Black Medicine Iced Coffee

Pre-bottled coffee drinks were—until Black Medicine—a bit of a tricky subject for me. My experience with commercial coffee beverages has always been aggravatingly "samey." Pretty much every bottled coffee drink that I've had suffers from the same underlying "bottled coffee" taste that makes it a bit hard to get excited about new coffee beverages when I see them on store shelves. Luckily, I now have a notable exception to the standard—a drink that I am more than happy to say has reformed my pre-conceived notions about the potential of the bottled coffee market segment.  

Black Medicine is a fantastic new bottled iced coffee from a small but growing Californian brewing company of the same name. It breaks the iced coffee stereotypes in a lot of different ways, the most immediately noticeable of which being the packaging. Black Medicine is presented as a very mature, "grown up" coffee. There's nothing artificially catchy or "hipster-friendly" about the drink: no slogans or puns or trite comments about how crazy your buzz is going to be after you drink it. The marketing is not over-engineered to appeal to the coffee crowd, nor is it caught up in expressing the individuality of the beverage. It is a simply a high-quality coffee presented as such—a welcome change in a world of often over-marketed, hype-driven beverages.

The bottle itself feels great in the hand, too. The design resembles that of a standard beer bottle—all the way down to the brown-hued glass, narrow neck, and unthreaded metal cap. The sophisticated look of the bottle is great from a visual perspective, but its "beer-like" appearance may cause some hesitation in certain social and business environments. I walked into my campus library with one of these in my hand a few days ago, and it elicited some pretty suspicious glances from several of the security guards. Although it did cause me a moment's worry, this design is actually a pretty smart move. It definitely gets eyes focused on the bottle. But you may just want to be prepared to answer a few astonished questions if you plan on showing up to your next board meeting with a bottle of Black Medicine in tow.

As far as taste is concerned, Black Medicine is by far the finest bottled coffee that I've had in quite some time. I would not really consider myself a seasoned coffee expert, as I've only really been drinking the stuff for the past year or two, but I have tasted enough bottled coffee drinks in the past to know that Black Medicine exists on a different tier of quality than most of its cream and sugar-laden competitors. It is a different product altogether—a product that represents a commitment to quality and an appreciation of nuance rather than just another attempt to appeal to the less demanding preferences of the average morning commuter.

Black Medicine is hot-brewed from a combination of three carefully-selected and distinct coffee beans. As a result, the flavor of the coffee is complex and interesting while remaining pleasant and well-balanced. The primary flavor of the coffee has a "toasted" quality that reminds me of a barley-centric stout or porter. The flavor is described on the Black Medicine website as being "fruit-forward," and it's definitely true. The taste on your tongue has noticeable traces of fruitiness that balance well with the more aromatic roasted flavors, making Black Medicine a delicious experience no matter how you prefer to drink your coffee. As the name suggests, it does come unsweetened. This is fine with me, as I already prefer my coffee black, but I think that many who try the drink will find Black Medicine flavorful enough on its own to not require the sweetening that our collective societal palate has come to expect. The team at Black Medicine has managed to achieve a flavor profile that is diverse and complicated enough to intrigue long-time coffee enthusiasts while remaining gentle and approachable enough to also appeal to the less frequent coffee drinker—a difficult task that deserves considerable recognition.

Those looking for a pick-me-up won't be disappointed with Black Medicine, either. Because of the unique (and proprietary) way that Black Medicine is brewed, the makers are able to extract more caffeine from the beans. Each serving of Black Medicine contains up to 50% more caffeine than a similar size serving of regular coffee, making it a great choice for those times when you just need to get some things done. Additionally, Black Medicine features an added portion of Vitamin C (15% of the daily recommended value) that helps sweeten an already appealing pot for the health-conscious energy seeker who wants to avoid the dubious contents of most of the other offerings from the conventional energy drink market.   

My only complaint about Black Medicine is that, at least for me, it is a lot of coffee in one serving. I have a strange sensitivity to coffee that triggers abdominal cramping and indigestion if I drink too much at one time. Black Medicine's 12 oz. serving size is about 4 oz. above my tolerance, making it hard—or at least unwise—for me to enjoy the entire beverage in one go. Normally, this would not even be an issue worth mentioning, as there are plenty of drinks that I prefer to finish in multiple servings. However, Black Medicine's standard metal bottle cap means that the drink is not easily resealable once it has been opened. This is not a huge concern, and I don't know that I would want the cap any other way (it's a big part of the look of the drink), but I do know that I am not alone in my preference to drink smaller portions of coffee, so the "one-shot" nature of the bottle is just something to keep in mind if you don't intend to finish the drink in a single sitting. It may be a good idea to bring a reusable bottle or other sealable container along with you so that you can preserve the flavor for as long as possible between servings.

