The latter category has taken off in recent years: in 2019 my colleague Maura Judkis said it was a ‘golden age’ for the product, with everyone from Maxwell House to independent coffee shops in the world. third wave, producing cans of beers mixed with coconut cream, antioxidants and maple water. And now the trend is official, with Coca-Cola – the undisputed world champion in beverage sales – releasing its own version. The drink comes in three flavors – dark blend, vanilla, and caramel, as well as sugar-free Coke Zero versions of the black blend and vanilla – and will hit grocery store shelves this week.
The beverage giant might be late for the canned coffee party, and its entry might look a bit like where your mom finally bought her first pair of skinny jeans around 2010. But Brandan Strickland, the director of the Coca-Cola brand, says the timing of launch, after two years of development, is intentional and the resulting product will stand out in a crowded area. “We wanted to do it in a way that’s true to Coca-Cola,” he says of the drink’s creation. “It is unlike any other option on the market.”
Unlike other canned coffees, the Coke-coffee hybrid is exactly that. It’s not the Coke version of canned coffee, it’s actually a blend that combines the familiar flavor of soda you’ve tasted a thousand times and that of your morning coffee. Strickland said that to capture the paired flavors, the company created an advertising slogan from something said by a taster in a focus group: “Sips like a coke, ends like a coffee.”
“We found it to be a compelling message,” he says. “And it came directly from consumers.”
After tasting a sample, I am inclined to vouch for the tagline. For the first millisecond or so after lifting the can of Dark Mix to your lips, you’d think you were drinking regular soda, with its recognizable caramel notes and almost tangy effervescence hitting your palate. The taste of coffee kicks in at the back, delivering a powdery, dry shake reminiscent of an invigorating cup of coffee at dinner.
“It tastes like a Coke – until it didn’t,” my husband observed after a few sips.
One downside was the slight but lingering fake sugar feeling that made my tongue curl after a while, which I found confusing. It was supposed to be the regular version, right? Careful reading of the ingredient list confirmed my suspicions: In addition to the high fructose corn syrup that sweetens regular Coke, the Coke and Coffee concoction also contains sucralose. (As a fake-sugar-phobe, I found the calorie-free vanilla version undrinkable in the mouth, although I know it might appeal to legions of diet soda drinkers.)
More refreshing than the drink itself might be its simple name, “Coca-Cola with Coffee,” a nickname devoid of any cute frills that looks like a marketing department with too many old English majors on board. (See: Coke’s AHA line.) I love that it lives up to its promise. It’s Coke! With coffee! It is all very easy to understand.
Less clear is exactly when to drink this. Is it meant to replace my morning cup of coffee? (Big luck, Mr. Polar Bear.) Or are we supposed to crave it with a burger and fries? (Which could be … weird.)
Strickland comes up with the idea that this is something people will achieve in the dreaded “3-hour crisis,” that time of the afternoon, he says, where consumers might wonder if they want a Coca or A coffee. The “pick-me-up” factor is real; a 12-ounce can contains 69 mg of caffeine, twice that of regular Coca-Cola, although still well below the 130 mg that a similar-sized cup of Starbucks offers.
Coca-Cola started work on the new drink long before 2020, but it appears to be a drink tailored for our pandemic. These days we are deprived of brews served by baristas, stuck forever at some time, really in need of a shake up and at the same time craving something familiar and new. With so many decisions to make – what to do next on Netflix? Can I wear these sweatpants on another day? – at least there is one less to stick to