Pike Place or House Blend? I bet you’ve heard it many times now. This is normal since these Starbucks drinks are popular for a reason.
Maybe you would like to know which one to bring home and taste for yourself. Well, let me help you with that, as I’ve both bought these whole bean bags for the past few months now.
Let’s get started.
Contents
Pike Place VS House Blend
The main differences between Pike Place and House Blend are in the taste and caffeine content as they both use 100% Arabica beans and a Medium Roast.
| Feature | Starbucks Pike Place | Starbucks House Blend |
| Ingredients | 100% Arabica Coffee | 100% Arabica Coffee |
| Taste | A smooth and well-rounded blend with notes of cocoa and rich praline | Full aroma, body, and flavor all balanced out with notes of toffee and dusted cocoa |
| Caffeine | 19.5 mg per fl oz | 11.8 mg per fl oz |
| Roast | Medium Roast | Medium Roast |
Pike Place
There’s just something about Starbucks’ Pike Place. These are the first bag of beans I bought from them and the first thing I noticed is that the beans look more dark roasted than medium roasted.
They are like, very dark and oily.
After grinding the beans up and making my cup of joe, I gave it a taste, and wow! There are all kinds of things going on in my mouth.
I could tell it had a chocolatey, nutty, smokey, and even earthy taste. But at the same time, it was strong, like really strong. It had a super intense bitterness and it was quite harsh, but I couldn’t get enough of it.
It all blended so well together. It starts off a bit sweet, then gets a bit bitter and eventually smokey. But I do know that Starbucks like to make their coffees strong since they know people will add other additives into their cup to make them less bitter. Which is a bit funny to me.
I do have to say that I prefer Starbucks Pike Place as a standalone coffee with no other additives, and it will sure wake you up.
It goes nicely with some pastry while you’re having a talk but I don’t think it will go that well as a morning cup with a breakfast like bacon and eggs as it’s too harsh for that.
It’s also important to note that at the time of writing this, something changed about Starbucks’ Pike Place, it tastes weaker and honestly quite bad. I checked the reviews of other people and was glad I was not the only one that noticed.
Starbucks denies anything has changed, yet we can all taste the difference. So be careful and read up on some more reviews before buying yourself a bag of Pike Place beans.
| Pros ✅ | Cons ❌ |
| ✅ Unique taste with a chocolate, nut, smokey, and earthy flavor ✅ Strong ✅ Great standalone coffee ✅ Price | ❌ Not a great combination with breakfast food |
House Blend
House Blend is a bit of a weird one. I really want to say that I like it, but I’m not sure at this point.
It has a really nice nutty flavor, and you can definitely taste the notes of dusted cocoa (like the actual dust, not real chocolate). But flavor-wise it’s a bit disappointing and you would expect more from this price range.
It has less caffeine than Pike Place which makes it more enjoyable to some people.
I do think House Blend is a great option if you’re going to add other additives to it like milk, cream, or even something like caramel syrup.
But as a standalone drink, it’s not for me and I feel like it just lacks that flavor like you get in Pike Place.
But, if you’re a fan of something less strong with a nice blend of nutty and chocolatey flavors, then make sure to give it a try! It might become your favorite blend and I can see why a lot of people actually love this blend.
| Pros ✅ | Cons ❌ |
| ✅ Nutty and literal dusted cocoa flavor ✅ Stronger than Pike Place ✅ Perfect with other additives like cream, milk, or syrups | ❌ Tastes weak for its price range ❌ Not the best as a standalone drink |
What Happened To Starbucks Pike Place?
Starbucks’ Pike Place has seen a change in taste and flavor over the past few months. As of writing this article, multiple people claim that Pike Place does not taste how it used to.
Yet, Starbucks replies back to these people in their reviews, denying they changed anything.
I personally notice the change as well, it just tastes weak, off, and bland.
I’m not trying to put Starbucks in bad daylight as I love what they offer, but as I want to be fair to my audience, I have to mention this.
So, before buying a bag of Pike Place, read some recent reviews to check if the problem still persists. If not, then definitely give it a taste!
Is Pike Place Stronger Than House Blend?
Yes, Starbucks’ Pike Place is stronger than their House Blend.
Starbucks Pike Place has around 19.5 mg of caffeine per ounce, while House Blend has around 11.8 mg of caffeine per ounce.
So, if we take a standard coffee cup size of 8 fl oz then a cup of Pike Place should contain around 156 mg of caffeine while a cup of House Blend holds around 94,4 mg of caffeine.
The Bottom Line
Both Starbucks’ Pike Place and House Blend can give you some great cups of joe, and what I noticed is that it comes down to your preference.
Do you like something strong and flavorful? Then I recommend getting some Pike Place.
Do you rather want something nutty and chocolatey that goes great with other additives? Then get the House Blend.
Of course, it won’t hurt to try both and see what you like most, as these are both very popular beverages.
Happy caffeinating!
