Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Revv Pulse K-Cup

Manufacturer: Revv Coffee
Rating: B-

Next up for review from Revv Coffee is the Revv Pulse. Revv have taken their energy drink philosophy a bit further with the Pulse by adding guarana and ginseng, two herbs commonly found in energy drinks, to their high-octane coffee. I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of flavored coffee, so I'm curious to see how these additions affect the flavor of this coffee.

The Revv Pulse K-Cup brews up a deep cherrywood color with a light white froth and just the faintest sheen of oil on top. The nose detects light roasted and nutty notes. On the palate, there is a light roast character along with a faint nutty note. There is a distinct herbal/grassy character here as well that plays well with the roast notes. A bitter bite is present here as well, but it is not the typical bitter kick from a dark coffee. Instead, it is reminiscent of the bitter, almost medicinal, taste most energy drinks have. I'm going to assume this is from the guarana, since ginseng doesn't typically have a strong bitter flavor. The Revv Pulse is light-to-medium bodied and has a finish that fades rather quickly as the roast and bitter notes fade.

The Revv Pulse is an interesting concept, but I'm not quite sold on it. On one hand, the herbal notes from the ginseng and guarana do compliment the coffee rather well. On the other hand there was a bitter bite that I found to detract from the flavor a bit. I'd be interested in trying a Revv with ginseng but no guarana, since all guarana brings to the table is more caffeine and that could be handled by more/stronger coffee in its stead. If you like energy drinks, then you may find the additional herbs in the Pulse to be OK, but I'll be sticking with the regular Revv.

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