Bones Coffee Mystery Flavor (Bone-us Review!)

I was running low on Bones Coffee flavors to write about, so I ordered a few more 4-oz. sample packs and another bag of their fantastic Costa Rica Medium Roast. They were running a special where the order was not only 20% off, but they would also throw in an extra sample pack of a "Mystery Flavor".

 

"She was as mysterious as the flavor of the coffee in her cup..."

(Bones has reportedly done this before, but since I only first became aware of them earlier this year, it's a new experience for me! But if it turns out I got the flavor of the Mystery Flavor correct, I will have to stop pouring coffee and begin decanting it instead.)

I already have reviews written to post on every Sunday through the end of February, but I am writing this special Bone-us review, so I can get it out there before Bones Coffee announces what the Mystery Flavor actually is, so we can all see if I was right or wrong when the time comes! (There will still be a coffee review tomorrow--the first review of Christmas-themed flavored coffees!)

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: MYSTERY FLAVOR

I approached the Mystery Flavor blend in the same way I do all the coffees I drink for review purposes: I brewed two pots from the sample pack, and I drank cups hot, room temperature, and over ice, with Unsweetened Almond Milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer added. I went in with no preconceived notions, other than there would be some sort of wonder-flavor here. Or, at least something other than just coffee.

When I opened the package, I could smell chocolate... and maybe something else. Cherries maybe? As the coffee brewed, it became clear that this was not one of those blends with an aroma so strong that it made it all the way from the kitchen to my office. A faint aroma of chocolate wafted from the pot, and from the mug as I poured the coffee, but it was only noticeable because I was looking for it.

Taste-wise, this is also one of Bones' more subtle flavors. The chocolate flavor is there, but it's only slightly stronger than the chocolate flavor of a grocery store flavored blend I'll be posting a review of a couple months from now (Signature Select Double-Dutch Chocolate Light Roast), although the chocolate aroma from the Bones coffee grounds was stronger as it brewed. In fact, when I sniffed the coffee in my mug, the strongest scent seemed to be that of cherries... but when I drank it, I tasted coffee with chocolate and a slightly fruity additional flavor that remained beyond my ability to make out clearly. I still think it's cherry, but I can't say for sure.

When I added sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer to the mug, the chocolate and coffee flavors remained, but the fruit/cherry taste seemed to disappear. Interestingly, when I tried the blend with Unsweetened Almond Milk added, the fruity flavor remained and even seemed a bit enhanced: I am almost certain that it's cherry. 

At this point, I broke with my usual protocol and tried drinking the coffee with Unsweetened Almond Milk and Stevia added, just to see what would happen with the blend's mix of flavors. Other than liking it better without the addition of the sweetener--it became too sweet for me--not much changed flavor-wise.

When I drank the Mystery Flavor cold and over ice, it tasted like... well, it tasted like a solid, medium-roast coffee. When I drank it without anything but the ice cubes added, it just a cup of good coffee, with a very faint hint of something salty and sweet. That saltiness has been present in other Bones blends when tried cold, but here it was so faint so as to be barely noticable. When I tried the blend with first sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, and then with Unsweetened Almond Milk, the salty undertones vanished, and what I found myself drinking tasted not unlike the iced coffee I sometimes get at the Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru. (And this is not a dig at this Mystery Flavor blend... I like the iced coffee I get at Jack-in-the-Box.)

In the final analysis, I have to say that this is blend that works best hot or at room temperature, since over ice it just tastes like iced coffee with some type of sweetener added. It's a blend with subtle flavors that I recommend... even if I end up being wrong when I say that the Mystery Flavor is Chocolate-covered Cherries.

Mystery and Morning Coffee ...

UPDATE (1/10/2022)

Bone Coffee Company has revealed what this mystery flavor is: Pumpkin Pecan Praline. I was waaaay off. It must be time to trade the tastebuds in for a new set!