As you may remember, I didn’t mind Green Mountain’s seasonal Raspberry Rhapsody blend one little bit.  It has a nice raspberry flavor that doesn’t overpower the coffee flavor.  Most importantly there’s not a trace of that acidic feeling burn that many flavored coffees leave in the back of your throat.  All that said, I still don’t consider myself a flavored coffee kind of guy, but since one of the samplers I received contained, among other things, Coffee People’s Berry Blast (Extra Bold), well, you know the drill…I felt compelled to make myself a cup.

The Description

Sweet, tart berries with dark bold java

The Aroma

A pleasant mix of raspberries and strawberries (and probably some other berries too).  One thing is for sure, it’s potent.  I’m actually loving the smell, but in the interest of painting an acurate picture, it doesn’t smell a whole heck of a lot like coffee.

Drinking It Black

Berry Blast is perhaps more berry juice than coffee.  It’s great if you like hot berry juice, maybe not so much if you like coffee.  I exaggerate a bit, but there’s quite a bit of berry flavor in play here.  The good news is that I’m not feeling much of  a  of syrupy, acidic burning in the back of my throat.

Getting past the throat thing, the berry flavor is intense; much more so than the flavoring in any coffee I’ve tried to date.  It’s actually quite interesting.  I think I might even like it.

With Cream and Sugar

Maybe my taste buds adjusted, maybe the cream and sugar are magic, but whatever if it is, with cream and sugar berry blast tastes a bit more like actual coffee after they were added.  Don’t get me wrong, it will never be mistaken for traditional coffee as there is way more than just a wee bit of berry flavor here, but I’m not hating it; quite the opposite in fact.

Cream and Sugar seem to diminish what syrupy taste there was.  I generally don’t take my coffee this light and this sweet (especially not dark coffee), but, well, I think I’m moving past not hating it, to actually really liking it.

Final Thoughts

It’s just a hunch, but this one may better on a hot day and served over ice.  As actual coffee goes, It’s nothing I’d crave first thing in the morning, and nothing I’d rely on to wake me up.  What it does have going for it is the most true-to-its-name flavor of any such variety I’ve sampled to date.  If you’re in the market for a berry flavored coffee, this probably is the one.  If you’re looking for an occasional alternative to the every day, the is definitely one to toss into the mix.  The berry flavor won’t disappoint, unless of course you’re looking for just an average cup of coffee.

Unfortunately since this review was originally written Coffee People discontinued Berry Blast (boo, boo – although I wholeheartedly support your decision to dump Chai Coffee).  It’s kind of a shame really, I’m definitely not saying I’d drink it every day, but as far as flavored coffees go, this one was pretty damn good.

Check out the growing list of reviews in the K-Cup Challenge.