Starbucks Caffè Verona: A Coffee of One True Love

This is a coffee of one true love, and three names. Starbucks created Caffè Verona^® for a Seattle restaurant to be paired with a luscious chocolate cake dessert. In 1975, it was named Jake's Blend. Soon customers started asking for the unique coffee in Starbucks stores.

When Starbucks began blending the coffee for customers it was known simply as 80/20 Blend. The coffee's second name – 80/20 Blend – refers to the initial blending recipe: 80% Yukon Blend^® and 20% Starbucks^® Italian Roast. With so much love for this special coffee, it's fitting that it was later named after Verona, Italy which was the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

For years, the design on the bag of Caffè Verona had photo of a romantic bridge, presumably in Italy. In fact, the bridge was inspired by a structure in Seattle at the University of Washington Arboretum.

Caffè Verona is often thought of as a “crowd pleaser” or “dinner party coffee." It has become both a partner and customer favorite and is always the first to come to mind as a coffee that pairs well with chocolate.