Behind the Coffee Cup…
Starbucks Pike Place Roast
The gist: It’s said to be the standard-issue roast from the original, Seattle, Washington Starbucks place (the Pike Place location). It would seem it’s now being promoted as the new “house blend” in many (if not all) Starbucks locations.
According to Starbucks it’s a proprietary blend (as usual) of high-altitude Arabica beans that produce a smooth flavor with hints of cocoa and nut.
My take: I’m inclined to agree. I would say that if you don’t add a lot of sugar or some other sweetener the “nutiness” prevails more. If, however, you bring your own sweetness to the party it pushes the flavor over the top nicely from cocoa into a nice chocolatey flavor.
It’s mild-to-full bodied, to me. It may be at the upper end of what the average green tea drinker would want and right at the starting gate for what a strong, black tea drinker would prefer. It’s a good all day coffee and therefor a fine morning blend.
Personally, I still prefer the stronger, darker roasts (even with their lesser caffeine) for morning coffee to the lighter roasts (with typically higher caffeine amounts) but the nice thing is that you can enjoy a refill on the Pike Place Roast without feeling like you’ve gone three rounds with Mike Tyson… it’s easy on you and your palette.
If you want to dress it up, as it were, consider going the route of a chocolate or fruit biscotti… the extra sweetness that comes from that can be a nice modifier while still leaving your coffee itself mild.