11 Best Coffee Beans For Blonde Roast Fans

With such a sweet name, it may seem that the blonde coffee naming is little more than a cute marketing ploy. Admittedly, I may have believed the same in the past. However, blonde roasts are a variety of lightly roasted coffee that is the lightest of roasts. This means that the beans will be lighter in colors, resulting in the coffee product also being lighter, but not as light as if you had poured in cream. Starbucks, for one, has been introducing blonde roast espresso as the default coffee in some select beverages, like the cortado, a brand new espresso drink to Starbucks menus.

I've noticed that companies often won't label its lightest roasted coffee as blonde, but rather couple them in with the light roast category. For the purposes of remaining true to what blonde coffee drinkers want, I went with testing coffees that were specifically labeled as blonde roasts. Where possible, I also wanted to highlight roasters that may be new to you or run relatively small operations. Purchasing from smaller roasters feels so special because you're supporting a business built on passion, and it comes through in the coffee.

To keep coffee sampling the same where possible, I used 18 grams of fresh coffee, pressed at around 8 or 9 bars for espresso on a Flair Pro 3 manual lever espresso maker and aimed for an output of about 38 grams. I had to dial in many of these coffees on grind size, but I always began at a setting of 22 on my DF54 single dose coffee grinder, a flat burr grinder, and dialed up or down where necessary, depending on the shot I pulled.

When I order an espresso based coffee from Starbucks, I ask that it be made with the blonde espresso roast coffee. This is a customization that's easy to accomplish in the app, but asking for it in person is as simple as asking for the signature espresso be swapped with the blonde. I find that it makes a smoother drink than the signature espresso coffee, and I like the subtle sweetness it adds to my sweet coffee drinks. Of the blonde roasts I sampled from any roaster, big or small, Starbucks' blonde espresso roast was the one with which I was most familiar. In fact, it was the first blonde roast I had ever tried, shortly after it premiered in cafes in 2017 with the potential to make your drink order even longer. As a result, it was easily my baseline when it comes to blonde roasts.

Though Starbucks' blonde roast was technically a light roast, I found that it was still very dark looking, which made it an ideal blonde roast for those Starbucks customers rather used to Starbucks' other dark roasts. As an espresso bean, this made sense, but it very much rode the line of a light and dark roast. But as Sirius Black reminds Harry in the "Harry Potter" series, "We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on." And in the case of Starbucks, this is marked as a blonde roast, so here it is, bittersweet chocolate labeling and all. I loved Starbucks' blonde roast as an option for dark coffee drinkers who may be trying to find their way into the blonde roast world, but blonde coffee drinkers who already have a favorite may find this one a bit too deep.

Starbucks' baristas famously wear green aprons, and the roaster's Green Apron Blend was to be a celebration of the chain's very heart: its barista, without whom we would never enjoy our seasonal favorites and longstanding go-to's. This roast was developed with input from Starbucks' baristas. The company explains the process: "Nearly 24,000 idea submissions from store partners shaped its flavor and roast profiles, as well as which regions the coffee was sourced from, and the look and feel of the packaging." It seems fitting that the Green Apron Blend would be a blonde roast since this roast of coffee has such an abundance of flavors.

On the Green Apron Blend packaging, the coffee claimed to have a citrus flavor with notes of honeybell orange and graham cracker. However, I got more of a lime flavor type brightness than anything else. The citrus was definitely there, but orange needed a little more sweetness to mellow it out, and this was just very zesty. The crema it formed was a really lovely shade of brown that definitely celebrated that feel of making coffee, and brought the roast's intent full circle. It was certainly not for the faint of heart, but rather something most ideal for coffee lovers, like baristas.

Starbucks explains that Latin American coffee farmers often live on the very farms on which they work. These farms sometimes have cozy verandas on which they look out and sip coffee, the image that inspired this blonde roast's name. It was easy to imagine enjoying this coffee over a sit on a veranda at home, taking in the morning air as the day starts anew. I noticed that the beans smelled the way I remember Starbucks smelling as I would come in for work as a barista, so it felt quintessential in its flavor profile. Like other Starbucks coffees, to some, it will have more of a burnt taste, but it's also a brighter version of a darker Starbucks blend.

