What to skip: Revv No Surrender
This coffee pod did little to rev my engines.
I found Revv No Surrender coffee disappointing for a few reasons:The blend reminded me of coffee from a pot sitting on the burner for too long. The K-Cup tasted sour and astringent, with a burnt and bitter finish. Second, No Surrender says to be the jolt you need as an early grinder, but it’s made with 100% arabica beans. Straight arabica means it’s likely to possess a typical caffeine boost without the naturally higher caffeine content of the robusta bean. (None of the K-Cup boxes gave caffeine information.) Finally, No Surrender arrived unannounced in the Keurig Coffee Lovers’ Collection variety pack. I bought a box of the brand to test because No Surrender wasn’t listed as part of the collection on the Keurig website. Not a style that I needed in excess of.
What to try instead: Tactisquatch
After tasting Starbucks’ Verona blend, I’m starting to see why Romeo and Juliet ended up like it did.
Most people heading to Starbucks aren’t going for its excellent drip coffee, but the Starbucks Verona K-Cup tastes like something has gone wrong in the roasting process. It is a hard pass for me because it smells burnt, tastes bitter and leaves an unpleasant tannic residue on the tip of my tongue. The brand markets Verona as a mid-dark on the label, but it tastes like an overcooked French roast. Are there better options out there, even by the same brand? Absolutely.
What to try instead: Barista Premium
Seattle’s Best was one of the worst.
Despite tasting this K-Cup several times, the Seattle’s Best Breakfast Blend is a medium roast that delivers a combination of muddiness up-front and a sweet yet musty finish. (I did confirm the best buy date is fine for almost one more year. Of course, the “best buy” date on a coffee label isn’t an indicator of freshness.)
Overall, this blend lacks the brightness and citrus notes in the box. The earthiness was overwhelming and would need plenty of milk and sugar to balance the flavor. Plus, at 56 cents per pod on the Keurig site, this isn’t even the cheapest K-Cup option available.
What to try instead: Illy Classico
Green Mountain’s Columbia Select started smooth but finished surprisingly bitter and flat.
I selected the Green Mountain Single-Origin Colombia Select because it was the only option with a Fair Trade Certified label from my local grocery store. While I appreciate sustainable sourcing, I found this K-Cup to be inconsistent. Even when it started smooth, it finished surprisingly bitter and flat.
The aroma is sweet but missing the cocoa and caramel tasting notes. The Colombia Select also arrived as part of the Keurig variety pack and the flavor still disappointed. Granted, it’s not as muddy as some of the other Green Mountain blends but the finish carried an essence of twig that just couldn’t meet the label’s aspirations.
What to try instead: Philz Tesora
Gevalia’s signature blend was hardly offensive but there are plenty of others I would choose over it.
Labeled as a mild blend, the Gevalia Signature Blend light roast is bright and slightly sour. If you want a proper light roast, though, it’s better to go with another blend because it is quite toasted. This K-Cup is also more bitter than I anticipated, which does mellow as the coffee cools. The Signature Blend also finishes with wet, earthy notes that are more musty than herbaceous. This is hardly an offensive blend, but there are just better options out there.
