Small Obsidian Coffee from Caribou Coffee

Item Purchased: Small Obsidian Coffee from Caribou Coffee
Location Purchased: Caribou Coffee / 1328 S. Halsted / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.50 + tax

Review: Caribou Coffee has been running one of those mystery advertising campaigns over the last week or so. You know the kind, where you see a dark and mysterious picture (think the image to the left without the text) and a release date. The image is supposed to create awareness and anticipation of a new product. Usually it is just asinine tactics appealing to the child in us that hates surprises. After its unveiling today, I found out that this newest of Caribou's coffee blends is an ultra dark roast which supposedly has a smooth flavor and finish.

All I taste is a coffee that is approaching the burnt flavor of Starbucks coffee. This stuff forces me to add more cream and sugar to my daily wake-up than I usually do. Great! Even more of the most unhealthy aspects of coffee drinking! Just what I need!

Though Obsidian does finish with little or no bitterness when compared to other dark roasts, I still don't see the point of roasting a bean until half the caffeine is burnt out and the complexities of the bean's flavor are all but gone. Supposedly, the beans used in Obsidian are grown in volcanic highlands where it is common to harvest the soil for landfill liners. I think that I will refer to this coffee as just that... Landfill brew.

Rating: 0.5 / 5