it was an impulse buy. i’ll admit it. i did the math on my phone and accounted for the fact that it was on sale, even though i was getting only 12 ounces instead of 16, i still gave it a go because the cost per ounce was still quite low. i was okay with buying a bag of dunkin donuts ground hazelnut coffee at a retail location. my lady is a big fan of all things hazelnut so i decided to give it a shot. normally i enjoy buying whole bean and grinding just prior to brewing to ensure flavor, but alas hazelnut (or any flavor for that matter) is not available in whole bean.
so what did i think? yuck, i think is the right word. well, it doesn’t sum up the entire experience so i will explain. i opened the packaging and was hit with a strong acidic hazelnut aroma. this, as i would find, was a constant throughout my experience.
the directions call for 1 tablespoon of grinds per 6 oz cup however they recommend 1.5 tablespoons per 6 oz. dutifully i followed the recommended dosage and brewed a pot. it filled our kitchen with a faint hazelnut smell. i poured my first cup and was shocked that it was in fact acidic, go figure. i added some sugar and half & half; no help there. (i like my coffee to taste like coffee and not a sugar drink btw) my lady had the same experience too. she had to add about twice the usual amount of half & half and sugar to make it somewhat palatable. we each drank about half a cup and threw it out.
today: i wanted to like it, i really did. i made a batch again and followed the same recommended directions. still no luck. same deal as before: acidic coffee that had to be loaded down with sugar and half & half to make it somewhat drinkable.
i won’t be going back. for a hazelnut flavor we will stick to some torani hazelnut syrup and whole bean dunkin donuts coffee. my advice: even if it’s on sale just leave it on the shelf unless you are a fan of acidic, weak hazelnut flavored coffee. i give it a 1.5/10.
