It's the Mint Invaders from Chocolate Space!

 

They have come to Earth from a faraway world...
Whether they're friend or foe depends on if they've had their morning coffee!

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: MINT INVADERS FROM CHOCOLATE SPACE

This was a flavor I'd put off trying, despite it being one of the offerings that first attracted me to Bones Coffee's flavored offerings, along with Army of Dark Chocolate and White Russian; the movie theme of the packaging appealed to me, but the promise of a mint flavor did not. Like I said in my review of the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark blend, I'm a bit dubious about whether mint-flavored coffee is something I want to put in my mouth.

But, it came time to order another set of 4-oz. sample packs from Bones (to keep this Sunday post series going, as well as to feed my addiction. There have been Bones selections have surprised me in the past with how good they were, so maybe this one would too. Plus, I am starting to run out of flavors to test! (I estimate that Bones Coffee blends will no longer be the common subject of these posts by the time we get to the end April.)

Mint Invaders from Chocolate Space got my hopes up as soon as I opened the bag. The grounds smelled strongly of chocolate, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned. There was just the faintest hint of mint, too. The chocolate smell was stronger than I would expect from the flavor the package stated the blend existed to capture--that of mint chocolate chip ice cream--but I have learned with Bones blends that the aroma emanating, or even as the coffee brews, from the package doesn't always match the flavor of the beverage.

In this case, although the unbrewed grounds smelled very strongly of chocolate with just a ghost of mint, the resulting coffee tastes strongly of mint with chocolate showing up as a pleasant aftertaste as you drink it.

When you drink Mint Invaders from Chocolate Space black, the flavor of high-quality medium-roasted coffee flavor mingles nicely with the bite of mint, with the taste of chocolate becoming increasingly evident as you consume it. The "ice cream" aspect of this drink--which would be a certain creaminess--is not really there until... well, until you add something creamy, or milk-like. 

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk, for example, this blend began to exhibit a little of the creaminess that one associates with ice cream when I drank it. It also seemed to draw out the mint flavor even more. When I tried it with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the drink seemed to become even creamier than these coffees usually become with the creamer added. The mint flavor also seemed more intense.

As the drink cooled, whether black or with almond milk or creamer added, the chocolate flavor moved from aftertaste to being present as an undertone that grew stronger the more of the coffee that is consumed. This is also true when this blend is consumed iced; the colder the drink is, the stronger the chocolate taste. Mint, however, remains dominant. That said... those flavors were all somewhat washed out.

If you like minty coffee, I think you'll like this blend. Personally, when consumed according to the baselines I've set up for these reviews, I preferred Mint Invaders from Chocolate Space with the sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer added, whether it's hot or at room temperature. It didn't seem to work well iced.