My sample of Green Mountain Hazelnut Dark Roast Extra Bold (wow that’s a long one) was one of many samples provided by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shortly after I began work on the K-Cup Challenge.  Green Mountain has been among the biggest supports of the K-Cup Challenge, and I truly appreciate their help, not to mention their delicious coffee (guess I mentioned it after all).

As I discussed in my review of Gloria Jean’s Hazelnut, I’m not really a hazelnut guy.  What can I say, I don’t get overly enthused about coffee that too often tastes like someone dropped a stick of butter in it.  I’m generally of the opinion that hazelnut flavoring is as much a practical joke as it is a proper cup of coffee.

So with my very clear, admitted anti-hazelnut bias out in the open, let’s get on with the review.

What it says on the box

A darker, bolder, hazelnut coffee

Tasting Notes

A darker, bolder hazelnut coffee.

We took our most popular flavored coffee and turned up the intensity. Like our traditional Hazelnut coffee, our Hazelnut Dark Roast is buttery and sweet, with the rich flavor of just-toasted hazelnuts. Its darker, richer roast makes for a dramatically intense coffee flavor, and adds a subtle smokiness and a bit of caramel to the cup.

The Aroma

Hazelnut has a very distinct aroma, and Green Mountain’s Dark Roast fits right in with the others.  Like the Gloria Jean’s sample I reviewed earlier, the aroma is nutty and potent. The extra bold offering from Green Mountain does add a bit of smoke to the fumes, which if nothing else, gives it a bit of character not found in more lightly roasted hazelnuts.

Drinking it Black

I really like what Green Mountain did here. Creating a dark roast hazelnut is a bit rebellious considering hazelnut is the bread and butter, go to, morning drink for many a light coffee drinker. Couple the dark roast with a well-packed extra bold K-Cup, and well, they may have just created the world’s first drinkable hazelnut (at least as far as I’m concerned).

The flavor is deeper, earthier than any other hazelnut I’ve tried so far (granted, that’s maybe a grand total of 4, but it’s still count for something).  Most importantly, Green Mountain’s Dark Roast Hazelnut Extra Bold is, as the name suggests, dark and rich; so much so that the natural butteriness of the hazelnut is pummeled nearly to submission - and that’s fine by me.

With Cream and Sugar

As I almost always say, adding cream and sugar sweetens the blend (duh).  It also happens to bring out more of the natural hazelnut flavor and caramel notes.  I like caramel just fine, just not with hazelnut.  Still, it wasn’t that bad (high praise from a hazelnut hater), and by the time I was downing the last few sips, I had pretty much forgotten that I was only drinking it because I had to.

Final Thoughts

I won’t go so far as to say that I liked it, but as hazelnut varieties go, Green Mountain’s Dark Roast Extra Bold is about as good as it gets.  It wasn’t that bad, and I would imagine there’s plenty of demand for a hazelnut coffee with a little bit of oomph.

If you’re at all a fan of hazelnut, particularly if you’ve been wishing for a more sophisticated option, I’d recommend giving the 5-star rated, Green Mountain’s Dark Roast Hazelnut Extra Bold a try.  I guarantee it’s better than the hazelnut you’re drinking now, Rachael.

Shameless Plug

You can help keep the K-Cup Challenge going by supporting my sponsors (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters).  At the Green Mountain Website you can purchase not only the Hazelnut Dark Roast Extra Bold I’ve written about here, any of the complete lineup of Keurig Brewers (including the top of the line B70).  You will also Save $2 on Every Box when you join Green Mountain’s Café EXPRESS program.

While you’re here, check out the growing list of K-Cup reviews in my K-Cup Challenge.