Starbucks Veranda Blend's tasting notes said toasted malt and milk chocolate, like something of a classic milkshake you might have picked up at a vintage soda fountain counter. To my tastes, I got a darker chocolate taste than anything else, so those who enjoy their chocolate quite dark would enjoy the Starbucks Veranda Blend and should not feel deterred by the milk chocolate component. Though I didn't add any cream when I sampled these coffees, with the addition of milk, I can imagine the dark chocolate feeling more, well, milky.

Great coffee deserves a great story, and Coffee on the Porch's origins are about as pure of heart as they get. Dan Dishner set out to create a coffee to share with his family and friends on the porch, enjoying each other's company. Eventually, those close to Dishner were persuasive enough to help the coffees achieve a wider distribution, locally as well as online, and that's how it ended up in my tasting.

I was determined to try each of these coffees as espresso, as that's the variety of coffee I enjoy most regularly. Using my manual lever espresso maker, I was able to control as much of the process as possible. For most coffees, I had no issues achieving espresso range pressure on the grind size I typically use, but Coffee on the Porch's blonde roast required the finest coffee grinds of any brand I tried. I achieved espresso with a grind level of 16 on my DF54. Those who are a little persnickety, like me, when it comes to great coffee, will find this noteworthy. With such a small grind size, I also found it resulted in an ultra delicate and slightly sweet tasting espresso. It indeed tasted like the kind of espresso you drink while sitting with friends in Maine, on the porch.

The 97 Rock House in Peshastin, Washington, is something of an oasis. There's cookies and coffee and views, as the coffee shop was established as a stop on the way traveling over the area known as Blewett Pass. Whether you're heading through for skiing, snowmobiling, or enjoying the historic road with all of its sometimes harrowing driving, stopping for coffee always feels like a good idea here, especially if you're getting a blonde (or light) roast which actually has more caffeine than dark roast.

With plenty of homemade coffees, I was most interested in the White Gold Blonde Roast, with a bag as white as the passes' snow. This blonde roast brought home the feel of sipping coffee surrounded by the snowy mountains: It was interesting, even syrupy, in the best way. With swirling flavors of toasty goodness, it tasted the way looking at the mountains should. Though the packaging indicated that it's great as drip or pour over, I liked it as an espresso drink, and compared to many of the other roasts, this one felt sweeter.

Chris's Coffee sells coffee and coffee equipment. The website is equipped to handle your at home barista needs, but I sought it out for the roasts. Simply called blonde roast, this Chris's Coffee label notes that the coffee is bright, and after one sip, that is exactly the flavor descriptor that I would have used. It's an ultra strong espresso shot that really pulls in those citrusy and vibrant tasting notes that many blonde roasts had, but Chris's Coffee brought even more.

I imagined it to taste like the kind of coffee you would enjoy as a huge jolt as you step out the door on the way to work. It felt like the perfect blend of playful and interesting without being over the top that you might want for a morning cup of coffee. You can look forward to it, even in those early morning light hours.

Even though the flavor was very bright, I found that it mellowed as I continued to let it sit. Still, even after that lingering, there was enough vibrancy to remind you that you're enjoying a morning cup of coffee.

In these days of a global shopping market right online, it's not uncommon to see marketing appear in your email inbox within hours of ordering a product. With Arbuckles', it felt like it took minutes. According to the frequent marketing, Arbuckles' is going for a cowboy, rancher feel of coffee. The brand aims to speak to hard-working coffee fans that enjoy a solid cup of coffee, and based on my experience with blonde roast, it's successfully achieved that.

The Arbuckles' blonde roast brewed up quite nicely as an espresso with a very smooth texture. I noted just a touch of sweetness with a near berry flavor at those beginning few notes. This aspect mellowed some, but I still enjoyed a little touch in there too. While I might not work on a ranch, or herd cattle, it felt like the kind of cup of coffee you would pour into a thermos and then drink while you're hard at work. Though, certainly, the coffee was still right at home as part of my own coffee routine, far from the morning shadows on the range.

