Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel

I was not impressed by my first sampling of what Barnie's Coffee & Tea has to offer. Will the second go-around be better? I sure hope so!

Is Barnie's Creamy Buttery Caramel as smooth as this guy?

BARNIE'S COFFEE & TEA COMPANY: CREAMY BUTTERY CARAMEL

The foundation of this blend is medium-roasted Arabica beans, and there was nothing noticeable aroma-wise either when the bag was first opened nor as the coffee brewed that gave any hint that this was anything but normal coffee. It smelled great, as brewing coffee always does, but that was it.

When I poured the first cup, I likewise couldn't detect any aroma other than coffee. When I took the first sips of it black, there was a mild sweetness to the blend, but nothing I felt could be identified as a caramel flavor. It also didn't seem any more buttery than an average medium roast, but it was probably sweet enough for someone who usually puts a little sugar or milk in their cups to drink black. Me, I'm a wimp and I need a little more flavor or sweetness or milk to cut the coffee taste.

When I added Unsweetened Almond Milk to this blend, the caramel flavor showed itself ever so slightly, but this was still not something I'd describe as smooth. Again, maybe the blend would work with just the almond milk if you take your coffee lightly sweetened, but it was still a little too intense for my weak palate. I tried the blend with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk as well, and it sweetened it a bit more but didn't bring out the caramel flavor more clearly nor any  creaminess.

When I mixed the Creamy Buttery Caramel blend with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the drink finally felt as creamy as the name implied it should be. The caramel flavoring also seemed to pop a bit more. It was still a bit more subdued than I liked, but it was present and this was now a very enjoyable drink.

The most positive thing I can say about this blend is that its flavors remain stable as it changes temperature. Whether its mixed with either variety of almond milk or the creamer, the tastes describe above remain as described. Even chilled and over ice, the caramel flavor came through--in fact, it even seemed to grow a little stronger, which is atypical in my experience: More often than not, the flavors tend to become washed out when these coffees are iced... or, worse, a vile saltiness comes to dominate. All in all, this might be a blend that you're better off drinking chilled and iced. Even black, this coffee tastes sweeter when iced... even if I still couldn't taste much in the way or caramel nor did it seem any smoother than any other iced coffee I've had.

This blend from Barnie's falls somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as the flavored coffees I've had; it's not terrible, but I've had better. It is good enough that I'm not going to snark about their slogan this time out. I think it would appeal to those who are looking for something that is just slightly flavored or sweetened... while those who want more intense and in-your-face caramel flavors should turn to the Salted Caramel blend from Bones Coffee. (In fact, I think I'm going to mix what's left of my Barine's Creamey Buttery Caramel with the 4-oz sample pack of Bones' Salted Caramel in the cupboard to see what happens. If the result is a taste sensation, I'll let everyone know! (Heck, I'll also fill you in if I end up with something terrible...)