Feeling warm and fuzzy about Gloria Jean’s Coffee as a result of their Black Gold blend, I asked Qwowi sponsor, Shoffee.com to send me a box of GJ’s Cappuccino K-Cups to sample, and of course, review for the K-Cup Challenge.

After panning the GJ Special Blend, and Hazelnut varieties, Gloria Jean’s Black Gold was a very pleasant surprise.  With my interest in the brand reborn, I thought for sure a box of Cappuccino flavored coffee would keep the ball rolling, and no doubt grow my appreciation for the brand.

On paper it seemed like a good plan, but well…my bad.

What it says on the box

Rich, creamy flavor with a hint of cinnamon

The Aroma

The aroma is a not particularly potent blending of coffee and cinnamon

Drinking it black

Well, one out of 3 isn’t bad…actually it sucks.  The flavor is not rich, nor is it creamy.  But hey, there is a hint of cinnamon, so woo hoo.

Cappuccino is a light-bodied coffee with a dry finish.  It’s a lighter roast so the resonably high acidity should come as no real surprise.

For what it’s worth, the Gloria Jean’s Cappuccino isn’t bitter.  It is, however, weak.  In fact, it’s among the weakest, if not the weakest K-Cups I’ve sampled thus far.  What flavor there is can be described as cinnamony with a hint of smokey bean.

With Cream and Sugar

Adding cream actually thickens the coffee and gives a bit more classic cappuccino flavor.  It finishes dry with the flavor of cinnamon – and I swear, a hint of egg.

As K-cups go, it is, sadly, exceptionally boring.

Final Thoughts

While not a true cappuccino, the flavor, although watered down is ok, and overall it does a decent impersonation of cappuccino I suppose.  Without a doubt, the flavor needs to be bolder (perhaps an extra bold K-Cup is warranted here), and needs to pack a little more punch.

When I hear cappuccino I think Italian coffee house.  Unfortunately, Gloria Jean’s Cappuccino is less 10pm Italian coffee house and too much 8AM at 7-11.

Shameless Plug

As is the case most of the time, the sponsor of this review, Shoffee.com doesn’t make the coffee, they sell it, so don’t hold the fact that I didn’t like the K-Cups they sent against them.  Who knows, you may like Gloria Jean’s Cappuccino (to each his own), but if not, Shoffee still offers a great selection of K-Cups, and of course, the complete lineup of Keurig Home Brewers.

Help support the K-Cup Challenge by supporting my sponsors, who support me and make this whole K-Cup Challenge thing possible.  So yeah…support the supports, and thank you for your support.