Nerd Fuel: Starbucks – Blonde Sunrise Blend

It’s a brisk winter morning here in the grotto. Before settling down for a nice long gaming session I found myself mulling over my collection of various coffees. Recently, I came across a limited edition blend from Starbucks; Blonde Sunrise. In the past, I was pleasantly surprised by one of their other blonde roasts, so I decided to snap this one up and give it a try before it was no longer available.

I’ve been slowly making the switch from prepackaged pods to standard ground coffee. But when using a drip-style coffee maker (yes, I know that’s supposedly the worst way to brew coffee), I always end up brewing more than I can drink by myself. (Which was the reason I became a Keurig fanatic in the first place.) So after pondering this dilemma for a couple days, I found the perfect solution. A single-serving filter. You’ve probably seen those empty single-serving coffee pods. Well, I’d tried them in the past to varying results. But this time I decided to just lay the money down and purchase the name brand version. And let me tell you, it’s been amazing. For the last few weeks, I’ve been adding my different grinds to that filter and I’ve been getting the perfect cup of coffee every time.  For this review, I tried the Blonde Sunrise blend both ways; I brewed a full pot and I used the single-serving filter. The filter won, hands down.

This coffee is a blend of various Latin American beans. It’s a light roast, but it has a very fragrant aroma while brewing. The flavor is very smooth, with a slight chocolate finish. The brew itself is fairly acidic. But still oddly smooth and creamy. The flavor is both subtle and velvety. I was quite impressed! Like most blonde roasts, this coffee makes the perfect compliment to a hearty breakfast meal.

I found the flavor of this coffee to be very enjoyable on a crisp morning, but I can’t help but feel that it might be better suited for somewhat warmer weather.  *(I later learned that this is actually Starbucks’ Spring seasonal for 2020 – Duh!) Regardless, it’s still an amazing cup of coffee no matter the temperature or time of day. If you like light roasts or flavorful blends, this one is worth trying.

Score: 4 out of 4

Would buy again?:  Yes. Starbucks seems to really do blonde roasts well. This coffee is a great example of that. The flavor is clean and natural, but still rich and tasty. Unless you just thrive on darker roasts, this coffee should please nearly everyone.