Black Medicine is great however you choose to drink it, whether it be straight from the bottle, poured over ice, mixed with cream and sugar, or even heated up in the microwave. I've tried it every way but hot, and it worked well with every serving style. I really like this one a lot, and I am always happy to have my initial reservations about a drink (or type of drink) proven wrong. Black Medicine is a gleaming example of bottled coffee done right, and I recommend wholeheartedly that you track one down and give it a try.

Verdict: Highly recommended

Samples sent courtesy of Black Medicine.

For more information about Black Medicine and their upcoming news and products, as well as information about how to purchase Black Medicine, visit their official website.

Or follow Black Medicine on Facebook and Twitter.     

Gevalia On Ice

Lemon-ginger iced Gevalia. Recipe at end of post.

Now that the weather is warming up, I have recently taken to drinking many of my teas and other typically warm beverages chilled, over ice. In the past, I have never been crazy about serving drinks chilled when they must be prepared hot, and actively avoided the practice whenever possible. I can't really give a reason for this, though, and I have decided that it was simply a strange tenacity on my part. Luckily, I was able to get over this peculiar mental block and start icing drinks like crazy just in time to experience the pleasantries of iced Gevalia. Kraft recently sent me a sample of Gevalia House Blend, along with several recipes, tips, and ideas to enhance the experience beyond simply putting the coffee in the refrigerator.

Before I get started on the iced coffee recipes and pointers, I should address the coffee itself, first. It has been a fair amount of time since my review of Gevalia's Traditional Roast, and I have not had it recently enough (I'm more of a fan of the Colombia blend) to warrant a highly detailed comparison. But, from what I remember of the original, the House Blend is a bit darker and richer than the Traditional Roast. The House Blend is a more robust coffee overall, and I like it quite well, but if you prefer the lighter flavor of more medium roast coffees, then the Traditional Roast may be a safer option. However, in accordance with the original intention of this post, the House Blend does make for an excellent iced coffee, as the flavors do tend to mellow out a bit when the drink is chilled.

Making iced versions of traditional beverages can actually be less straightforward than it seems like it should be. Hot drinks often taste a bit different when served chilled, and it can often take some trial and error and disappointment to determine how strong to make the original brew to produce the best taste upon refrigeration. Luckily, Kraft has offered some of their tips on the process to make the first few batches go a little more smoothly. 

For optimal taste, Kraft recommends using 12 sightly rounded tablespoons of coffee for every 8 cups of water. I reduced my first batch down to 9 tablespoons coffee (12 tablespoons is quite a lot of coffee for my medium-sized coffee maker) for 6 cups of water, and it still tasted just right. Kraft suggests using darker roast coffees, such as Gevalia's House Blend, French Roast, Or Espresso Roast, and I'm inclined to agree with them. Darker roasts do typically make for better iced coffees, as the flavors typically soften a bit when served cold, so it is best to start with a coffee with a more robust flavor profile. 

Sweetening a batch of iced coffee has been a bit of an issue for me lately, as I enjoy coffee both sweetened and unsweetened, depending on my mood. It is easiest to sweeten a drink while it is still hot and the sugar will dissolve quickly, but then you are committed to drinking sweetened coffee until the next batch. Kraft was ready here with another suggestion that, for some reason, I had only ever thought to use in alcoholic cocktails: simple syrup. 

Simple syrup is, as the name suggests, quite simple to make. Just mix equal parts sugar and water (I usually use one cup of each) together in a saucepan, and heat over medium heat (stirring occasionally) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the syrup has cooled, it can be stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to about a week. The mixture can then be used to easily sweeten each serving of iced coffee on the spot, rather than having to sweeten the entire batch at once. Simple syrup is fast, convenient, and it requires little more than a quick stir to mix in with your beverage. The only real downside that I can think of is that, being a liquid, it does have the potential to dilute your iced coffee a tiny bit. Normally, this would not be that big of a deal, but combined with the eventual dilution from the ice in the coffee, it begins to add up. And yet again, Kraft is on the ball with another solution so simple that it makes me feel sort of silly for never having devised it myself. To avoid dilution in your iced coffee, why not just make coffee ice cubes?

But of course...

If you're anything like me, once you've made a batch or two of standard iced coffee, you may start to get a little bit tired of the stuff. So why not branch out with a couple of recipes? Kraft relayed a few to me with the sample that they sent, and I have had the opportunity to try two of them so far, but the entire list of recipes (along with the rest of the tips) can be found here.

