Introducing Starbucks Sunsera Blend coffee
Starbucks is adding a new flavorful light-roast coffee with sunshine vibes to its core coffee lineup.
Leslie Wolford has had a hand in some of Starbucks most iconic coffees since joining the company in 1991. As a principal coffee developer, she’s helped create everything from the company’s perennial favorite Pike Place® Roast to barista-inspired Green Apron Blend®. But even for Wolford, crafting a new light-roast core coffee for Starbucks customers was a tall – or perhaps even a grande – order.
The project brief: Create a coffee that’s balanced and approachable. Delicious hot or iced, both with milk and without. Suited for any brewing method. Sunny.
About 14 months, and hundreds of cups later, Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™ has arrived. This blonde roast coffee, which is a blend of coffee from Brazil and Colombia, is launching March 4 on shelves in Starbucks cafés and grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be brewed as the blonde roast Coffee of the Day in Starbucks cafés, both with the single-cup Clover Vertica™ brewer and on the Bunn brewer. And it makes for a great second cup; when customers order any beverage (which includes any coffee, tea or specialty beverage) “for here,” they can order Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™ brewed coffee as a free refill during the same visit.
“If you taste Starbucks Sunsera Blend side-by-side with other light-roast coffees, you can see we have created something very new and different,” Wolford said. “It is soft in its approachability with more toasted nuances, which allows the flavors to carry through.”
And the sunshine? The semi-washed and sun-dried coffees from Brazil bring out flavors of Meyer lemon zest and toasted almond while the washed coffees from Colombia bring out flavor notes of Asian pear and apricot. The Sunsera name conveys its easy-going personality – a blend of sun for its sunny personality and sera for the traditional Italian greeting buona sera.
“When designing this coffee, I took inspiration from thinking about what it would be like to have a ray of sunshine in your cup. It’s got nice acidity, but it’s not pointed acidity. It’s got this sweetness and smoothness, warmth and optimism. It feels right for everyone,” Wolford said.
Tasting Notes
Roast: Starbucks® Blonde Roast
Acidity: Medium
Body: Medium-light
Tasting Notes: Bright citrus and toasted almond
Flavor Pairings: Chocolate, blueberry, malt
Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™ is remarkably versatile. It’s a smooth, flavorful hot brewed coffee in Starbucks cafés both when it’s served black or customized at the condiment bar with milk and sugar. And it produces a beautiful cup of hot or iced coffee at home, with every brew method. “We explored all the different ways that a customer would brew this coffee at home,” Wolford said. “It’s just as great as iced coffee and cold brew.”
Reflecting on her journey of more than 30 years with Starbucks, Wolford said, “Starbucks Sunsera Blend brings it all full circle. With the company’s focus on getting back to Starbucks, it’s the perfect time to bring an accessible and welcoming new coffee to customers.”
Availability
Starbucks customers can enjoy Starbucks® Sunsera Blend™ in cafés as the blonde roast brewed Coffee of the Day or pick up a bag to brew at home, available at Starbucks locations in the U.S. and Canada year-round and in grocery stores as whole bean, ground coffee and K-Cup®, and Starbucks® by Nespresso Vertuo, all coming soon.
