BONES COFFEE COMPANY: WHAT THE FLUFF?!
The marketing department and roasters at Bones Coffee once again take a shot at answering a question that no one asked: "What would it taste like if we dipped a bunch of cotton candy in a cup of coffee?" (Or maybe the truck delivering beans to the roastery collided with a cotton candy vendor towing is booth to the county fair... and they figured, "What the hell, let's go with it!" OR maybe it came about the same way many of the ROLF!: The Rollplaying Game supplements came about... we thought of a great title and then came up with the product to match it.)
And calling this blend What the Fluff?! is brilliant. It immediately made me curious about what it might be. The cartoon on the packaging was also weird enough to pique my interest further, because it made me go "what the f--- is he doing with those teddy bears? it even provides a third option for the speculation about this blend's origin above: The Bones Mascot harvested the demonic essences from evil teddy bears and then used that evil for good by bringing the world another amazing coffee flavor.
When the bag is first opened, there is the unmistakable smell of those magically spun bits of flavored and colored sugar we refer to as cotton candy. It wasn't as strong an aroma as some Bones blends, but it was strong enough to kick up the anticipation. As the coffee brewed, and as I poured the first cup, that sweet, somewhat undefinable aroma hung in the air. Again, it wasn't as strong as some Bones offerings, but it was unmistakable.
When I tried the coffee without anything added, it had a pleasant taste, with the coffee and a flavor I couldn't quite place mixing so mellowly that I could probably drink it this blend black. An aftertaste started to build as I drank more--bitter and sour--but that could just have been a natural effect from the coffee... one I rarely notice because I drank more of this black than I normally would have in an attempt to identify the flavor. It seemed vaguely berry-like, but I wasn't sure and thought that maybe I was just assuming that because Bones seems to excel at berry-flavored coffee. (But I wasn't surprised that the flavor didn't seem to quite line up with the aroma... that is something I've experienced with Bones blends before.)
When I added unsweetened almond milk to the blend, I found that the liquids did not mix at all well. The vaguely berry flavor was still there, but a dirt-like flavor emerged. It still didn't taste like cotton candy, though... which I guess is a good thing, because coffee that tastes like a cotton candy stick that's been dropped in the dirt would be depressing.
When I tried What the Fluff?! with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer, the berry flavors really popped and that strange aftertaste that was present when I drank it black became very muted but it never completely went away. I still didn't notice any cotton candy; maybe I just don't know what cotton candy tastes like? At room temperature, the flavors remained mostly as they were when the blend is consumed hot, aftertaste and all.
This blend worked best when iced, either black or mixed with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. I still don't think I was put in mind of cotton candy while drinking this, but the berry flavors were great, almost softdrink-like. Unfortunately, that aftertaste was still present... and it was joined by a touch of the saltiness that sometimes emerges in Bones Coffee blends when they are consumed iced. Both the aftertaste and the saltiness were very mild, but they built in my mouth as I consumed the blend iced, so perhaps it's only an issue if you drink your coffee by the mugful instead of a more civilized coffee cup size.
As I swallowed the final mouthful of What the Fluff?! that I'd brewed from the sample pack I'd gotten, I still had not figured out what the berry flavor was. I wondered if "berry flavor" is what cotton candy tasted like, and I was just misremembering. And, honestly, I couldn't tell you what cotton candy tastes like, but I feel certain that it's not what this coffee tastes like.
And I can't help but think that the people at the Bones Coffee Company eventually came to the same conclusion. The package states What the Fluff!? is just cotton candy flavored, but if you go to the Bones Coffee website, it describes the blend as tasking like "sweet cotton candy flavor with a twist of fresh berry."
It seems that maybe they made a blend that has a mixed berry flavor with a twist of sweet cotton candy? Or, like I said, maybe my mind and tastebuds are playing tricks on me, and I have idea what cotton candy is supposed to taste like.
Even if I feel like it didn't quite hit the mark, I think this is an okay blend to drink black or with creamers... so long as you don't drink alot of it too fast, because of that aforementioned aftertaste. If you're a fan of other of Bones' berry-flavored coffees, I suspect you might like this one, too.
And, if you want that pure cotton candy flavor, or can't get your hands on some of the What the Fluff?! blend, you can always follow the example of this lovely lady (as photographed by Nina Leen). Just head down to the nearest boardwalk or traveling carnival!
Hey, you could even try dipping the cotton candy in a cup of coffee to see what happens. (Although people might look at you like the cotton candy vendor in the background of that last shot.)
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