By: Joe Cardoso
The only way to wake me up is with a strong cup of coffee, keep the smoothies and glass of water first thing. Iced or piping hot in a Yeti, it is my life force, and I love it with all my heart. So, it was a no-brainer when Steeped Coffee approached me to do a review on their product, it went perfectly with one of my favorite holidays, National Coffee Day. I was waiting for my package to arrive, and once it did, I couldn’t be the only one to try it out and share thoughts. Josh Wilbur founded Steeped in 2017 out of Santa Cruz, California it has quickly become the gold standard for single-serve coffee. I was like a kid on Christmas waiting for my package to come. What does the word “Steeped” mean you ask, soak (food or tea) in water or other liquid to extract its flavor or to soften it.
The mission is to have the best coffee possible with us on the go, but we all struggled with how to make it without bringing the whole setup from home with us. The Steeped Coffee brewing method is the new standard in coffee it combines quality and convenience. Steeped has pioneered the first and only proprietary single-serve coffee brewing method that is fully compostable, made similar to tea, and has a taste even the highest of coffee snobs should enjoy. My day starts early, and I need to be able to get up and go, paying for Starbucks or waiting for my Keurig to fire up isn’t always an option for me.
So I had to enroll some serious coffee drinkers for this and get their reviews on the coffee I got the “The Lineup,” which was a set of of light to dark French roasts. So with the single bag method, you pour 8oz of water over your Steeped bag. Dunk the bag for 15-30 seconds or longer for more punch. Leave the bag in for as long as you want, depending on your tastes.
That is super simple and so easy I love it! So you get Sunrise Blend, which is a light roast, California Blend, a medium roast, Oydessy Blend, a dark roast, and Breakwater Blend, which is a French roast. We used the rating system of Coffee Cups 1-4, and some of us just shared our thoughts on the overall experience using the product.
For me, I like a darker roast, so the Oydessy was amazing it had a very savory taste, and when added to my creamer of choice, caramel flavor, it was a hit and got 4 cups out of 4 for me.
California Blend was solid, and I didn’t need to add creamer since it has strong chocolate vibes it gets the job done, and I always had two cups, 4 cups out of 4. The Sunrise Blend is too light for me I need more punch in my coffee, but the flavor is nice, and it got 3 cups out of 4 for me. Breakwater Blend was my jam!! Strong and sweet, I just brewed it, waited for it to cool a bit, and went to work. 5 cups out of 5 for me.
Another Coffee lover I know is Joshua Ramos, who drinks 3 cups before noon at least. Who better to get in on the action? Josh and his wife are always on an adventure and exploring, so a fast, strong coffee is a MUST. Using the same rating system as I did, this is what he came back with.
It was easy to follow instructions, perfect for camping and on the road, Compostela packaging gets bonus points, so I would for sure re-order the Breakwater blend and The Odyssey blend.
Breakwater 4 cups out of 5. Strong flavor, like freshly brewed coffee, bold bitter taste but still sweet notes, roasted nutty flavor, maybe even better than normal coffee, no grounds escaped the bag, so no grittiness, which is great, steeped this one for 8 minutes, for stronger flavor.
Odyssey blend 3 cups out of 4 not as strong of a flavor at a normal steep time, had to add 5-10 additional minutes, more of a dark chocolate bitter sort of taste.
California Blend 2.8 cups out of 4, weaker for sure, flavor profile is nutty and almost like cinnamon, sort of like chai…more than coffee. Could use two bags at a time for more concentration
Sunrise Blend 2 cups out of 4, way too light. It took two repeats of water and 20-plus minutes with two bags. But after that, it was nice as a black iced coffee.
I then went to my friend across the pond, Hannah, who is as English as they come. She kept it nice and easy and said she loved how easy it was to get a cup of good coffee fast and that the flavor was great. She found it to be very convenient to “brew.”
The Verdict
I would say if you are a person who is on the go and looking for an alternative to waiting in line at Dunkin’, this is a MUST for you. It is a fast way to get a great cup of coffee without taking forever. The recipes online are also worth your time and money.
I will be ordering a case or two myself, and so should you. They also work with Purpose Beyond Profits and give 1% of all sales to help local and international communities. After you try some, let me know your thoughts! All this coffee talk, I need to go Steep a cup for myself until next time, coffee lovers.