Kicking Horse Coffee, Decaf, Swiss Water Process, Dark Roast, Whole Bean, 1 lb – Certified Organic, Fairtrade, Kosher Coffee

Great
Best decaf on the market, and good price

Great beans, nice roast! Love this blend!
I do love this bean quite a bit. I’m obsessed with the Kick Ass Blend & usually buy that, but every once in awhile I like a change. I had tried a few of their other blends and been a bit disappointed (three sisters, 454 horsepower) but not with this one! While I still think that the Kick ass is better, this blend is also very good! It’s a very dark roast, so light roast drinkers beware! It’s very robust in flavor but still smooth which is sometimes a tough combo to create. I think though however it’s a bit low on the caffeine side. I realize most dark roasts are lower in caffeine compared to light roasts, this one seemed especially so. It could just be me, but after a couple of cups I was still groggy. Usually after 2 cups (my cup is 22 oz. by the way) I’m ready to start the day.

Kickass Dark, 454 and Grizzly Claw
First I use an AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker which has become my go to coffeemaker.Kick Ass Dark – this is my everyday cup of coffee. I try others and come back to this as my regular. It is strong, dark with a smooth flavor. Never bitter.454 -Very strong flavor. This is a great way to start the day. I have a Subscribe and Save on their Kick Ass Blend and this is a nice alternative. I like strong coffee and this may be the best I have had. Love too see a Kona Blend from them.Grizzly Claw – can you say chocolate? Drinking my first cup and this is a great blend. I love the chocolate overtones.Overall, Kicking Horse has earned 5 stars for a great series of blends. They are consistent and roast quality blends of coffee.

Just Average Tasting Decaf – disappointed.
We Drink a lot of Decaf Coffee here, being in Jamaica, we are surrounded by the full-bodied taste and Smell of Blue Mountain Coffee which we love! But can not find a good “Decaf” in Blue Mountain, so we went on a search and wound up with Green Mountain – Dark Magic Decaf – Dark Roast. Which is a great tasting decaf with a wonderful aroma! But saw so many great reviews for the Kicking Horse, so gave it a try – aroma average, but the taste was lacking, very mild and tame. Very disappointed. Better off with the Dark Magic Decaf, or Peets Major Dickansons Blend Decaf, Heck even Peets Decaf House Blend Taste Better than the Kicking Horse. Maybe I got a bad batch? – But would not Recommend!

(Review for 454 Horse Power)This is an absolute gold mine of a coffee if you prefer darker roasted coffee. I’ll break down each element of this coffee out of 5 and give you an idea of what I really enjoyed, and what I found less enjoyable.Flavor: 5/5 – The beans are not over roasted or under roasted, they have the perfect amount of bitterness without an overstayed after taste. The flavor is very smooth but bold. Some dark roasts often feel too dark to the point where it’s harder to get down… even black, I can drink this coffee like milk, the taste is consistent and delicious. To compare the flavor to chains, I would say it taste similar to Starbucks dark roast, but a bit stronger. Overall, the flavor is the most important part of the coffee, and 454 has plenty of it.Aroma: 4.5/5 – For me, the smell of coffee is what gets me out of bed, and the coffee itself it what get’s me out of the door. The coffee smells very faintly sweet, but nothing overbearing. The very subtle flavor in the air is enough to entice you to burn your tongue and is very inviting. The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is because I find the smell fades as the coffee gets colder. In other words, drink it hot.Bitterness: 5/5 – Unlike Grizzly claw that I find a bit too bitter, this coffee definitely hits the sweet spot. It has the kick that dark roasts have without that back of the throat bitter deposit. I’m a big fan of espresso’s and so I would always prefer something a bit more bitter, but for the average joe who finds dark roasts their bitterness cap, it’s absolutely perfect.Beans: 3.5/5 – I always recommend people to grab beans and grind them themselves as I find the coffee always tastes more fresh. In this case, I still believe that, but you’ll need to clean your grinder regularly. The beans, as mentioned by many reviewers, are very oily. This is pretty common with dark roasted beans and so it should be expected, but these are a bit more oilier than normal and can oil up the system a bit.Caffeine/Kick: 5/5 – Generally, dark roasts are supposed to be weaker than medium-light roasts due to the process removing more caffeine. With that being said, however, this coffee still wakes me up the same, if more effectively, than other brands. I’m not sure if it’s the flavor that helps me absorb it more, or if the coffee is naturally stronger, but it definitely kick starts my morning at 454 Horse Power.Presentation: 4.5/5 – I’d argue that Kicking Horse can thank to their success their branding. I absolutely love the packaging. The bag itself isn’t necessarily resealable, but their is a little tightening ribbon that allows you to keep the bag relatively closed (no beans will fall out but it’s not air tight). I recommend, after grinding the coffee, to keep it in an air tight container to preserve freshness.Other: 5/5 – The last thing I love about this coffee is that we’re supporting a Canadian company. With our sacred Timmies becoming a U.S. citizen, it’s important we support our local coffee artisans where we can, especially when their coffee is infinitely more enjoyable than the new Tim’s.Overall, this coffee definitely deserves a 5 star review. I was able to buy this bag for $9.99 on sale, but I would still definitely buy it at $13, and still give it 5 stars. At the original $16 price point I’d likely hold back just because of how often these are on sale (and cheaper in my grocery store at that point), but definitely keep an eye for their sales.In regards to preparation, I found that, between drip, press (Aeropress) or percolation, the percolated coffee was the best overall. This coffee has plenty of deep flavor tones that can be brought out through percolation that drip/press coffee doesn’t. In regards to the other 2, I found that drip tasted almost like a light roast and removed a lot of the bitterness, while the press left a very strong coffee. Of course with pressed coffee, a lot of elements are at play that alter the flavor (time steeping/water temp/press speed) and accordingly, you could adjust it more to your liking. Overall, I found percolation was the best tasting, though I will likely be using the press more often as it’s more convenient for me. At the end of the day, all 3 options are fine for a nice cup of Joe, but can be made even better with time/technique.Happy Brewing!

Taste like coffee…