K-Cup Standoff: French Vanilla

As said in this post, I love my new Keurig and I've been quickly working my way through the sample pack that I got for Christmas. This week, I'm reviewing the French Vanilla selections. It's probably important to note, that in general, French Vanilla isn't my favorite of the flavored coffees. But, I gave each of them a try, and here are my impressions...

The Contestants: Timothy's French Vanilla, Green Mountain French Vanilla, and Wolf Gang Puck Francaise Vanilla

Cup Size: 7.25 oz (I used the smaller brew size for all three of these selections because I have found that flavored k-cups tend to err on the weak side. Of the three, I think only the Timothy's would have been strong enough for my taste in the larger size.)

Flavored Creamer: 1 teaspoon of Coffee-mate's Caramel Macchiato

First of all, I'm going to rank these for you by two categories: overall strength of brew and also strength of vanilla flavor - 1 is strongest, 3 is weakest.

Strength of Brew:
1) Timothy's
2) Green Mountain
3) Wolf Gang Puck

Strength of Flavor:
1) Wolf Gang Puck
2) Green Mountain
3) Timothy's

Timothy's was the strongest cup of coffee, although it had a bite to it (I think the professionals call this acidity) and I think it would have been better in the larger size. I had a very hard time distinguishing the French Vanilla flavor in this coffee, which for me wasn't such a bad thing, but since this is a French Vanilla standoff, I'm taking that into consideration. Wolf Gang Puck's hoity-toity Francaise Vanilla had a great vanilla aroma and I think the vanilla flavor was slightly stronger than in the Green Mountain, but it was a really weak cup of coffee. Green Mountain's was the best of both worlds. I could taste and smell the French Vanilla, but it didn't overpower the coffee. I'm pretty sure that if I had used the 9.25 cup size that the Green Mountain wouldn't have been strong enough for me, but in the 7.25 it was just right.

Verdict: Green Mountain wins this standoff again! However, if you want to drink a 9.25 oz cup of coffee and you're not that concerned with the French Vanilla flavor, I would probably pick the Timothy's.

You're Welcome!