee than the milk, that’s for sure. It also made the coffee look paler than milk. The coffee also becomes slightly sweeter, making it much nicer to sip.
If I choose between creamer and milk, I think the creamed version of the coffee tastes nicer than with milk. Perhaps this is because I like fat in my coffee, which means creamers, with their creamy taste, win.
Iced
With Iced Americano on the rage these days, I thought I’ll do the same with the Verona roast. I brewed a French press brew and slapped some ice to cool the drink.
The ice muted many of the coffee’s flavors and enhanced the coffee’s smoke and bitterness. The cold, bitter flavor would make a very satisfying sip, especially on a hot day.
Starbucks Caffe Verona vs. Other Popular Dark Roasts
Next, I brewed French press cups of other regular dark roasts in my collection and compared the taste. Here’s what I found:
IKEA Patar Dark Roast
Both are regular, dark roast blends. I expect it to taste slightly similar and comfortable to sip. I was not too far. Both are milder in flavor and are not as bold and bitter as ‘harder’ dark roasts.
However, Verona is slightly smokier and less acidic than the IKEA Patar Dark Roast. Perhaps the IKEA Patar is made for the European palate, while the Verona is for the American taste. The Verona may pair better with sweet rather than savory food.
McCafe Colombian Roast
Next, I brewed a fresh cup of McCafe Colombian Roast and drank it alongside the Caffe Verona. They are strong coffee and will work well for morning or post-lunch sips.
However, intensity-wise, Verona is stronger and bolder. It delivers more smoke and bitterness. It also punches my palate heavier than the Colombian Roast. The Verona, however, is less acidic than the Colombian Roast.
Starbucks Caffe Verona vs. Regular Coffee
Caffe Verona trumps your regular gas station coffee. It has depth in flavor and a great aroma. It should leave you satisfied and fills your craving for your coffee.
Regular gas stations or convenience store coffee should not be able to match this. They usually taste flat and have a strong earthy taste that may remind you of dirt.
The difference is night and day. You’ll notice the differences instantly if I blindfold and taste you with the coffee.
Who Should Enjoy Starbucks Caffe Verona Roast?
I would consider the Starbucks Verona Roast as a light-dark roast. It is dark but not as intense as strong as the Italian or French roast within Starbucks’ range of dark roasts.
It has bold flavors and delivers some punches with its smoky flavor. However, it is within the acceptable range and should be well received by many.
I see this roast working out for drinkers who want something stronger but not to the level of being ‘punched to the face’ by their coffee. If you start to think medium roasts are not strong enough, this may be a roast to move into.The Verona may not work for you if you are regular drinkers who enjoy light and medium roasts. It may be too strong and bold for your palate. Consider Starbucks House Blend or McCafe Premium Roast instead.