I am absolutely enchanted by small businesses, and Libertyville Coffee Company is certainly one of the smaller I've come across in the coffee world. Located in Libertyville, Illinois, here, if you order from Libertyville, and you live in town, it'll be delivered to your door. The coffee company has a motto: "Libertyville-roasted. Neighbor-delivered." While my coffee was shipped to me way down in Florida, I found that the taste of a small town roaster was easily captured right in the bean.

Since I was enjoying this coffee as an espresso, I found that it needed a much finer grind than some of the others, though not as substantially as Coffee on the Porch. Even with this finer grind, the espresso came out rich with an acidity something similar to fruit, and although the bag calls out a juicy red fruit, I felt it was more citrusy than anything else. The brightness of the blonde roast came through nice and strong, even if my flavor palette detected something different than what was on the bag.

It feels like coffee companies are constantly trying to elevate and change, often improving the roasting and flavoring process of coffees. Fogbuster, winner of one of the more interesting names from a coffee company, uses an air roasting technique that it claims removes "chaff," which is the outer of the coffee bean. Fogbuster explains that this will lead to a "cleaner, smoother taste and better gut health." Now, I can't speak to the long-term gut health this coffee provides, but the cup of coffee itself was enjoyable.

I had to brew up this coffee a little differently than the rest because it arrived at my door already in ground form, and although I wasn't exactly sure of its precise ground size, I took a stab at pour over, and it was enjoyable this way. Blonde roast coffee fans will enjoy Blonde Bombshell for its very basic flavor. Those who want something more elevated than a simple, but not extravagant coffee, will enjoy what the Blonde Bombshell offers. Especially those who might be interested in a different style of roasting, Fogbuster offers a quality blonde roast.

From another small town roaster, I checked out Vanilla Moose Coffee. This company has a mobile coffee trailer as well as a flagship café in Lebanon, Tennessee. The Denali Blonde Roast sent my way was a little more on the bright side than some of the other coffees. Vanilla Moose didn't give any tasting notes on the bag, so there was nothing to compare the roaster's intent to, but I imagined it to be the kind of coffee that's meant to wake you up before driving into a mountain adventure, just as the graphic on the bag suggests.

I enjoy the types of coffees that have a lot of flexibility in their use, and the Denali Blonde Roast easily fits that bill. Good on its own, as a simple shot of espresso, with so much flavor in the coffee, this would do well with just a little bit of cream added to it, allowing the coffee to peek through and provide all the sweetness and brightness you're going to need.

Tierra Farm isn't solely a coffee producer. You'll also find organic nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. The organic farm is right outside of Albany, New York, and works with companies that prize environmentalism and organic farming practices. There's quite a range of coffees sold by Tierra Farms, but for the purposes of this piece, I was most interested in the blonde roast, though several others looked intriguing, too. When I find a type of coffee that could easily become an every-morning-style-of-coffee, I get so excited to share it because I just know that it has potential to improve someone's coffee practice. Tierra Farm blonde blend is just that.

For tasting notes, the blonde blend here is very citrusy, like many of the others. I found that it brewed up very nicely as an espresso in a way that told me it would also be calmed down with more water as an Americano or even as a drip or pour over. That citrus nip that is present easily dies down with a very smooth flavor. The taste and feel of the coffee had the sense of the kind of coffee you might enjoy before a day of exploration and adventure, even if you're just heading into your morning hustle.

My family and I have been on a little bit of a journey as of late to find the best coffee maker for our morning routine. At long last, we've found it, and I don't know if I'll even go back to a non-manual machine. To sample and ensure that each of these blonde roasts would be an ideal fit for those that love blonde roasts, I followed some essential tips for brewing the most enjoyable cup of coffee, pulled shots of espresso, fine tuning the grind size to best suit the individual roast. For optimal control, I used a manual espresso machine and a grinder capable of producing very fine grinds ideal for espresso.

During sampling, I took down tasting notes and looked for them to fall in line with what blonde roast coffee drinkers love: a balance of sweetness, brightness, and smoothness. While these were all quite different from one another, I found some more ideal for some blonde fans than others. No matter what you select, however, expect blondes to feel bright compared to other coffee roasts, as all of these did.