Posted Wed Jan 11, 2012, 6:24am Subject: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
Well, congratulations to *$s for figuring out a decent Full City roast level. I managed to pick up a lb of each at my local *$s.
Of course, they had one of the blends available brewed, a sample was surprisingly decent - overall good, balanced, smooth clean cup of immediately apparent Central-South American coffee. Brewed a bit weak, but still decent.
Best of all: NO hint of smoke or creosote. This was by far one of the best brewed coffees I've had at a*$s in... well, ever.
Found out it was the Veranda blend.
A bit pricey, the Veranda is $11.95/true lb, Willow is $12.95/ true lb. Willow is noticeably more dense, the 16oz of coffee occupies a smaller volume - I had to check the package multiple times to make sure I didn't have a 12oz bag.
Unfortunately, the latest I could find was 7/1/12 - 34weeks = Early November roasting, or approximately 8 weeks old. That's the downside with bulk consumer coffee.
A look at the beans for both blends show pretty much dry (not oily) beans, a solid Full City roast level (typically right up to and just past start of 2nd crack), and the lightest I've ever seen a *$s coffee roasted. I think the label "blonde" is a misnomer, but marketing is marketing.
TASTING:
First up: a cup of the Veranda.
Nice aroma, not much floral, but faint roast aroma. Some hint of sweetness. Wet grounds showed some aroma characteristics reminding me of Costa Rica or Guatemala, faint fruit and slight hint of citrus. A touch of toasted bread.
First sip, very nice balanced, neutral coffee impression. Smooth. Some nutty character (not much), and acidity not especially high, but definitely not absent either. Body is medium, and a great clean finish.
Cooling, this stuff picks up a bit of sweetness.
Bravo, guys - you don't have to french roast every darn coffee you get your hands on.
Next up: a cup of the Willow.
Aroma of grounds: some spicy tones, fruit. A hint of lemon, which gets better when grounds are first wet. Wet grounds exhibit fruit - berry-like (familiar, like a decent Ethiopia Sidamo), and some mixed treenut.
First sip has a nice bright touch, medium acidity. More complex than the Veranda, the Willow blend has a nice interplay of faint nut and Ethiopia-like berry fruit. Clean finish, medium-light body.
Cooled is really nice - bit of sweetness, this blend is more complex and has more character than the Veranda. Tastes like a blend I made of HueHuetenango and Sidamo a few months ago, just not as fresh.
My favorite is the Willow, but I've been trending toward the wilder coffees of Ethiopia, Uganda, etc., lately anyways. I like the nice interplay of the the flavors and increased cup complexity. The Veranda is good, but trends toward simplicity (which is nice sometimes).
IMHO, I think these may be the two best brewed *$s coffees they have. If only because they aren't completely dominated by roast flavors.
Are they better than my own roasted coffee? Heck no. I bet just after roasting these may be outstanding coffee blends, but 8 weeks of aging is noticeable. Bloom was there but minimal. They aren't stale, but they are past peak flavor (unavoidable when the coffee is 8 weeks old stored at ambient or warehouse temperature).
But, for *$s, this is a great offering and I believe a decent effort at expanding their market. They start to compete with the wider offerings of Caribou Coffee, and I think this is something they should have been doing this years ago.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
teckdeck2008 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Arlington Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Fri Jan 27, 2012, 4:31pm Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
I actually just had the Veranda blend too and I was impressed. I have to agree that it did a good job of not needlessly overpowering your palate. I'm just going to go ahead and post my original review notes I was going to post on this blog, but before I do I just want to add that I don't mean to step on your toes. I would be interested to see if you get any of the flavors that I get though, and next time I drink some of the blend I'll re-read yours to compare. I definitely am not the most knowledgeable about coffee flavors.
Coffee Review: Starbucks Blonde Veranda Blend Score: 90 Color: Ruby Nose: orange fruit, asain tea, and roses Mouthfeel: slightly grainy texture but smooth Taste: black asain tea on the front palate, peachy orange flavor with rose petals on the mid-palate, asparagus and top soil on the finish Comments: solid coffee, flavors are complex and unique, there is a good flow and integration to the taste, highly recommended as an alternative to the colombian style heavy coffee trend if your not into that type of thing
Posted Tue Jan 31, 2012, 5:49am Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
No stepping on toes here - it's all public domain.
