Starbucks Blonde Roast: Tasters Around The Country Weigh In

Earlier this week, Starbucks introduced its new Blonde roast, a lighter blend aimed at reaching a wider consumer base. To spread the news, Starbucks is offering free tastes until Saturday. The blend comes in two different varieties: Veranda ("mellow and soft") and Willow ("bright and clean").

So what's the early world on the coffee?

The Daily Meal had three different tasters sample the blend: a "coffee geek," "Starbucks regular" and "person who just drinks coffee for the caffeine." No one was particularly keen on the cup of joe.

Zagat felt similarly, calling it a "weaker, more watery version of the normal brew." YumSugar called the Veranda "coffee lite" and "muted."

Yikes, sounds like three strikes to us. Still, we have no doubt that Starbucks did its homework before releasing the brew. The company is betting on the 40% of the population who desires a lighter brew. Just don't think of making any blonde jokes.