It’s been a while since my last post here in Home Brewed Coffee Lab. Right before my long break, a good auntie gave me this Starbucks Gold Coast Blend Coffee.
(To my dear Auntie. Thank you very much for the coffee ^_^ You know who you are. We’ll keep this secret between us.)
I’m not a usual drinker of dark roasted coffee. I started with medium roast when I made this blog. But trying and tasting different blends is what home brewed coffee making is all about. We’re not limited to one brand or roast type, and we can know for ourselves what we enjoy or not.
If we look at the color of the beans, we could see that this is the same type of roast that Starbucks, and probably a lot of other coffee shops, uses in their espressos. The color is as dark as the roasted beans in their grinder hoppers, and as an added bonus, they even have that same aroma that will make you go into a coffee shop, even if you had no plans of going in. I call that aromatic marijuana!
I initially made a 300 ml (10 ounce) mug using the Hario V60. Since I’m still waiting for my gooseneck kettle to arrive, I went ahead and used my grandmother’s old tea kettle.
Big mistake!
The coffee tasted obnoxiously strong and unbalanced. There was too much acidity in the cup, just like the espresso you buy that had the wrong tamping pressure.
Next, I made another mug using the Kalita 102.
This time, it tasted much better. Since I had more practice with this dripper, and since it doesn’t need something as accurate as a gooseneck kettle to brew, the balance of the flavor came out and it made a superior cup.
My taste buds aren’t well honed as the aficionados (it might never be), but the coffee gave out a very bold cup. I’d describe bold as the feeling of a heavy cup. When you feel that the coffee that you’re drinking has texture; like there’s sediments or fines in the cup, but there really aren’t and the texture is in the liquid itself, then that’s a bold cup of coffee. This variety is really bold and good.
While the coffee’s hot, there’s a thick, syrupy flavor that I tasted. And as it cooled down, this thick syrup was replaced by a mild acidic flavor, which gave the coffee great profile.
Overall, I think the Starbucks Gold Coast Blend produces a superb cup of coffee. There’s a coffee shop chain in Chicago called Corner Bakery Café and their breakfast blend is to die for! This coffee reminded me of the good times I had drinking that coffee.
Rating: 4.5 of 5
I never imagined I’d enjoy this coffee so much! It really is a great blend, especially for breakfast. It’s too bad I don’t have an espresso machine to pull a shot with this, I’m willing to bet the taste would be amazingly thick and syrupy. Coffee lovers know Starbucks coffee from the coffee shop to be stale. That’s because the beans have already been exposed to air and have lost their flavor. This is especially true when you buy coffee during breakfast when the beans have been kept in the hopper from the night before.
This pack has literally redeemed them in my eyes. Next time I go to a Starbucks shop, I’ll just grab one of these bags and head straight home to brew. Either that or I’ll bring a manual burr grinder, an Aeropress, ask for hot water, and brew it myself.
I’m planning on taking whatever’s left of the beans and making it into a cold brew. Steeping the beans in water anywhere from 20 to 24 hours and straining it tomorrow.
The Next Day
I’ve finished with the cold brewing process and I must say, the coffee that came out was spectacular! It wasn’t as bold as the one that came from the drip brewer, but it was a lot smoother. The texture feel that was present on the hot brew was completely eliminated in the cold brew, leaving a really nice, smooth tasting cup!
Overall, the taste was less bold, but the extraction had a more syrupy taste to it. I really enjoyed this cup, and it’s the perfect beverage to have on such a hot summer day.
I wrote the steps on how I made the cold brew here.
A lot of experts say that we should try using medium roasts as it will extract more sweetness. I haven’t tried a medium roast yet, but will try so when I get a Toddy Cold Brewer. For now, I have about two weeks worth of cold brew made and will need to focus on finishing this delightful batch.
Thanks for reading and do leave a comment for any suggestions and your recommended coffee packs.
I drink Starbucks dark roast every morning, of every day. My first taste today, 1/26/17. It was very bitter. So I asked the person that served me what was the dark roast today. She stated it was Gold Coast. So I looked it up online and found this. The first taste was kind of shocking, that is why I asked. But after a few more sips, Gold Coast is excellent. I drink my coffee black, so I think I am a pretty good judge of taste.
Hi Rich! I got my Starbucks Gold Coast from an auntie who lives in the States. With regards to the first sip, yes you are right – the Gold Coast packs a punch and wakes you up even if you don’t want to be waken up!
*High Five!* I also drink my coffee black. And although I don’t think that my taste preferences are as strong as yours, I trust your taste buds and will definitely be happy in getting my hands on another pack of Starbucks Gold Coast 🙂 I’m glad you saw this post. Thanks for the comment!