Random thoughts and bits of life of a coffee loving artist

Friday, August 31, 2012

Coffee Review: Havana Cappuccino – Mocha Cappuccino


This actually started out as a simple trip to the local Dollar Tree store in town to pick up a couple of things. When I wandered the isles to make sure I didn't forget something I needed for the house, I came across this can of Havana Cappuccino – Mocha Cappuccino flavored premium coffee drink. Having never seen it before, I was quickly fascinated and couldn't help the thought of “Well I haven't done a coffee review in a while. This should be interesting”. So of course I purchased it and promptly took it home to stick in the fridge to get it chilled.

I know that most of my readers aren't much into the concept of a cold coffee but I know that there are enough of you out there who would be interested so this is directed towards you. Once chilled, the powerful aroma similar to sticking my nose into a bottle of chocolate syrup greeted my nostrils. Not too sure if I was ready for that which seems silly since the can clearly states that it's supposed to be mocha flavored. Taking a sip, I can already tell that I'm going to be having problems with this. Instead of the smooth coffee flavor with perhaps a hint of chocolate tones that would entertain my taste buds, my mouth was greeted by something that would be described as what seemed to be chocolate milk in a can. At best it was more as if I was consuming a generic version of a bottle of Yoo-hoo (for those not familiar with Yoo-hoo, it is a chocolate flavored drink which was supposed to resemble chocolate milk and be 'healthy'). The liquid passing my lips was sweet and though relatively thin in consistency had rich almost overwhelming flavor of chocolate with its fruity tones. There is no hint of coffee flavor anywhere in this, not even in after taste. I thought that perhaps it was just my initial taste so took another drink before offering some to my boyfriend. Much to my surprise (and perhaps relief) he was in complete agreement with me in how it tasted which was a bit comforting to know that I wasn't loosing my mind.

Setting the can aside, I thought that I would go ahead and take a look at the company who made it. Havana Cappuccino is supposedly made by the Havana Cappuccino Company in New Jersey. I say supposedly due to the fact that the website they have listed on the can leads me to a blank page. Even going as far as looking at the online Yellow Pages, I found absolutely nothing. The website ends up displaying "No results for Havana cappuccino company in Ocean City, NJ  It took me a bit of time but I actually had to find the company on Facebook where they're statement is Havana Cappuccino has style, taste and sophistication. It has it all!. From looking at the posts that other visitors have left, it would appear that there is a small following for the product and many of the people report that they had also found the 'coffee' drink at the Dollar Tree. 

I do realize that there are people out there that prefer a coffee based beverage to not be very strong on the flavor of coffee due to its often bitter quality so they may or may not enjoy this change of base in the genre of flavored coffee drinks. Personally I find myself not quite a fan of this particular product. If I step back and not think of it as coffee but as perhaps a chocolate milkshake in a small convenient container then I have no problem with it because that is pretty much what it seems to be. But alas, as a coffee based product it doesn't register very high on my “Oh my god I absolutely need this right now” list because of that lack of coffee flavor. I totally understand it's a matter of personal taste but my opinion may not be like someone else who tries it out as well. Another problem that I have is the fact that there is absolutely no information on the company itself save for a Facebook page but even with that, there's no information about the company stated. Perhaps I'm just being a little paranoid and this is actually a tiny company but at the same time I have a hard time accepting a small business wouldn't have some kind of information about themselves somewhere on the internet for consumers to find out more about them and the products they create. The third problem that I have with this particular product is the ingredients list on the side of the can. Almost all of the various coffee drinks I've come across is normally has listed coffee, milk, sugar and perhaps whatever flavoring that they have for it. This is what is listed for this particular product:

Ingredients: Brewed Coffee, Milk, Sugar (Sucrose), Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Disodium Phosphate, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Carrageenan, and Potassium Hydroxide

I think I'll leave it up to the choice of my readers if they would want to try this one out or not but it's not going to be something that I'm going to go out of my way to recommend to people. 

10 comments:

  1. I agree with your assessment of this drink completely. I must admit, however that I have become addicted to the taste. It tastes very similar to "Boost" chocolate supplemental drink without the "vitiminy" taste that Boost has. This drink definitely has no place in my coffee palate, but has earned a spot in my chocolate palate. Good job on the blog, by the way.
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh good! I'm glad that someone agrees with me a little on this. And I'm glad that you've enjoyed the blog. Feel free to read through or follow since I update on a fairly regular basis.

      Delete
  2. i fell in love with such a cheap drink. amazing taste!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, the plant I.D. On the bottom of the can googles as the O-AT-KA Milk Producers, Inc of Brockport, NY.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Further info: appears to be made for: North American Beverage Company Ocean City NJ, a beverage manufacturer that is best known for its Havana Cappuccino and Flathead Lake Gourmet Soda. The company was founded in 1993 by John Imbesi. Its headquarters is located inside the Watsons Regency Suites hotel.
    I hope they make another run of the diet mocha, it does not spike my blood glucose much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks for the additional information, Robert. It's nice to see a positive reason of why someone would enjoy this beverage instead of just saying that they like it without explaining why. Again, thank you for leaving a comment.

      Delete
  5. I used to see diet bottles from this company in Big lots never bought but over holidays was givin a can of mocha colada. Working on it now. Can is strong coffee smell and some chocolate. From glass strong chocolate smell and some coffee. Mabye a little colada smell. Taste some sips r so much like chocolate milk. It's basiclly some chocolate syrup milk taste with some coffee taste and then a moment later taste for the colada part witch dont ruin the can but wow actully my last sip was minutes ago and I can still taste some colada and a little chocolate in me. is this safe? How much caffeine and there site is crap. its an allright drink I suppose but I don't love it. cheer's.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have been looking for this drink since it disappeared from my local Dollar Tree. It smells and taste like coffee with a sweet mocha addition. It gives me a kick when I get drowsy at work which is more than I can say for those bottled Starbucks frappuccinos, though I like the taste. Speaking of Starbucks, here is the list of ingredients for comparison, "Coffee Flavor: (brewed Starbucks coffee (water, coffee), reduced-fat milk, sugar, maltodextrin, pectin, ascorbic acid". I expect preservatives since it's a canned product and don't think it strange. I like this drink cold, room temp, or hot. Not sure about the website issue since I just started drinking this stuff but it looks fine now. http://havanacappuccino.net/

    Had the cappuccino, would like to try the others. Totally hoped that the lady on the can was Carmen Sandiego.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just now drinking this. I disregarded it a few times as I was wandering through Dollar Tree but I looked at it closer and realized it was coffee. I didn't make my own coffee this morning so I immediately grabbed three. Upon tasting it, it tastes like chocolate milk with a splash of coffee. Is it terrible? No. Could it be better? Yes, I like my coffee a little strong. Will I buy it again? Sure, if I forget to make coffee in the morning and also it's cheaper than most canned coffee on the shelves *ahem* Starbucks and Java Monster.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maybe it's been the years that have passed, but I came across this at the dollar tree too. My impression was not the same at all. I agree with it not tasting like coffee, but mine also did not taste like chocolate milk. It didn't even have a mocha flavor and it really wasn't sweet either. It had to have been an old can or something because I tasted more metallic can more than anything.

    ReplyDelete