Bones Coffee: Jamaican Me Crazy

Bones Coffee Company continues to entertain me with fabulous flavors. Here's my take on the latest I've sampled from them!

Bob Marley is wondering why he's here...

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: JAMAICAN ME CRAZY
As with most of Bones Coffee's flavored offerings, the starting point for Jamaican Me Crazy is a medium roast. Although Army of Dark Chocolate showed they are perfectly capable of turning a dark roast into something magical, starting with the mellower, sweeter coffee as a foundation makes it easier to layer flavors on top of the bite of the coffee.

With Jamaican Me Crazy, Bones delivered another aromatic blend that, although not giving off quite as strong a scent as some other blends, gave a preview of what was to come as it brewed. This is a coffee that has a very strong flavor of spiced rum, with an emphasis on the spice. In fact, I was even reminded a bit of Chai as I drank this blend. 

Whether I consumed Jamaican Me Crazy black or with Unsweetened Almond Milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream added, the spices were the dominant flavor in this blend, lingering in your mouth and mixing delightfully with the taste of rum and coffee. This was a blend that I could drink without needing to add anything, and which remained steady in its flavors even as I added the almond milk and creamer. In fact, the spicy nature of the drink seemed to be enhanced with the added liquids.

At room temperature, the flavors were pretty much as they were when the blend was hot. In fact, I think I may prefer this blend after its cooled. (I will have to try a few more mugfuls to know for sure, but I only had a 4-oz sample pack to write this article from.)

Interestingly, when this blend is consumed iced, the coffee flavor all but disappears. A saltiness that mixes nicely with the spice flavor emerges strongly, but the coffee taste is pushed to the background. The salty taste is something I've found happens with a number of Bones blends if you drink them iced, but it seems especially powerful with the Jamaican Me Crazy blend. It also tended to linger on your lips and toungue more than with most, to the point where it almost becomes too much if you don't drink the coffee slowly. Adding Unsweetened Almond Milk or sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer did nothing to cut down on the saltiness, and it barely reduced the spicy flavor--it just make the last vestiges coffee disappear.

I was curious what other people thought, given the flavor shifts when the blend goes through when iced. To my surprise, it appears that everyone appears to be drinking something completely different than what I did, as they talked about the caramel and vanilla flavors. Some of them talked about the caramel and vanilla, others seemed to think it was sweet. While I could perhaps taste a little vanilla in there, I don't know where they got the caramel from... and sweet? Where? When? Of course, those reviews reflect what Bones Coffee themselves say about Jamaican Me Crazy on their website (caramel, , so maybe I got a bad batch? Or maybe I was supposed to drink it after smoking a join or two to unlock hidden flavor profiles? (Heck, maybe that makes this the perfect coffee to drink as you celebrate 4/20 Day next month...)

While I can't explain why my mugs of Jamaican Me Crazy apparently tasted so differently from what everyone has consumed, I think if you liked the Coconut Rum and Highlands Grog blends, you'll enjoy this, too. And then you can let me know if you tasted caramel or not....