My sample of Coffee People’s Wake-Up Call was provided by K-Cup Challenge sponsor OneGreatCup.Net.  If you like Coffee People coffee, like this review (and want to support my sponsors), or need any sort of K-Cup or Keurig Home brewer supplies, Ken Rhodes, and the rest of the team at OneGreatCup can hook you up with everything you need.

We’ve hit some metaphorical bumps with Coffee People coffee.  I’ve loved some blends, despised others, but in general I’m happy with most I’ve sampled from the company so far.  Before I get to the actual review of Wake-Up Call, let me tell you what I was expecting going in.  With a name like Wake-Up Call it must be an extremely dark roast coffee, quite possibly bitter, with a premium placed on kick-starting your day.  I tell you this to illustrate that names, as we all know, can be deceiving.

The Description

This full-bodied coffee kicks things off right with its rich flavor and lively finish.

The Aroma

My experience thus far is that Coffee People coffee in general doesn’t really stand out in the aroma department until you get into their flavored varieties, where they’re quite possibly the most aromatic of all.  So while I can’t say that anything really stands out about the aroma of Wake-Up Call, there is a definite sweetness, which I wasn’t really expecting.

Drinking it Black

If I was allowed only one word to describe Wake-Up Call, it would most definitely be “thick”.  Thankfully, I’m allowed more words so I can tell you that for such a full-bodied brew, it’s much smoother going down than I would have expected.  There’s an ever-so-slight hint of bitterness that lingers on the tip of the tongue, but that’s not the least bit surprising for such a heavyweight brew.

Flavor-wise, not a whole heck of a lot stands out about Wake-Up Call, which again, isn’t a bad thing considering the viscosity of the brew.  I’ve said it 100 times before – black coffee isn’t my thing, but I’m enjoying this one fresh from the brewer with nothing added.

With Cream and Sugar

I did my best to go light with both since I really didn’t think my cup needed a lot of adjusting.  With cream and sugar, Wake-Up Call is quite good, although not outstanding, but if you’re looking for a top tier flavor experience, maybe you shouldn’t be looking in a cup labeled “Wake-Up Call”.  Still, if you’re looking for a no frills cup of joe with a little bit of a kick to it, then Wake-Up Call might be the likable bully you’re looking for.

Final Thoughts

While Coffee People’s Wake-Up Call lacks some of the character of other dark roasts (Green Mountain’s Dark Magic springs to mind), it’s still more than a decent cup of coffee, and I’d be quite satisfied to drink it again.  My only real complaint is that, from a coffee called “Wake-Up Call”, I was expecting less of “good morning, Mr. Covey, this is your wake up call”, and more of a kick in the mouth coupled with a not so subtle, “get your butt out of bed”.  Ahh expectations…

Shameless Plug

I’ve already suggested that you should support the sponsor of this review by throwing a little of your K-Cup-related dollars to Ken Rhodes over at OneGreatCup.net.  He can hook you up with a big ol’ box of the very same Wake-Up Call I’ve written about in this post.  What I haven’t told you yet is that, this month (September 2008), OneGreatCup is running a sale on all Coffee People K-Cups.  This month, and this month only, you can save 5% on Coffee People coffees at OneGreatCup.

While you’re here, check out the growing list of reviews in The K-Cup Challenge.