Starbucks Pike Place vs. House Blend: which one is stronger?

Starbucks roasts its coffee beans differently to get a light, medium and dark roast. Since I love coffee, my friend suggested I try the Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend to determine their unique tastes. I realized that both varieties are relatively mild coffees with a rich and distinct Latin American flavor, which may confuse people who cannot tell them apart. Thus, I created this article to help you understand the main differences between the two coffees. At the end of this post, you will also know which one is stronger and which one to get. Read on!

What are the differences between Starbucks Pike Place vs. House blend

Feature/Starbucks Coffee Roast	Starbucks Pike Place	Starbucks House Blend
Ingredients	100% Arabica coffee	100% Arabica coffee
Taste Profile	Smooth and well balanced with a rich, approachable taste and subtly rich notes of toasted nuts and cocoa	Rich and lively aroma, body and flavor all smooth and balanced-with notes of toffee and cocoa.
Caffeine Content/ Nutritional value	310 milligrams in a Grande serving	360 milligrams in a Grande serving
Availability/ Accessibility	Easy to access every day in a Starbucks store near you all year round.	Easy to access every day in a Starbucks store near you all year round.
Roast level	Medium roast	Medium roast

Starbucks Pike Place vs. House blend – How They Compare

Ingredients

The ingredients Starbucks uses to create a particular coffee determine its taste and nutritional value.

Starbucks creates its Pike Place Roast with 100 percent Arabica coffee. Starbucks procures the Arabica coffee beans it uses to create this coffee from Latin America, a region renowned for its favorable climate, high altitude, and frequent rainfall. 

Starbucks decided to create the Starbucks Pike Place Roast after receiving many requests from its royal fan base worldwide to create a freshly brewed coffee they could enjoy all day. 

In 2008, after thoroughly blending and roasting different Latin American coffees, Starbucks announced the arrival of a new smooth and well-balanced coffee with a rich, approachable taste and subtly rich notes of toasted nuts and cocoa. 

Conversely, Starbucks creates its House Blend with 100 percent Arabica coffee. Starbucks also procures the coffee from Latin America. 

The House Blend is a perfect blend of fine Latin American coffee beans that Starbucks roasts to a shiny, dark chestnut color. Owing to its meticulous creation process, the Starbucks House Blend is loaded with a rich and lively aroma, body, and flavors, all smooth and balanced with notes of toffee and cocoa. 

The House Blend is the first blend that Starbucks created back in 1971. Since then, it has set the course for how master roasters and blenders at Starbucks work to date. The original Blend is a perfect reflection of the company and a delicious coffee cup.

The only difference between the Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend is that the latter is slightly more medium-bodied than the former. However, in reality, both are relatively mild coffees with a robust Latin American taste profile. Additionally, both are medium roast. 

This category is a draw because Starbucks creates its Pike Place and House Blend with the same ingredient (100 percent Arabic coffee), which means they are almost identical. 

Taste Profile 

The ingredients Starbucks uses to create a specific coffee type dictate its taste. Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend are created using the same ingredients (100 percent Arabica coffee) which means they are almost identical.

Additionally, roast level is another factor that determines how coffee tastes. The three roast profiles have different tastes.

The first roast profile is the blonde/light roast; coffee beans in this category have a mellow flavor; the second is the medium roast; medium roast coffee beans have a smooth and well-balanced taste with hints of toasted nuts and cocoa, and the third is the dark roast; coffee beans in this category have a fuller body with strong, bold taste. 

The Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend are medium roasts; however, the latter is slightly more medium roast than the former. It is that slight difference that sets the two apart.

The Starbucks Pike Place is smooth and well-balanced with a rich, approachable taste and subtly rich hints of toasted nuts and cocoa. 

Conversely, the Starbucks House Blend has a rich and lively aroma, body, and flavors, all smooth and balanced-with hints of toffee and cocoa.

The Starbucks House Blend wins in this category because it is slightly more medium roast than the Starbucks Pike Place; therefore, the former has a slightly stronger flavor than the latter.

Caffeine Content/ Nutritional value

The amount of caffeine in a drink is determined by the roast level. Light roasts tend to have more caffeine than dark roasts. However, not all light roast coffees have more caffeine than dark roast coffees.

You can use caffeine content when choosing the better between two Starbucks drinks. A caffeine lover will choose the drink with the highest caffeine. Conversely, a person who has issues with caffeine will choose the drink with the least amount of caffeine. 

