Blonde Roast

I don’t know that I’ve ever tried the coffee at Starbucks. I do remember visiting at least one of their outlets during my tea-only years, but what I might have ordered there escapes my recollection. I can say, at least, that I’ve lately sampled their espresso coffee beans, such as are stocked at the local Sainsbury’s. I had mixed feelings about the taste of the regular Starbucks® Espresso Roast, which, for me, seemed overcooked (though there were days when I appreciated its brusque robustness). Such charm as it had, however, was counteracted by its tendency to induce headache within half an hour of consumption.

I’m having better success with their Starbucks Blonde® Espresso Roast, which I find very good. Despite being maybe just a tad the other side of my ideal kind of medium-roasted, it has a full yet soft-edged flavour that hits very near the spot. There’s an ample kick of caffeine, and it doesn’t give me headaches. I’d rate it as perhaps my fourth favourite bag of beans since re-commencing my coffee habit. It certainly suits my unsophisticated palate better than the costly Union Revelation Signature Espresso blend I’d been struggling with immediately beforehand.

The Italian-made coffee-cups I started the year with didn’t last the course, with chips of glaze detaching from the underlying earthenware after only a couple of months of use. Pictured above is one of four old Habitat Nil porcelain demi-tasses I’ve been using more recently. They had formed part of a £5 charity-shop purchase. Sadly, they aren’t lasting the course too well either: after some careless breakages, only two remain. I’m still enjoying using my Bialetti Moka Express, despite the lack of crema in the coffee it produces (as illustrated in the image above).