The Starbucks Reserve Gravitas Blend Features A Trio Of Rare Coffees

Starbucks is renowned worldwide as a top coffeehouse chain, but for coffee enthusiasts, they offer much more than just a cozy place to enjoy a latte. Enter the Reserve Roasteries, located in six select spots globally, where customers can engage, experience, and purchase their exclusive signature coffee blends, freshly roasted on-site.

Among their most beloved blends is the Starbucks Reserve Gravitas, made from a unique combination featuring a trio of rare coffee beans (sold separately at the Roastery). This specialty is the pride of the Seattle Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room and is described by Starbucks as "big and complex with layers of richness," achieved by skillfully blending the trio of beans.

The Reserve Gravitas package has a card revealing the three coffees making up this blend: Papua New Guinea Ulya, Sun Dried Ethiopia Konga, and East Congo Lake Kivu. All of these beans vary in size and flavor profile, which you'll notice right away when you unbox a package of the Reserve Gravitas and pour them out, but are roasted to the same degree. Finding the correct roasting level for a bunch of different coffees while ensuring that their flavor profiles are maximized and blended well together isn't an easy task, which is why a bag of this specialty coffee can go for as much as $28 per half a pound.

The Starbucks Reserve Gravitas blend derives its milk chocolate-like notes from the Papua New Guinea Ulya coffee, the balanced and herbal notes from the East Congo Lake Kivu coffee, and the full-body juiciness from the Sun-Dried Ethiopia Konga. The blend is dark-roasted, giving it bold characteristics reminiscent of legacy coffee blends that have made the Starbucks name.

What makes the Reserve Gravitas special is its medium to full-bodied mouthfeel, low acidity, and delightful citrusy aroma that Starbucks describes as a blend of pomegranate and ripe persimmon. The complexity of flavors in this blend fulfills Starbucks' promise of a bold and rich coffee experience, and it's safe to say they've crafted this roast wonderfully.

However, for those who prefer their cuppa on the lighter side, this roast's boldness means it is a lot more bitter than your average blend. This could turn quite a few people off from properly enjoying a cup pressed from this blend, with a few reviews of the Gravitas noting it to be bitter, harsh, and unlike your run-of-the-mill espresso served at a local Starbucks.