The Good: Wonderfully caffeinated, Great aroma, Reasonably priced, Consistent strong flavor
The Bad: Is best when accented with a sweet creamer.
The Basics: Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee is incredible; so close to perfect that
As part of our holiday celebration and as a very direct show of love, my wife has been getting me some awesome treats to consume this month. The latest was the Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee and after a long string of disappointing coffees, Melitta has a hit for a flavored coffee. Unlike so many coffees that fail to live up to their promised flavor – and have, at best, aromas that hint at their flavor – Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee actually tastes like both coffee and the sweet caramel flavor that defines Caramel Macchiato. Given how wonderful this whole coffee line is, I find myself shocked that I have not reviewed any other Melitta coffees up until now. Until the Caramel Macchiato Coffee, I had only reviewed Melitta #4 Cone Filters (reviewed here!); based on the power and impressiveness of this coffee, I am bound to have quite a bit more of Melitta’s flavored coffees.
Basics
One of the mid-sized coffee roasters and distributors in the United States, Melitta produces a number of blends. Caramel Macchiato is one of the medium dark blends by Melitta that I have found in stores and it has an extra find grind. Caramel Macchiato is fairly dark and very flavorful. This is a 10.5 oz. foil bag of ground coffee, found as part of their Café De Europa line as an extra fine grind coffee. Because it is not whole bean, no grinding is required. With a resealable top that folds down, the Caramel Macchiato Coffee is easily protected from absorbing scents of other foods.
Caramel Macchiato Coffee is an aromatic blend that smells potently of coffee beans and it is a caffeinated blend.
Ease Of Preparation
Caramel Macchiato Coffee is remarkably easy to prepare, no advanced culinary degrees necessary! First, open the bag. Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee is vacuum sealed when first purchased. After opening foil bag, procure a scoop (not included) and measure out one heaping tablespoon for every two cups of water in your coffee maker. Caramel Macchiato Coffee is intended for automatic (drip or percolating) coffee makers, like my Hamilton Beach coffee maker (reviewed here!). This is NOT an instant coffee. As a result, it needs to be brewed.
Consult your coffee maker's instructions for how to brew the coffee. However, as far as the basics go, you'll need a coffee filter, like the Crucial Coffee permanent coffee filters (reviewed here), which you put the Caramel Macchiato Coffee in and then brew through your coffee maker. The directions recommend making a pot at a time. Melitta does not take a stand on refrigerating the container after opening it, though they do recommending removing all air from the bag before one seals it up.
Taste
Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee smells sweet and like a strong coffee. The aroma is both that of a potent coffee and the sweeter, caramel flavor that is indicative of a caramel macchiato.
In the mouth, the Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee is dark, but surprisingly sweet with a rich coffee taste. The Caramel Macchiato flavor is a strongly dark coffee that has no bitterness to it. The coffee flavor is dark and delightful, with a distinct caramel flavor to the secondary flavor of the coffee.
Wonderfully, the Caramel Macchiato coffee sweetens delightfully and takes on a strongly creamy flavor that is indicative of Caramel Macchiato with ordinary cream and/or a teaspoon of sugar. The addition of creamer eliminates any hint of dryness to the coffee, which does take on a slightly bitter aftertaste when it cools on its own.
While this coffee leaves the mouth slightly dry, it does not have a strong coffee aftertaste, which is surprising given how powerful this coffee blend is.
Nutrition
This is coffee, not something that appears on the nutrition pyramid! Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee does not contribute anything to one's daily recommended allowance of anything. In fact, the bag only lists 100% Arabica Coffee Beans, so how it actually manages to taste like caramel is something of a mystery.
This is a caffeinated blend, though and it feels like it! This has enough caffeine to pop one's eyes open between the taste, aroma and caffeine. Because it is a caffeinated coffee, it appears to not have undergone any of the chemical processes that sometimes cause complications in decaffeinated coffees.
Storage/Clean-up
Caramel Macchiato Coffee ought to be stored sealed in its container with the top folded down and no air in it. Coffee is known to absorb flavors of food nearby it, so keeping the top folded down is highly recommended, after the air is removed from the bag. There are different schools of thought on refrigerating open coffee and I have a very clean refrigerator with a lot of ways to segregate coffee, so I tend to come down on the side of refrigerate it. Stored properly, this coffee might have easily lasted until the October 2015 expiration date, had my wife and I not drunk this all up so quickly.
After brewing, coffee grounds ought to be disposed of. This does not seem like an ideal coffee to make a second pot with (second brewings I attempted came out 1/2 to 5/8 as potent as the first brewing) unless one is in a household with a number of people some who like powerful coffee and others who like very weak coffee. These grounds may be thrown in the trash when used or put in a compost pile, if available. Coffee grounds make great compost.
Overall
Melitta Caramel Macchiato Coffee is a near-perfect coffee. It is so strong that it truly needs a creamer in order to fully achieve its flavor potential, but it is so close on its own that it still deserves high accolades and a strong recommendation!
For other coffee reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Illy Issimo Mochaccino
Gevalia Medium/Dark House Blend
Four Sisters Caramel Coffee
9/10
For other drink reviews, please check out my Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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