Coke Blak

Coca-Cola Blak

Honestly, I didn’t see this one coming. I never thought of the idea of adding soda to my coffee or coffee to my soda. If you haven’t heard, Coca-Cola has added a new beverage to their lineup that is just that: Coffee and Cola. Even though Coke wasn’t the first to come up with this idea, they are certainly the first to market it with bongos and funk music riffs – Visit the official Coca-Cola BlaK site.

I actually heard about Coke BlaK back on April 10th after my friend Jeremy tried it during a national sampling tour. Apparently he grabbed one on his way to work in New York:

jeremy: Hey man
me: Hey Jeremy, how’s it goin?
jeremy: not bad…just tried the new Coca Cola Blak
jeremy: not good
jeremy: not good at all
me: LOL
me: haven’t heard about it…
jeremy: coffee+coke=sick

Ever since then I’ve been casually watching the aisles of the grocery store hoping to try some “Coke effervescence with coffee essence”. About a month later, the 4-packs showed up at Publix here in Columbia, SC. At over $7 for 4 I was a little hesitant to pick it up but I had to know what this stuff tasted like. After letting them chill in the fridge, I pulled one out of the pack and passed another to a friend that was visiting for the weekend. I tried giving one to Ames, but she wasn’t all that interested. At first swig it tastes almost like regular coke, but as you swallow you immediately get an aftertaste of coffee and aspartame (mmmm, aspartame). I’m sure the intention was for that coffee taste to be like that of espresso, but it tastes more like overbrewed regular coffee. It wasn’t akk (freudian slip) all that bad in my opinion, but not what I expected. My friend didn’t particularly care for it, but made the observation that the more you drink of it, the more you just taste the Coke and lose the coffee flavor.

If I had to give the stuff a rating, I’d give it about 6.5 out of 10. I would probably have one again if it were free, but at almost 2 bucks for a tiny 8oz bottle, I probably wouldn’t pay for one again. I don’t drink soda that often, but when I do, I want soda – preferrably a Dr. Pepper – not coffee. The same applies for coffee. If I want a good coffee, I’ll go to a coffee shop.

I was curious to see what other people thought about Coke Blak, and there are quite a few reviews out there about it. Here’s a quick sampling:

It didn’t taste like Coke with some cold coffee mixed in, it tasted like coke with drops of Coffee Flavor #57 dropped in. I don’t have a better way to describe it other than ‘artificial’. Michele gave it a taste and said, “My god, that’s horrid. I mean truly terrible!” Zoe took a taste as well and commented, “That’s yucky.”. Sadly, I tend to agree.

– via Cruftbox

Folks, I can say with serene confidence that yes, it really is f***ing awful. It’s really bad. Terrible, actually.

– via Plognark
(which also has a sketch of his experience…)

There wasn’t a soul in Times Square without a bottle of complimentary Coke BlaK, but for all of this clever/shrewd/whatever marketing to work, the drink really needed to not be awful. I’m happy to report that Coke BlaK is NOT awful. I will never buy it, but it’s not awful.

You could probably recreate the flavor of Coke BlaK by opening up a can of Tab cola and adding a small droplet of brewed hazelnut coffee. Seriously, Coke BlaK tastes a lot like Tab with a slight hint of bad, flavored coffee.

It tastes like coffee candy. Also I don’t know how much caffeine is in here, but I feel crazy. My eyes won’t focus or something.

– via Pocket Pig

We tried a little taste and found it to be quite good. It’s really not that sweet and is much better than say a Starbuck’s bottle drink because of being less sweet.

They call it a “caffeinated fusion beverage,” but all they managed to fuse together is disgust and revulsion.

– via Needcoffee

Did it taste like coca cola? Not really, but it did taste good.

– via Slashfood

Coke Blak is suprisingly gross. After the first sip, my brain went: “Really? That?” It suffers from the same problem that afflicts all the big [brand-name cola + vanilla/cherry/whatever] sodas: the additives are too chemical-y, too fakey.

It tastes like they’re using a low quality coffee extract… It is very artificial tasting.

So you’re wondering about the taste. Well, I give it two thumbs up. If this were a five star rating system, I’d probably give it four out of five stars. The coffee flavor is definitely there, but I almost feel like it could be a little bit stronger.

– via Drink It!

The taste of the product is enjoyably sweet and creamy, but the aftertaste is somewhat brutal, with bitter flavors of coffee and aspartame left behind.

– via BevNET

So I tried the new Coca-Cola Blak on my way to work this morning, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It reminded me of Coke float with a hint of coffe, or maybe it was creme soda with a coffe flavor.

If someone left coffee sludge in the bottom of a mug and poured Diet Coke and sugar into it, you’d have Coke Blak.

– via Chicagoist

Now, I love Coke, and I love coffee. But even I’m not sold on this odd little concoction. But I’ve got 3 more bottles to decide.

7 comments on “Coke Blak

FilSchiesty says:

IMO, its actually not bad. It does have a weird aftertaste, but not too bad at all.

I too was very leery to try it but I have to admit its a lot better than I thought it was going to me. I mean when you think about Coke and coffee mixed, it doesn’t give you that warm fuzzy feeling.

Can’t decide if I should try it or not. Thanks for the post.

Sodalover says:

Gotta say I was not expecting the taste that popped out of that little bottle but all in all it wasn’t half bad. The good side is that it gives you the kick without having to drink 16oz or feeling like you have to take a nap after you drink it, and in the end that’s exactly the point of coffee…right?!?

Jennifer says:

That is the nastiest crap I have ever tasted in all my life! The after taste is like someone took a crap on a burning tire and you got a good whiff of it with your mouth open! >: YARK!!!

j-rose says:

I have an unopened, limited edition (#354/1100), Time Square Blak Out 04.10.06 bottle of coke blak. Does anyone think it will ever be worth more than $2? I’m about to put it up on ebay, as an expirement.

Patrick says:

Interesting. I currently have 2 bottles of Blak from the Times Square Blak Out. Here we are 15 years later and I don’t know if these are at all collectible. I will try to upload to eBay soon to see if anyone is looking for them!

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