Neither the B&N Cafe nor Starbucks has ever offered a traditional cappuccino, so this review is based on freshly brewed House Blend from a Fetco Extractor and their Caramel Macchiato.
The drip coffee:
Pouring into the cup, it looked fairly decent, but also noticeably dark.
The coffee was very hot.
The extremely dark roast imparts a very obvious burnt bean carbon flavor in the cup, which needs to be looked past in any review of a Starbucks product, but it cannot be ignored. Starbucks coffee is burned.
The very dark roast does its job of helping to hide the stale bean flavor expected in a cup of coffee brewed from pre-ground coffee from a foil pouch lacking a roast date.
The darker roast imparts a spicy, almost uncomfortable flavor all over the palate.
The body is medium to full, and is well balanced. (keep in mind, this is looking past the obvious burnt bean flavor)
The origins in the blend are difficult to place, which is also to be expected of such a dark roast.
With a little half & half added, the bitterness of the carbon in the coffee contrasts with the non-steamed half & half, which actually tastes fairly sweet thanks to the coffee's own lack of such characteristics.
Together, it balances out pretty decently and provides a drinkable, though not exceptional, cup of coffee.
6.5 out of 10
The Caramel Macchiato:
Of course, the espresso is impossible to taste, and is quite bitter and underdeveloped. Typical of a superautomatic machine set to Starbucks standards.
The caramel sauce is good, and helps to balance the unpleasant flavor of the sub-par espresso.
The vanilla syrup helps to mesh the flavors in a transitional(for lack of a better word) way.
The milk is frothed with large visible bubbles resulting in a rather flat, dull flavor.
It should be noted that the Caramel Macchiato is not a true macchiato, but rather, is a vanilla latte macchiato with caramel sauce applied in a cross-hatched pattern on top.
Quality of coffee:
3 out of 10
Quality of drink concept/build:
5 out of 10
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