Underwhelming Flavor: Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee!

The Good: Appropriately caffeinated, Does not taste bad
The Bad: Seems expensive, Not overly flavorful
The Basics: When it comes to coffees that don't quite live up to the promised flavors, one of the biggest surprises for me recently was, unfortunately, Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee.


I am, obviously, a big fan of coffee. I try a lot of different types of coffee and one of the biggest curveballs that can be thrown to me as a lover of coffees and a reviewer is finding a coffee that finds a good balance between coffee and the flavors it claims to be. Today, I finished the bag of Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee coffee I've been drinking the last few days and I realized that the bag was, unfortunately, a disappointment. As much as I generally enjoy Melitta, the Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee does not taste like any of its promised flavors - it's just coffee and expensive coffee at that.

Basics

One of the premium coffee roasters and distributors in the United States and Europe, Melitta produces a number of blends. Hazelnut Creme Brulee is a medium dark blend from Melitta that I have found in stores and for the 11 oz. bag it is priced on par with the other premium coffee blends. Hazelnut Creme Brulee is a surprisingly simple, coffee flavored coffee that does not quite taste like nuts or creme brulee desserts. This is an 11 oz. plastic bag of extra fine ground coffee. Because it is not whole bean, no grinding is required. The Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is easily protected from absorbing scents of other foods, given that it comes with a tie to keep it sealed.

Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is a fairly aromatic blend in its bean form.

Ease Of Preparation

Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is remarkably easy to prepare. First, open the bag. Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is vacuum sealed when first purchased, but it has only the initial foil seal to get through to break the vacuum seal. Procure a scoop (not included) and measure out one heaping tablespoon for every two cups of water in your coffee maker. Hazelnut Creme Brulee 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 #4 Permanent Coffee Filter (reviewed here), in which you put the Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee 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 recommend a cool, dark and dry place to store the coffee.

Taste

The Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee does not have a strong aroma at all to help indicate or bolster its flavor. The scent of the coffee is mild and smells just like coffee.

The flavor, however, is simply that of coffee. The real letdown of the Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is that it does not have a strong or recognizable flavor to it. The coffee flavor is not overly intense, but it tastes just like coffee, nothing else.

The Hazelnut Creme Brulee coffee has a mild, very slightly bitter, aftertaste, which does not last long in the mouth.

Nutrition

This is coffee, not something that appears on the nutrition pyramid! Melitta Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee does not contribute anything to one's daily recommended allowance of anything. In fact, the bag does not have an ingredient's list or nutritional information.

This is a caffeinated blend, though and it feels like it! This has enough caffeine to pop one's eyes open and I found it to be pleasantly caffeinated when I wanted to keep awake, even if the aroma was not overly invigorating. 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

Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee ought to be stored sealed in its bag with the top firmly tied closed with the air out of the bag. Coffee is known to absorb flavors of food nearby it, so keeping the top sealed closed as best as one can. 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 lasted indefinitely; there is no expiration date on the bag.

After brewing, coffee grounds ought to be disposed of. This does not seem like an ideal coffee to make a second pot with (though a second brewing came out 1/3 as potent, which is way too weak to even be called 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 Hazelnut Creme Brulee Coffee is mediocre at best, which is disappointing for such a good brand.

For other coffee reviews, please visit my reviews of:
Taster's Choice Gourmet Roast Coffee
The Organic Coffee Co. Rainforest Blend coffee
Seattle's Best Level 5

4/10

For other drink reviews, please check out my Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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