I tend to be a categorizer or generalizer - it's part of my engineering/science background.
Your notes on nose for Veranda, you call it orange, I'm more on the slightly tart side, maybe key lime if I had to call it something. I've generalized it as "citrus hint". Not as sweet as mandarin, not as bitter as grapefruit. What you call "Asian tea" I think I consider the slight roast/grain I've categorized as "toasted bread".
I grew up in the midwest asparagus capital - I didn't pick up asparagus in the taste, but subsequent cups have shown some earthiness that I think might be considered that flavor. ;)
Flavor is a highly subjective thing.
Interested in what you think about the Willow.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Tue Jan 31, 2012, 7:55am Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
Hrm, neither of you mentioned "wet cardboard" or "peanut shell" notes. Did I get a different coffee? Really though, the fact that people are finding this coffee at all interesting makes me wonder what they were serving for free samples. I may have to actually go back and try it...with my own money.
Posted Wed Feb 1, 2012, 8:52am Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
SteveRhinehart Said:
Hrm, neither of you mentioned "wet cardboard" or "peanut shell" notes. Did I get a different coffee? Really though, the fact that people are finding this coffee at all interesting makes me wonder what they were serving for free samples. I may have to actually go back and try it...with my own money.
I went in EXPECTING horrible, wet cardboard and peanut shell coffee, and was pleasantly surprised.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Posted Wed Feb 1, 2012, 1:55pm Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
My theory is either they brewed the sample batch long before I ever got to it - thus making it wholly unremarkable, or they were using the same pre-ground packs to brew that they were handing out to people who liked the Blonde stuff. Stale stale stale.
teckdeck2008 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Arlington Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Sat Feb 11, 2012, 11:22am Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
Netphilosopher Said:
No stepping on toes here - it's all public domain.
I tend to be a categorizer or generalizer - it's part of my engineering/science background.
Your notes on nose for Veranda, you call it orange, I'm more on the slightly tart side, maybe key lime if I had to call it something. I've generalized it as "citrus hint". Not as sweet as mandarin, not as bitter as grapefruit. What you call "Asian tea" I think I consider the slight roast/grain I've categorized as "toasted bread".
I grew up in the midwest asparagus capital - I didn't pick up asparagus in the taste, but subsequent cups have shown some earthiness that I think might be considered that flavor. ;)
You're probably a bit more accurate than me technically speaking lol. And I don't have a lot of money to buy coffee so I don't get many opportunities to try new coffee. I'll definitely consider getting a pound to try though. A lot of my cooking and drink tasting abilities are learned through doing, so I relate more to previous experience than truly technical analyzation of taste. Btw, I'm getting my Master's in Structural Engineering so I have that background too. Glad to see there's other engineers who branch and do stuff like this. :) I do think the analyzation aspect of this is something that engineers could really enjoy if they have time and/or interest in doing so.
Posted Sat Feb 25, 2012, 8:59am Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
Figured it out - it's the brewing inconsistency.
Many places haven't figured out that pourovers need to be done at proper brewing temperatures, and none of the *$s preheat single cup brews. Many of the samples were done in small batches with pourovers because the main brewers were occupied with hi-volume coffee (Usually a decaf, Pike Place, and a rotating blend). In some areas the result was many people experienced the Blonde with poorly brewed or severely underextracted coffee.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
teckdeck2008 Senior Member Joined: 2 Jan 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Arlington Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Tue Jun 26, 2012, 12:56pm Subject: Re: Starbucks Blonde Roast Veranda and Willow Blends
Interested in what you think about the Willow.
Sorry it took so long but I finally got around to doing a proper tasting of the willow blend - I've had it for the last month so though and really enjoyed it.
Starbucks Willow Blend - 91 Color: dark brown, oily looking Nose: roasted peanuts Mouthfeel: oily with a cream like texture Taste: roasted peanuts initially, pepper and earthy spices with smoked cedar added on the mid-palette, barbeque smokey flavor on the finish Comments: sharp flavors and also layered nicely, the complexity could be better but still enough nuances to be enjoyable, has an enjoyable light texture/mouthfeel to act as counterpoint to the sharpness of the flavors that reminds me of kahlua
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