Last updated on January 15th, 2024 at 06:47 pm
What is blonde espresso?
Do you have any idea what a blonde espresso is? When I saw “blonde espresso” first time, I was wondering:
- What is a blonde espresso?
- What is the difference between a regular espresso and a blonde espresso?
- Is blonde espresso stronger than regular espresso?
Blonde espresso is NOT a blonde making espresso!!! Neither the final espresso pull’s color is anyway near blonde!
First of all, Espresso is typically brewed using dark roast coffee beans. The term “Blonde Roast” started being used by Starbucks around 2012 to identify their lighter coffee beans.
Blonde, or lighter-roasted espresso, is considered strong in terms of caffeine.
The espresso itself has a concentrated amount of coffee, thus the extracting technique of espresso, with higher temperature and pressure, makes it stronger in taste than most drip or cold brew coffees.
In comparison to a darker roast, the blonde roast seems lighter and less strong, but it contains a higher acidity than a darker roast, as well as caffeine content.
In this article when I mention strong means the caffeine content in a single shot pull of the espresso.
Blonde espresso is made during the coffee roasting process, which applies heat and sometimes pressure. Coffee roasters choose to roast the blonde for less time than a darker roast. Blonde roast is at the lighter end of the roast spectrum.
Light roast coffee beans are done roasting almost before making the first crack and typically the heat reaches the temperatures of 350F to 400F during roasting.
The lightly roasted coffee bean has a light brown color, hence the name “blonde roast.”
Is blonde espresso strong?
A blonde roast will have more caffeine than a dark roast. About 80 – 90 mg of caffeine per shot of Blonde Espresso, vs. 60 – 75 mg per shot of regular Espresso.
Caffeine numbers are a direct result of the roasting process. The amount of caffeine in a shot of espresso is directly determined by the time the coffee bean is roasted.
The longer the roast time, the less caffeine there is. Also, temperature plays a significant role, i.e., the higher the roasting temperatures the less caffeine the finished beans have. Is blonde espresso strong in caffeine? Absolutely.
Is blonde espresso strong in taste? Blonde espresso does taste lighter, and sweeter, and has more body than a darker roast, sometimes with fruity or nutty notes depending on the bean’s origin.
A blonde espresso roast’s smoothness accentuates the natural sweetness of the beans. If it is brewed regularly, the brewed coffee has a lighter body.
Is blonde espresso strong? Some people tend to associate strength with the taste, so they may consider the flavor of a darker roast to be stronger.
This comparison has more to do with the taste of bitterness than the actual caffeine content. Regular espresso roast has an intense, bold flavor with a lingering finish, sometimes a sweet caramel and nutty chocolate note can be tasted.
Most blonde espresso shots have a sweet thick palate feel with more caffeine. Tastewise, is blonde espresso strong? Not really.
Conclusion: Blonde espresso strong? Yes!
So blonde espresso is stronger than regular espresso in terms of caffeine content, but less bitter than dark roast taste-wise.
Now if you like to know how to choose coffee beans for your homebrew, please check out our blogs “Buy Great Coffee Beans For Beginners” and “Best Coffee Grinders“.
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