Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Blonde Roast?!

It's "new" at Starbucks. It's coffee. Lighter roast, they say, as if that means something about flavor.  I guess they mean it's not burned in the roaster.  But they don't mean that their other roasts are burned... so, how is "Blonde Roast" better?

Toasting is to bread as roasting is to coffee.  The flavor of toast has mostly to do with the bread (for example, wheat vs. rye), unless you burn it.  Likewise with roast and coffee.

So what do I make of Starbucks' term "Blonde Roast"? It's only marketing. And while Tall, Grande & Venti translate to small, medium & large, "Blonde Roast" translates to confusion.

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