K-Cup of the Week: Lavazza Classico

Each week I review a new delicious K-Cup on an "official" coffee grading system that emphasizes four critical categories:  (1) Aroma; (2) Strength; (3) Taste; (4) Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup.  I will conclude each review with an Overall grade. This week I review a blend from Italian coffee institution, Lavazza:  Classico.

Aroma:  9

Classico's richness permeates nicely into the office air (which generally smells like the elderly and paper).  If you happen to spill some Classico on yourself, have no fear, this roast doubles as a nice perfume. 

Strength:  7

Classico is a medium roast, which generally translates to a medium strength coffee.  If you are looking for a caffeine jolt, you may want to try something stronger (a la Black Tiger).  

Taste:  8

I really enjoy the richness of Classico.  The taste brings me back to the good ol' days of brewing an entire pot of coffee for myself.  

Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup:  8

Anytime I see the word "New" slapped on a K-Cup box, I am immediately intrigued.  The newness coupled with the international flavor forced this purchase.

Overall:  8

Classico is an excellent daily coffee, especially on a weekend morning.  

K-Cup of the Week: revv® Coffee

Each week I review a new delicious K-Cup on an "official" coffee grading system that emphasizes four critical categories:  (1) Aroma; (2) Strength; (3) Taste; (4) Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup.  I will conclude each review with an Overall grade.  This week I go flying with revv® Coffee from Green Mountain Coffee.  

Aroma:  7

With a name like revv®, you would probably expect to smell motor oil seeping from your Keurig machine.  Nay.  You smell a fresh cup of coffee that is going to have you doing bicycle kicks throughout your office in no time.

Strength:  10

The coffee is called  revv®.  Green Mountain Coffee has its own website for revv®coffee which describes the coffee as a "high-performance brew with smooth balance and high-octane attitude."  I agree.  Drink one of these on Monday morning, you'll think its Friday.  

Taste:  8

I like my coffee bold; extra bold for that matter.  For what I consider to be an extra bold coffee, the taste is smooth.  I drink my coffee black, so if you like adding a tub of cream to your coffee, I'm sure the taste will be even smoother.    

Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup:  10

Green Mountain really grabbed my attention (which is quite limited) with  revv®.  I was looking for a coffee that said "You are going to dominate today, Josh," so I purchased  revv®.         

Overall:  8

If strength is what you are looking for, look no further than  revv®.  If you are looking for something a little lighter, you may want to look elsewhere.  If you are looking for decaf, hide from revv®. 

K-Cup of the Week: Dunkin Donuts Original Blend

Each week I review a new delicious K-Cup on an "official" coffee grading system that emphasizes four critical categories:  (1) Aroma; (2) Strength; (3) Taste; (4) Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup.  I will conclude each review with an Overall grade. This week I tackle a legend in the coffee business:  Dunkin Donuts and their Original Blend K-Cup.  

Aroma:  7

Each time I drop a "DD" Original Blend K-Cup in my Keurig and the coffee starts dripping into my cup, I am transported to a Dunkin Donuts store.  Unfortunately, there are no donuts waiting for me when my coffee is done brewing.  The DD K-Cup gives off that fresh coffee pot scent that is familiar when you stroll into a Dunkin Donuts.  Best part: You are the first customer in line every time.  No waiting behind Mr./Mrs. Over-the-Top catering order for the office! 

Strength:  6

Dunkin Donuts' Original Blend isn't the strongest coffee out there.  If you want to hover over your own body, you should try  Black Tiger or even DD's very own Dark Roast.  

Taste:  10

I love overhearing others get involved in the  Starbucks vs. Dunkin Donuts debate (and yes, I used "vs." instead of just "v."  This is Anything But Law.  If you want to see a "v." go read a casebook). This is a K-Cup review, so I won't go there.   All I know is that this is a delicious cup of coffee.  I drink my coffee black, not with a scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream like I've witnessed others do at 7:30 am. I find the taste to be very rich and smooth.

Marketing Tactics that Forced Me to Force My Office to Purchase Said K-Cup:  7

This is a tough category to grade for this particular K-Cup.  It's Dunkin Donuts!  They don't need to have the face of a tiger on their K-Cup (or do they).  I wouldn't mind seeing Michael Vale on a K-Cup reminding me that it's "Time to Make the Coffee."

Overall:  9

This is a true go-to K-Cup.  Until recently, these K-Cups were only available at Dunkin Donuts.  However,  I recently purchased a pack of K-Cups at my local Publix.  I will say that the K-Cups purchased at Dunkin Donuts taste better than the K-Cups I purchased at Publix.