What Medium Roast Means at Starbucks
Starbucks medium roasts are roasted a shade darker than most other brands' mediums, so a bag labeled medium here has more body and less acidity than a medium from a specialty roaster. The house profile is cocoa, toasted nuts and a rounded sweetness with none of the smoke of the dark roasts. It is the roast that takes milk and sugar well without losing the coffee.
The five bags split into two blends built for everyday drip, a decaf, and two coffees with a stronger sense of place: a Guatemalan single origin and the earthy Yukon blend.
| Bag | Notes | Best for | Pickup price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike Place Roast | Cocoa, toasted nuts | Everyday drip | $3.75 |
| Decaf Pike Place Roast | Same profile, decaf | Evening drip | $3.75 |
| Starbucks Siren’s Blend | Bright, citrus, cocoa | Pour over | not listed |
| Guatemala Antigua | Cocoa, spice, soft acidity | Pour over, press | not listed |
| Organic Yukon Blend | Earthy, herbal, lively | French press | not listed |
The Five Medium Bags
Pike Place Roast
The Pike Place Roast was created in 2008 as a coffee customers could drink all day, named for the first store in Seattle's Pike Place Market. It is the most sold bag Starbucks makes and the default for anyone who wants their home cup to match the counter. $3.75 a pound at the reference store.
Decaf Pike Place Roast
The Decaf Pike Place Roast is the same Latin American blend with the caffeine removed before roasting. It is the best decaf on the shelf because the base coffee is mild to begin with, and it is priced the same at $3.75.
Starbucks Siren’s Blend
The Starbucks Siren’s Blend is a blend created with women across the coffee supply chain, brighter than Pike Place with citrus over the cocoa. It suits a pour over.
Guatemala Antigua
The Guatemala Antigua is the single origin on this shelf, from the volcanic Antigua valley: cocoa, a hint of spice and a soft acidity. It is the bag for someone who wants to taste a place rather than a blend.
Organic Yukon Blend
The Organic Yukon Blend is a decades-old blend, certified organic, with an earthy, herbal edge and a lively finish. It is the outlier here and the medium that behaves most like a dark roast in a French press.
Brewing a Starbucks Medium Roast
- Drip: Pike Place, medium grind, two tablespoons per six ounces of water at 195 to 205 degrees.
- French press: Yukon or Guatemala, coarse grind, four minutes, press slowly.
- Pour over: Siren's Blend or Guatemala Antigua, medium-fine, a 30 second bloom.
- Cold brew: Pike Place coarse, one part coffee to four parts water, 18 hours in the fridge, then dilute.
- Espresso: not the intended use; the Espresso Roast or Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast are the bags for that.
Medium vs Blonde vs Dark
Medium is the middle of the Starbucks range on every axis: more body than a blonde such as Veranda Blend, less smoke than a dark such as Caffè Verona, and caffeine between the two. If you have never bought Starbucks beans, Pike Place is the safe first bag; if you found it flat, go blonde, and if you found it thin, go dark.
Decaf, Grinding and Storage
- Decaf Pike Place is the only decaf on the medium shelf; the dark shelf adds Decaf Sumatra.
- Stores grind any bag to order; ask for drip, press or pour over.
- Whole beans keep for a month sealed and two to three weeks open. Ground coffee loses most of its aroma within a week.
- The bags are also sold in grocery stores in the same 1 lb and 12 oz formats, plus K-Cup pods and ground.
- There is no nutrition panel for beans; black coffee from any of these is near zero calories.