K-cup reviews: Caribou Coffee Obsidian

Yesterday, I ordered a 35 variety pack of K-cups that SHOULD all be different as well as a 22 pack tea sampler.  I can't really help but brag since I got those two items as well as a 2-disk copy of the Dark Knight and an HDMI cable for 27 dollars (through a mixture of me getting free prime shipping for 6 months and forgetting that I had a 12 dollar credit left over).  The company I got the variety pack from is called Crazy Cups and hopefully, they deliver on their promises.  I did get this so I'd have a bigger variety of things to review but honestly, there's a lot of K-cup flavors I want to try but the big packs are expensive.  Most of the ones I review end up being good, but a lot of times, I buy by a trusted brand and things that don't look completely gimmicky.  Hopefully, the variety pack will bring some good and bad K-cups to light.

Anyway, I've heard a lot of good things about Obsidian.  I've seen it on a lot of best K-cups lists and it's a bit strange that it's discontinued (although Caribou has a Columbian blend that I'm assuming is similar).  Obviously, it's supposed to be dark and bold, which is saying a lot because normal Caribou Blend is quite bold.  Let's see how this is.

Outsides:  Your normal K-cup.  The coffee does give off a nice scent when brewed, a mixtures of sweetness and acidity.  When in the cup, it smells like a sweet, fruity-smelling dark roast.

Insides:  So, this coffee is very robust.  It tastes almost woody and a bit smoky, but isn't as strong as the Caribou blend in terms of the barbaque taste.  There's this acidic taste at the end, but it isn't overpowering and adds a bit of depth.  The sweetness seems to be more in scent than in the flavor because the coffee is rich, dark and almost savory.  This is definitely a "man" coffee.    

Overall:  So, I like this better than the Caribou Blend and it's definitely one of the more complex coffees available in a k-cup.  It's not for everyone but if you like dark roasts or manly coffee, this is definitely worth it. 

My Rating:  Buy it!  Unfortunately, it looks like it's discontinued but if you see the Columbian Blend, that's probably the closest one to it.  

K-cup reviews: Caribou Coffee Caribou Blend

So, I honestly couldn't figure out what I wanted to review today.  It's not that I don't have tea because dear god, do I have a lot of tea and will probably review some later.  No, right now is coffee time.

I was (and currently am) writing my opinion on the Keurig brewing system and K-cups, but it basically depends on how much you want to spend on crappy coffee that gets brewed in about 30 seconds.  Right now however, I'm in a good mood.  I got my particular Keurig for free and found out later that it's a little broken.  Sometimes, it won't dispense the water it heats up, leaving me with no coffee the first few times and watered down when it does work.  Well, it did that.  Every day for about three days.  But today, it started working again and that means I can have a terrible cup of coffee!

I have not drank anything from a Caribou coffee, but I imagine that it's just like Starbucks in that the coffee is pretty bad for the price your paying for it (I know there's special blends and whatnot, but they have coffee carts all around school and believe me, it sucks).  

Outsides:  If you've never seen a K-cup, it's basically a plastic cup with foil on the top that gets poked by the machine.  They're pretty wasteful, but more on that later.  The coffee itself is dark and smells smokey.

Insides:  So, this tastes like coffee that I like to classify as "Man-coffee".  It's really smokey, kinda strong (although it said it was a medium roast) and pretty bitter.  There's touches of sweetness in this particular blend, like bittersweet chocolate, but ultimately it tastes more like coffee you've left by a campfire.  And you know what?  That's kinda appealing to me.  

I like this coffee but for a weird reason.  It's bad coffee, but slightly more endearing bad coffee than crappy coffee-cart Starbucks.  It's bitter and smokey and strong, but it also has some richness and sweetness and multidimensionality.  I don't think it tastes good but much like the oolong, it's in a sea of coffees that are either too terrible to drink or tastes like nothing (mostly the later).  It's so bad it's good, which is not going to get any of you to buy it, but is exactly what I think about it.

Overall:  I don't know.  It's in a lot of sample packs which I honestly recommend you to get even if you don't think you'll like a lot of coffees.  I can't give it a buy on its own just because it really isn't going to appeal to everyone.  But if you want a coffee that makes you feel like you're going to work in the steel mills, then this is the coffee to try.

My Rating:  Try it! (in a sample pack first to see if you like it)  Here's the site.  I've heard good things about the Obsidian, but I guess that is now the Columbia.  Also, see that $150 machine?  That's the one I think I got for free (even though it's kinda broken).