The first recipe that I tried was Gevalia's Mint-Mocha Iced Coffee. This one is pretty straightforward: simply melt two or three Junior Mints in a cup of hot coffee, and then allow it to chill in the refrigerator before serving it over ice. The Junior Mints require constant stirring and a bit of time to melt, but they will melt...mostly. Some small particles may remain unmelted, and there will likely be a layer of chocolate sediment at the bottom of the cup after pouring the mixture off, but this is fine. The coffee will still retain the mint chocolate flavor, and it is absolutely delicious. 

Next, I gave the lemon-ginger iced coffee (pictured vaguely at the top of the post) a run. Like the previous recipe, this one is relatively simple. Just combine 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and 9 tablespoons of coffee in the filter basket of your coffee maker, and brew using 6 cups of water. The recipe then says to mix 1/3 cup honey into the hot coffee, but I am really not a huge fan of honey and decided to leave it out. Then, let the coffee cool in the refrigerator and serve over ice. I drank most of the pitcher unsweetened (I did add simple syrup and creamer to a couple of servings, but not very many), and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The coffee absorbs the flavors of the lemon and ginger a lot better than I thought that it would, and the resulting beverage is an interestingly natural twist on the typical iced coffee.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience testing out Gevalia's House Blend. It's a great coffee that goes very well with ice, and I definitely recommend it as a good starting point for experimenting with iced coffee recipes this summer. As I said above, the recipes listed here are only two of several that were sent to me by Kraft, but the rest can be found on Gevalia's website. Feel free to stop by and leave your thoughts in the comments if you decide to try some of the others.

But in the meantime, just be sure to give Gevalia's iced House Blend a try. It is not likely to disappoint.

Samples provided courtesy of Kraft Foods, Inc.

To learn more about Kraft, visit their website

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To Learn more about Gevalia, visit their website

Or follow Gevalia on Twitter or Facebook

Gevalia Kaffe

I am very excited about today's post, as it marks the first coffee review ever on Drinkable Review. I typically don't drink very much coffee (particularly in large quantities) because it tends to give me indigestion, but I do love the stuff, and I often find myself wishing that I could drink more than ten ounces of it at a time. Kraft Foods recently sent me this sample of the newly released Gevalia, and I think that it is a wonderful place to start off a line of occasional coffee reviews.

Now, it is important to note here that "newly released" only applies to the U.S. retail market. Previously, Gevalia was only available online to customers in the states, but Kraft Foods has recently begun selling this Swedish favorite in retail stores across the U.S. That is not, however, to suggest that Gevalia is a "new" product, as the company actually has a fair bit of history behind it. Gevalia was founded as a Swedish trading company by Victor Theodore Engwall in 1853. Engwall's high quality coffee imports eventually secured the company a position as an official coffee purveyor of the Swedish Royal Court, and business has been booming ever since. To this day, over 150 years since the company was founded, Gevalia is still the highest selling coffee in Sweden.

As I said above, I am not a huge coffee drinker. But this is purely a technical issue; a mere limitation of my unfortunate biological intolerance of the substance. I can handle coffee in small amounts, and I still like to partake whenever I can, regardless of the frequently undesirable effects on my stomach after the fact. It is one of those things that is just too good not to drink. And if there has ever been a prime example of the beverage that incites my reasonability to throw caution to the wind, it is Gevalia. This may honestly be the best coffee that I have ever had. It has a prominent, aromatic, and full-bodied flavor, with a balanced and pleasing mouthtaste and a smooth finish. The aftertaste remains present on the palate for some time after drinking (as is expected with most coffees), but it is not overbearing in the slightest, and I actually found the lingering aroma to be quite enjoyable.  

Gevalia's traditional roast sits in a perfect middle ground of my personal coffee tastes. It is strong and flavorful without being overly bitter or offensive to the palate, and manages to retain a calm and consistent taste throughout the experience. This is a coffee that has clearly withstood the tests of time, and has reached a level of maturity that many modern beverages have yet to touch. I generally try to avoid personifying the beverages that I drink, but Gevalia just feels like one of those drinks that knows who/what it is and is comfortable with its identity. This attitude really shows through in the taste, making this one of the most well-balanced and tasty coffees that I have had in the past several years. I highly recommend Gevalia Kaffe to those looking for a great new coffee to try, as well as those who may be new to coffee and are looking for a good entry point to an often overwhelming market. Definitely check this one out.

Verdict: Highly recommended

Sample sent courtesy of Kraft Foods.

For more information about Gevalia, visit www.gevalia.com

Or follow Gevalia on Facebook or Twitter