Shock Coffee Triple Mocha

Coffee, we all know, is a fantastic source of energy, and damn tasty. A nice way to perk up your mornings might be a smooth cup of joe, or, when there's no time to brew a pot, an iced coffee. Shock Coffee, a well-established coffee company I hadn't heard of until recently, delivers coffee in multiple forms, hot and cold. Today, I'm giving the cold Shock Coffee Triple Mocha a try. Shock promotes their coffee as having 50% more caffeine than other gourmet coffees, and in an evaluation by Bevnet.com, this very beverage was rated the best-tasting coffee drink on the market. Iced coffee is a favorite drink of mine, and I'm confident the Triple Mocha has some fantastic flavor to offer. I have an 8oz can, but this stuff is also sold in 15oz cans. I'm excited to get down to the tasting.

From the can, I smell a strong coffee aroma with wonderful texture and a creamy, chocolate smell underneath. It pours into my cup with a beautiful, medium shade of brown. The flavor doesn't hit the taste buds immediately, but when you get past the creaminess, deliciously sweet coffee emerges. The awesome nuttiness stands out unhindered by bitterness or sourness. Chocolate is not the main flavor here, but it does a great job of supporting and adding depth to the drink. At times, the quality of the coffee shines, and other times, the richness of chocolate is noticable. This is a coffee you want to enjoy with care, savoring every sip; no other coffee drink that I can remember was quite this enjoyable. I can tell Shock put a lot of love into this; the sweetness level works well for the drink, carrying the flavors along nicely, but not drowning them out. The amount of cream, in my opinion, is just enough for a certain smoothness, but also keeps everything discernable. Gumminess is nonexistent and never once gets in the way of the Mocha's awesome taste. After finishing the can, there is a bit of an aftertaste in the back of the mouth, but I'll find this to happen with coffee in general. Overall, I am highly impressed with what a delicious blend Shock's come up with here. Hopefully, whenever I'm craving a quality cold coffee, Shock will be around for purchase.

Shock's boost is not exactly equivalent to an energy drink's. I'm not getting jitters, nor do I feel like running a mile or two. This is the kick of a cup or two of coffee. I'm up and energetic but it comes with no vitality, which coffee is not really known for anyway. But of course, the lift is nice, being a two or three hour energy increase. The effects of these coffees will vary depending on your caffeine tolerance; to me this is moderate. To a caf-a-holic, this is a tasty fix. It's those who rarely have caffeine that this'll impact, like many highly caffeinated beverages.

The ingredients list should be fairly straightforward: Brewed espresso coffee, milk, sugar, maltodextrin, creamer [coconut oil, corn syrup, sodium caseinte (a milk derivative), mono and diglycerides, dipotassium phosphate], ground cocoa, sodium bicarbonate, and caffeine.

Actually, there are a couple of things I'd like to point out about that list. First, I see Shock's chosen to make this out of espresso, which is a welcome choice by me. Next, I see that milk is not the only creamer here, but a dairy-based creamer made out of caseinate, coconut oil, corn syrup, and glycerides is used. It sounds much like the stuff in the powdered creamers we so often use, having corn syrup. Glycerides, I find, are used as emulsifiers and they're mostly benign. Don't ask me why coconut oil and corn syrup make a good creamer, but it works. After the creamer is listed cocoa powder, hence the cocoa flavor. Finally, what I find most interesting is that caffeine is listed. It says to me that Shock wasn't satisfied with the caffeine in the espresso, so they decided to pump in some more. It brings a smile to my face and explains why this does, indeed, feel more powerful than plain coffee. Nonetheless, I'll be looking for Shock for its great taste.

Taste: 9.7 - Shock Coffee's flavor is sophisticated and very, very delicious
Kick: 7.6 - An enjoyable way for a kick comparable to a couple of cups of coffee
Overall: 9.2 - A delicious cold coffee that easily rivals Starbucks

Reviewed by: Jeff