A Grande serving of the Starbucks Pike Place contains 310 milligrams of caffeine, while the same serving of the Starbucks House Blend contains 360 milligrams of caffeine. 

The Starbucks House Blend wins in this category if you are a genuine caffeine lover because it has more caffeine than Starbucks Pike Place.

Availability/Accessibility

One of the most fulfilling feelings is finding out that your favorite Starbucks drink is readily available at the nearest Starbucks store all year round. 

Starbucks Pike Place Roast is easy to access daily in a Starbucks store near you all year round. Starbucks House Blend is also easy to access daily in a Starbucks store near you all year round.

This category is a draw because Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend are both easy to access daily in a Starbucks store near you all year round.

Roast level

Roast level is of the utmost essence in the coffee industry. The three coffee bean roast profiles are light, medium, and dark roast. 

To achieve the Light roast profile, Starbucks roasts raw coffee beans lightly to create coffee beans with mellow flavors. 

Starbucks gives raw coffee beans a medium roast to achieve the medium roast. The result is coffee beans that produce a smooth, balanced coffee with a rich, approachable taste. 

Starbucks roasts raw coffee beans for an extended period to achieve the Dark roast profile. The outcome is coffee beans that produce a fuller body coffee with a robust, bold taste. 

Starbucks Pike Place Roast is a Medium roast coffee that is smooth and well balanced with a rich, approachable taste and subtly rich notes of toasted nuts and cocoa.

Starbucks House Blend is also a Medium roast coffee. It has a rich and lively aroma, body, and flavors, all smooth and balanced with notes of toffee and cocoa. 

This category is a draw since both are medium roasts.

Starbucks Pike Place vs. House blend: A comparison overview

Starbucks pike place – Overview

The drink is the best option if you prefer a medium roast coffee with high caffeine content. Starbucks Pike Place was created after royal customers from around the world requested Starbucks to create a freshly brewed coffee they could drink all day. 

Due to the company’s love for all its customers, it immediately tasked a group of master blenders and roasters with creating a coffee that could fill the gap in the market. In 2008, Starbucks added Pike Place Roast to its menu. 

I liked its smooth and balanced coffee hints, its rich, approachable taste, and subtly rich notes of toasted nuts and cocoa.  

The Starbucks Pike Place best suits genuine coffee lovers who love their coffee medium roast with high caffeine content.

What I liked;

• It is smooth and well balanced 
• It has a rich, approachable taste 
• It has subtly rich notes of toasted nuts and cocoa
• It has a decaf option

What I didn’t like;

• It is very high in caffeine content 

Who it’s best suited for.

• It is suitable for genuine coffee lovers who love their medium roast coffee with high caffeine content. 

Starbucks House Blend- Overview

The coffee is the best option if you crave a medium roast coffee with a rich and lively aroma, body, and flavor, all smooth and balanced-with hints of toffee and cocoa.  

House Blend is a precise blend of fine Latin American coffee beans that Starbucks roasts to a shiny, dark chestnut color. Owing to its painstaking creation process, the Starbucks House Blend is a delicious coffee that will leave you wanting more. 

I like it not only due to its rich and lively aroma, body, and flavor, all smooth and well balanced, but also the hints of toffee and cocoa in the coffee.  

It is suitable for genuine coffee lovers who love their coffee medium roast coffee with high caffeine content.

What I liked;

• It has a rich and lively aroma, body, and flavors
• It has hints of toffee and cocoa

What I didn’t like;

• It is very high in caffeine content 

Who it’s best suited for.

• Suitable for a person who genuinely loves their coffee medium roast coffee with high caffeine content. 

Final Verdict: So, Which is Better? – Starbucks Pike Place or House blend

The Starbucks House Blend is better than the Starbucks Pike Place. Since it is slightly more medium roast than the Starbucks Pike Place, the House Blend has a stronger flavor. Additionally, the Starbucks House Blend has more caffeine than the Pike Place, which makes it ideal for people who love strong coffees. 

FAQ Section

Does Starbucks Pike Place taste better than House Blend?

House Blend is slightly more medium-bodied than Pike Place and gives richer notes of toasted nuts and cocoa than Pike Place; thus, it tastes better.

Is there a big difference between Starbucks Pike Place and House Blend?

Both Pike Place and House Blend are Latin American coffees and do not have a big difference, only that House Blend is slightly more medium-bodied.