Starbucks Blonde Aria and Bright Sky Blends, reviewed

Starbucks recently released two new Blonde Roast coffees to their popular light roast lineup, Aria Blend and Bright Sky Blend. Both are available as preground coffees for the supermarket and they’re also available as K-Cups. Judging by the K-cup collections that I see, and the fact that Starbucks is releasing extra light roasts, I get the impression that the Blonde Roasts are growing in popularity with consumers. For me, the Blonde Roast coffees are very mild. I know plenty of people who absolutely love them because they prefer a more subtle cup of coffee, but I usually prefer the darker roasts, so when I make a Blonde k-cup (or other light roast k-cup), I usually use the small or medium setting on my Keurig to get a more intense flavor from the coffe.

Bright Sky has a light, nutty flavor that reminds me of toasted mixed nuts. There are definitely hints of peanut (although there are no peanuts, so not to worry!) in the coffee. The nutty flavor is smooth and a bit buttery, and it has a pleasantly long finish to it. Aria doesn’t have that nuttiness. Instead, it has a hint of citrus and cocoa to it. It has a cleaner, quicker finish than the Bright Sky, and is a little bit more refreshing.

Of the two, I definitely prefer the Bright Sky, because I like the longer finish and slightly more complex flavor profile. Both are mild, approachable and easy to drink – and as is the case with many light roast K-cups, you can easily adjust the strength by using different brew sizes on your Keurig to make the same coffee work for coffee drinkers with different tastes.