K-cup reviews: Brooklyn Bean Roastery Cyclone

So, I basically got all of this company's regular flavors in my sample pack.  This company looks interesting.  For one thing, they have extra bold medium roasts as well as dark roasts.  I've seen this on a few coffees but not many K-cups.  They also only can be ordered online, but are relatively cheap.  So what's a Cyclone?  Apparently, it's a roller coaster on Conney Island.   This one's supposed to be an extra bold dark roast with an espresso kick.

Outsides:  Brooklyn Bean Roastery doesn't do anything with their K-cups to make them special.  However, one thing I noticed when brewing this is how dark the coffee was when it dripped down.  Most of them are kind of tan colored but this was dark.  It smells like it does have a hint of espresso to it.

Insides:  So, this one's a little interesting.  It starts off fairly bland for the first second or so, but build up with this smoky and sweet flavor.  I don't know if I'd call this Extra Bold, but it is a nice man-coffee without being in your face about it.  I've brewed espresso in the Keurig before, and after this, I might just mix it with my coffee.  

Overall:  It's not quite as robust as I would have liked it, but it's still very nice and I recommend it for people who like coffee espresso blends.  And it lives up to it's name, giving a roller coaster of flavors and a nice ride.

My Rating:  Try it!  I'll give you their official website:  Brooklyn Bean Roastery Products

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 Review: Newman's Own Extra Bold Special Blend

First off, Newman's Own makes some amazing cookies.  I love Oreos and all, but these taste like homebaked cookies and that puts them above anything.  They're also Fair-Trade and Organic Certified, wo theoretically you can feel good buying them.  Other than that, apparently, this is extra bold.  I guess that's cool.

Outsides:  Normal K-cup.  It's dark and it actually smells very nice.  Kinda sweet, a little smoky, all the good things about coffee.

Insides:  I would consider this coffee bold but not extra bold.  It's thick and slightly sweet with a slight acidic finish.  There's really not much to say, I mean, it's good coffee.  

Overall:  If you want a feel-good alternative to your normal dark roast, this one's pretty good.  

My Rating:  Try it!  You can purchase it here:  Keurig K-Cup 18-Pk. Newman's Own Extra Bold Coffee

K-cup Review: Timothy's Decaf Columbian

You know, I keep avoiding decaf coffees.  It's not that I find them bad, I just always figued that coffee = caffeine and that was the end of it.  But today after work, I really wanted a cup of coffee.  Normally, I wouldn't care whether it had caffeine or not, but I have to wake up at 7 to go back to my job so staying up until 3 would cause me to have a bad time.  Timothy's is the same brand responsible for the Kahlua coffee, so it would be interesting to see how they handle dark roasts.

Outsides:  A blue K-cup but nothing out of the ordinary.  The coffee is dark and actually smells very smokey and rich, which is a good sign.

Insides:  I am going to preface this by telling you two things that may have affected the taste of this without being the coffee's fault.  1)  My machine stalled.  Occasionally, my machine will not spit out coffee like it's supposed to and will store extra water in it's container or something.  This normally doesn't effect the taste unless it adds the extra water, but I think I replaced the cup in time to prevent that.  2)  I only have non-dairy creamer.  Like, powder creamer.  It works great for tea but I prefer using half-and-half for coffee.

That all being said, this tastes really acidic to me.  Oh, it's slightly smokey and actually pretty sweet, but it also tastes like someone added some lemon juice to the coffee.  I know some people like coffee like this (Starbucks has a business selling it) but I prefer sweet or smokey flavors over the harsh flavor of acid.  But you know what, this is in every sample pack they put out for the Keurig.  Try it for yourself because maybe I screwed up.

Overall:  I don't care for it.  I drank it and maybe it's my fault it tastes so awful, but I don't recommend getting this.

My Rating:  Pass.  Here's the site:  Timothy's

K-cup review: Emril's Big Easy Bold Coffee

I like Emril.  He's a good balance between all of the other Food Network stars, making good food that the whole family loves and isn't the most terribly unhealthy for them.  He also is one of the biggest sell-outs, but his products are generally pretty tasty.  If you get a sample pack, this will undoubtedly be in there with all of the other dark roasts.


Outsides:  Ok chefs, you know how to make a coffee that smells good while brewing.  It's not quite the 10/10 that was the Wolfgang Puck Breakfast in Bed, but it smells bold.   The K-cup is blue (don't know if that makes any difference to anyone who doesn't put them all in a grocery bag, but it's easier to find) and the coffee is...dark.  I think it smells slightly sweet for a dark roast.

Insides:  This was the first K-cup coffee I absolutely loved.  It's rich, smokey and slightly sweet, but doesn't have that much angry bitterness or acidity that a lot of dark roasts have.  Emril is right in that this is extremely bold, but isn't offensive.  I feel like there's a hint of chocolate in there but reguardless, this is incredibly smooth.  If you love dark or medium roasts, full-flavored coffee or BAM, you'll love this.

Overall:  This is an essential for dark-roast lovers. It's rich, smooth, smokey, sweet and not extremely bitter.  Even if you don't like dark roasts, get this for your guests.

My Rating:  Buy it!  Here's the site:  Green Mountain's K-cup site.