Death Wish Just Unveiled A New Coffee With Extra-Extra-Caffeine And We Got A Taste

I’m a woman of few vices, but my number one vice is easily caffeine—no contest. Typically I fall into the “less is more” camp when it comes to America’s favorite drug, but who can deny that some days call for a double dose of the good stuff. Enter Death Wish Coffee, the ubiquitous coffee brand famous for its high levels of caffeine in an otherwise regular cup o’ joe, perfect for those mornings when you just don’t wanna. 

Videos by Sporked

The ominous coffee brand recently released a new variety that fits even more caffeine into an already highly caffeinated product, and truthfully, I think that’s something we could all use these days. Power Surge—a fair-trade, organic blend of arabica and robusta beans—packs a whopping 210 milligrams into a mere 6-ounce cup. For reference, an average 6oz cup of coffee contains about 70 milligrams of caffeine, so Power Surge isn’t playing around. I got a taste of the new powerful brew and here’s my honest opinion.

Our Verdict

I’m going to judge this coffee primarily on its taste and not on its caffeine content since this is a food website and I’m a food writer, not a drug writer (is that a thing?). That being said, I can’t write about Power Surge without letting you all know that I certainly felt the surge. Of power. This is a coffee that’s meant for people who were raised on thick cups of motor-oil-looking joe and came of age during the days of Four Loko pre-stimulant removal. Enough said.

Based on the dastardly amount of caffeine in Power Surge, I couldn’t help but expect a medicinal, chemical-like flavor. That wasn’t the case at all. This is a dark, dark coffee with a heavy body and bold, smoky flavor. It isn’t overly acidic and it has whiffs of chocolate and roasted nuts, like any good store-bought coffee should, if you ask me. I made mine in a French press, which I wouldn’t recommend. This is a drink that’s best done the traditional American way: in an automatic drip machine with a weak coffee-to-water ratio and left to sit on a burner for too long.

Compared to the average grocery store coffee, Power Surge can’t really compete flavor-wise. This is definitely a drink for those who favor performance over taste, and hey—there’s nothing wrong with that. It tastes much more like robusta than arabica and, while that’s not objectively a bad thing, it also certainly isn’t a good thing. Robusta is a cheaper, stronger variety of coffee than the much-more-prevalent and bougier arabica, the latter known for its fruitier taste and lighter body. Basically, arabica is to robusta what a Lamborghini is to a monster truck (Power Surge is actually a great name for a monster truck—you can have that one for free, Cletus). That being said, it’s also the bean of choice for Vietnamese iced coffee and the famous café au laits of New Orleans. So if you feel like getting creative in the morning, Power Surge might be your best bet for a creamy, worldly drink that’s sure to put some pep in your step.