Coffee is a billion dollar business. Let’s face it, many people can’t start their day without a cup (or four). Furthermore, there are also countless ways to enjoy this caffeinated treat. Whether you enjoy Starbucks, some other indie coffee shop, or making it at home, you’d be in the minority if you don’t drink at least one cup a day.
With all the coffee products out there though, it’s hard to find something new and exciting in the industry. That is, unless you’ve stumbled onto Lucky Jack Nitro Cold Brew Coffee. It sounds like a mouthful, but here are the basics: it’s cold coffee that’s low in acid and made from all organic ingredients. Also, it’s slightly carbonated. Yes, you read that correctly – carbonated coffee. Before you go thinking Lucky Jack is selling coffee soda though, just know that it’s not THAT carbonated. It’s about as carbonated as a beer, which actually makes for quite the unique sipping experience.
Here’s how their press release describes it:
Created by Groundworks founder and organic coffee pioneer Richard Karno, Lucky Jack Organic Nitro Cold Brew combines the best organic ingredients with innovative production to create the finest, most unique coffee products on the market. Each bottle of Lucky Jack coffee is organic, low in acid and nitro infused to produce a refreshing effervescent pick me up.
That “innovative production” includes a “proprietary formula [which] is a mix both cold brew + ice brew, with the addition of nitro [that] creates a flavorful and extremely low acid beverage”
We had a range of folks try four of the flavor offerings from this unique coffee company. One person doesn’t like coffee; one likes sweet coffee (cold or hot); one likes dark coffee with no sweeteners (cold or hot) and one likes a range of hot coffee products (not cold). Let’s get into it, shall we?
OLD SCHOOL
For the purist who wants their coffee and nothing else, lightly effervescent and delicious!
INGREDIENTS: Organic Arabica Coffee, Purified Water
This is essentially a standard coffee (with all the benefits of the organic, low acid things that Lucky Jack offers) but served cold and slightly effervescent. It also doesn’t have the bitter aftertaste of the sweeter offerings.
Our coffee purist mostly enjoyed this flavor. She found the effervescence a little strange, but she also doesn’t care for beer and it’s definitely a beer-style experience. Our sweet coffee fan, on the other hand, wasn’t too keen on this one but the taster who doesn’t like cold coffee enjoyed the flavor, just not the temperature. Finally, our non-coffee drinker wasn’t a fan at all.
SWEET THING
Sweetened with organic cane sugar, for those who enjoy the sweeter things in life, lightly effervescent.
INGREDIENTS: Organic Arabica Coffee, Purified Water, Organic Cane Sugar
This is a sweetened version of the Old School flavor. It still has the same coffee bite, but with a nice hint of sweetness. It has a bit of a bitter aftertaste that the Old School doesn’t as well, but you may not necessarily mind it.
Our taster who likes sweet coffee is not a fan because of the aftertaste, while our taster who generally doesn’t care for cold coffee enjoyed the taste (especially with a little milk in it), but just doesn’t like cold coffee. Our coffee purist, meanwhile, doesn’t care for the sweetness or the bitter aftertaste, and surprisingly, the non-coffee drinker enjoyed this one. It reminds him of a coffee stout but sweeter (and alcohol-free).
DOUBLE BLACK
Infused with extra espresso, for those who like it strong and lightly effervescent.
INGREDIENTS: Organic Arabica Coffee, Purified Water
This is the “put hair on your chest” kind of coffee. If you’re the person who gets a triple shot of espresso and doesn’t dilute it with sugary additives, this one’s for you. As such, it was too much for our non-coffee drinker and our sweet coffee fan, but our other two tasters enjoyed it, though not as much as the Old School. They still find the effervescence a little strange, but again, neither of them are beer drinkers.
CHOCOLATE VERSION (UNAVAILABLE)
The samples we received contained a chocolate infused version that tasted similar to Sweet Thing but with an added layer of flavor from the cocoa. We’ve been unable to find this on their website since then, but it was certainly the most unique (read: strange) offering from Lucky Jack and we had the most interesting results from it.
None of our coffee drinkers liked this flavor. They cited a very bitter aftertaste and the strong off-putting aroma. This seemed a bit strange, since our sweet coffee drinker loves chocolate. However, our non-coffee drinker really enjoyed this one, as it reminded him of a dark, tasty chocolate stout but without the alcohol and with caffeine. To him, it’s like having a beer for breakfast without going to work drunk and still getting an energy boost from the caffeine.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Overall, this Nitro Cold Brew Coffee from Lucky Jack is wildly unique and breaks into a pretty new space. Unfortunately, this makes it a bit of an acquired taste, and as you’ve seen from our report, not everyone will be into it.
The packaging is certainly a strong point though, as the amber glass bottle helps protect the product and keep it as fresh as possible. It also looks very inviting. It even reminds us of little beer bottles. If nothing else, it’s a cool experience to drink Lucky Jack. It may take some time for the general coffee drinking public to embrace the effervescence and the flavors aren’t exactly groundbreaking, but it’s definitely still worth a try!
If you’re interested, you can head over to their website to grab a few bottles and learn more about their proprietary brewing process.