This coming January, Starbucks is “going blonde” with the launch of its new Blonde Roast, which the company describes as soft, subtle and mellow. This new roast, which will be Starbucks’ lightest roast ever, was created in hopes of attracting a larger customer base and those who would like a lighter coffee taste.
“This new roast is really bright and happy in your mouth,” said store manager Lora Deback, who runs the College Park Starbucks on Baltimore Ave. “It’s not as heavy as some darker roasts that can sit very heavy on your pallet.”
The Blonde Roast will add a third roast profile to the Starbucks Roast Spectrum, which includes medium and dark roast coffees, after customers said Starbucks’ coffee was too bold or too strong, Deback said. “Some people said the coffee tasted burnt so this new roast is Starbucks’ answer,” she added. “They want to reach out to people who aren’t current customers or who aren’t as fond of our darker roast coffees.”
However, for those who frequent Starbucks and are avid coffee drinkers, this new roast isn’t as necessary. “When I drink Starbucks it’s not too strong for me,” sophomore government and politics major Jordan Heiliczer said. “I like coffee with a stronger taste because it instantly wakes me up and gets me ready for the day.”
She noted though the Starbucks Blonde Roast will probably be beneficial to people who don’t drink coffee a lot or who want to drink coffee for purposes other than waking up. “I think other people would try the Blond Roast who aren’t as attuned to the strong coffee,” Heiliczer said.
Sophomore business major Alison Schumacher (pictured here) added while she doesn’t mind the taste of Starbucks coffee, the Starbucks Blonde Roast will probably appeal to other customers, which will be beneficial to the company.
“It’s good they created this new roast because their coffee will appeal to a wider variety of people so giving the customers more options will probably help them profit,” she said.
Deback agreed the main goal of this new roast is to attract those who aren’t frequent coffee drinkers or aren’t customers of Starbucks because they think the coffee is too strong. “Starbucks made new roasts to please a new category of people that aren’t customers now,” Deback said. “There are even customers that ask me to put water in their coffee because they say it’s too strong so this roast would probably be a good addition for them.”
The natural growth of the company is another reason Starbucks decided on creating a new roast of coffee, Deback added. “Starbucks created it now because it follows our growth. We launched VIA two years ago, which was really revolutionary so now it was just time to create something else customers wanted,” she said. Starbucks VIA Ready Brew is the instant coffee line created in 2009 for people who wanted a quick way to make Starbucks coffee in their own homes.
Deback added the Blonde Roast is especially good for the College Park location because they get a varied customer base including students and local residents. “Because of the variety of customers we serve [at the College Park location] there will definitely be those who would like a darker roast,” Deback said.
She added because the Blonde Roast isn’t roasted as long as the darker roasts, it will have more caffeine, which will probably make it appealing to college students.
“If you tell students the Blonde Roast has more caffeine, they’ll go nuts for it,” she said. “When students come into Starbucks, caffeine and free wi-fi is what’s on their mind.”