Few things I'd like to point out:1. "Espresso" is not a roast. It's a drink. In northern Italy they make espresso from Vienna roast, in southern Italy they use French. Starbucks appears to be using French roast, so they should just label it French roast like any normal person would.
2. The product description says "Taste Espresso Roast as both a shot of espresso and brewed in a coffee press. This is one versatile coffee!" This is patently absurd. It's pre-ground coffee, and it's either for use in espresso machines or presses, but not both. Here's why:
Making a shot of espresso requires a very fine grind. Making coffee press coffee requires a very course grind. If you have ground coffee that is appropriate for espresso machines, it will pass through the filter in a coffee press and you will have a cup of sludge. If you use ground coffee that does not pass through a press's filter in an espresso machine, you do not get espresso. You get cafe crema, which is a good, but entirely different, beverage.
Therefore, a "Universal Grind" is an impossibility. They should tell you on the label what kind of coffee maker it's ground for, like normal people.
3. It's over-roasted. Starbucks has an excellent bean-sourcing operation that buys better coffee than any other company of its size. Then they roast all their beans Vienna or French. Most beans taste best at a particular level of roasting that varies with the bean, and for most beans that level is not Vienna or French. So why roast all your beans too dark? I guess it's just easier that way. Also, it lets them rename Vienna Roast as "Starbucks Roast" because the Austrians don't seem to care.
That said, this is still better than what you get in the supermarket - Starbucks specializes in coffee and sources much better beans than any of the companies that also make cheese, hot dogs, shampoo or cigarettes.
Anyway, if you really want some good coffee, do this:
Buy a grinder. Nothing makes coffee lose flavor like keeping it around after grinding. If you have a drip coffee machine, get a grinder with spinning blades; if you have something else like a press or vacuum pot, get a grinder with burrs. If you have an espresso machine, get a very nice grinder with burrs. Amazon has good deals on all three kinds, just do a search for 'coffee grinder'. It's not that much money, and if you're somebody who's willing to pay for Starbucks you should invest in one.
Find a local coffee shop that roasts their own coffee and gives you the date it's roasted on. Freshness matters! Good beans don't taste nearly as good after they've been sitting around.
Ask the people at your local shop to tell you about the correct amount of beans to use. Most people don't use the right amount. If you don't use enough, your coffee comes out bitter, especially if you have a drip machine. Not enough coffee means the beans you do have get too much exposure to hot water, which makes bitter coffee.
