I have to admit that I had mixed feelings about tasting Coca-Cola Blak. After I mentioned its release a few weeks
ago, the amount of hype seemed to go through the roof. People loved the idea or people hated the idea; there was
no middle ground. I assumed that I would not really like it before I tried it. After all, a drink that was hyped as
much as Blak couldn't be good - could it? The thing that I failed to take into consideration is that I love coke and I
love coffee. I also really liked Coca Cola Blak.
Let me say that it is definitely not a soda for everyone. I almost felt like I was cupping a coffee, which is the process where you sip and sniff and seek out all the underlying flavors in a sample of coffee. The coffee flavor was strong enough that I automatically looked for flavor notes, which I found. The drink tastes quite strongly of caramel, or perhaps burnt sugar without any bitterness, and there are similar fruity notes to the ones I like in my coffees. There was a good amount of bubbles - not so much as to be distracting, but Blak still fizzed like mad when poured into a glass. The only negative is that it is quite sweet. I wouldn't mind a small reduction in sweetness, but overall, they did pretty well with this drink.
Did it taste like coca cola? Not really, but it did taste good.
[Photo by Nicole Weston]
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
4-17-2006 @ 8:45AM
Michael Flores said...
I agree it is too sweet. What bothers me is that it's not diet and yet it has aspartame in addition to the corn sugar. I disagree that it appeals to ones taste for coffee. It appeals more to ones taste for coffee flavored jelly beans. And it is way overpriced.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 9:46AM
Blue Balloon said...
For myself, I thought it got three taste: coffee, soda and little chocolate as I thought.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 9:52AM
Adam said...
I liked Coca Cola Blak, and I would buy it again except for the price. My supermarket is charging $6.59 for 4. It should not cost any more than regular coke.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 10:01AM
Jonathan Harford said...
It's worth noting that the French version of Coca-Cola Blak is, apparently, less sweet and more coffeey.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 10:04AM
Brian said...
A review of Blak: You've had worse things in your mouth.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 10:34AM
Eric A said...
It sounds like it might taste similar to coffee with Southern Comfort in it. Now I have to see if there's any S.C. in the house...
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 1:25PM
Rachel B. said...
mmm that sounds good! you've almost convinced me to try it. wish it wasn't so pricey though. would it taste good with milk or cream in it?
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 2:21PM
zenas said...
Did you guys find it in a plastic bottle? Here in Boston, its sold in a small glass bottle, I believe the same one that they use for holiday and promotional cokes.
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 2:30PM
Alex said...
I saw it in Bishop when we were snowboarding. They were $0.50 each at Vons, so I said hey why not. They were pretty good. I am a college student, so maybe thats why I liked it ...
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 3:57PM
Rick F said...
I guess none of you read this review..
Reply
4-17-2006 @ 3:59PM
Rick F. said...
Hmm.. Lost my hyperlink.. Try this one :
http://cruftbox.com/blog/archives/001274.html
Reply
4-18-2006 @ 1:22AM
David said...
Personally, I'm a big fan of it. At a nearby Safeway, they were on sale for $2/4-Pack, so I nabbed... I think... 7 cases in all. The bottles were all glass, and from what I can tell, they've been selling on eBay for $3/bottle. And as for the aspartame, for me, the taste of "diet" is definitely there.
Reply
4-19-2006 @ 2:17PM
christel said...
my friend bought me some of this... and i agree with the first commenter about the aspartame. i even went so far to write Coke about it. read it here: http://3gallonsofcoffee.blogspot.com/2006/04/have-coke-and-brain-tumor.html
they sent back some BS about "not having anything dangerous in their beverages." and some other spin.
Reply
4-22-2006 @ 1:49AM
Chris said...
I like Coca~Cola Blak. It's very refreshing. Quite over priced, though.
Reply
4-27-2006 @ 4:23PM
Jak said...
I tried it as they were handing out free Coke Blak downtown Chicago. Until then, I never even heard of the stuff, impending release-wise or otherwise. It's good. Weird, but good. I used to make something similar for myself with espresso, vanilla syrup, and seltzer when I worked at a coffee shop. I just picked up a free 4-pack at Target; they had a coupon. Why is it so damn expensive?! The price is inexcusable. I assume most stores will run "sales" on it so it is comparable to other brands.
Reply
4-28-2006 @ 9:37PM
Samuel said...
I like it.
I dont like the aspartame or price though.
Luckily the beautiful packaging and unique taste makes up for that. I got hooked immediately.
Reply
4-28-2006 @ 11:17PM
Chris said...
I like blak. It's over priced compared to soft drinks but still cheaper than the other coffee drinks in my area such those put out by Starbucks. The diet flavor isn't too blatant IMHO and I do like the 45 calories per serving (vs. 150 to 200 for similar drinks by other companies).
Reply
5-10-2006 @ 2:38AM
Brand Eks said...
I am absolutley addicted to Blak. I have one very morning if possible. Some people have multiple cups of coffee... all I need is on bottle of Blak to get me going in the morning!
Reply
5-10-2006 @ 2:40AM
Brand Eks said...
I am absolutley addicted to Blak. I have one every morning if possible. Some people have multiple cups of coffee... all I need is on bottle of Blak to get me going in the morning!
Reply
5-11-2006 @ 2:17PM
Candy said...
I've loved cola and coffee together in one drink for years. We enjoy this drink by adding Javette to our favorite cola...my husband likes it strong and I like it mild. By altering the amount of Javette we add to our cola we both get our way. Check it out at www.javette.com
Reply