Yesterday I was at Target when I saw an interesting looking new Coke product call Blak (there is an accent mark over the a that looks like the Coke wave symbol). Thinking it was $1.99 a picked up a 4 pack, since the only product description is “Carbonated Fusion Beverage” and I was curious. Only after paying and looking at my receipt, did I realize it was $4.99 for a 4 pack of 8 oz bottles, but I was still curious. Tonight I tried it, and for anyone who doesn’t already know, Blak is a mix (fusion) of coffee and diet Coke. Here is the weird part I am torn as to what I think about it. On one hand the first sip is disgusting, but then it changes and it has a taste similar to the bottled Starbucks Frappacinos (which I am ashamed to say I have tried) with an odd but not totally unpleasant diet Coke finish. Strangely the taste improved as it got warmer which is true for Diet Coke in general. Being a true experimentalist I poured some out into a clear glass so I could see what the fancy but totally opaque packing hid. There is a reason it is bottled the way it is (small bottle means you can drink it in one sitting but has a screw top so you can carry it with you and you don’t need to transfer it into another container), they don’t want you to pour it in a glass or to even see what you’re drinking. The contents of the bottle are a sickly/milky, translucent, brown liquid, which is wholly unappealing. Now here is why I think I have grown fond of Blak. Most people soda based caffeine doesn’t give them a buzz, cause the caffeine is an additive and so it isn’t taken up well. In coffee, tea and other “naturally caffeinated” beverages there are compounds loosely called polyphenols, which make the caffeine more bio-available. This means the caffeine really can get into your system and do its thing, so even a soda junky like me can get a nice buzz off coffee or Blak since it contains “coffee extract”. The extract also gives Blak chocolate and fruit notes.
Actually I salute Coca Cola, for figuring out (or remembering) that by putting polyphenols into an artificially caffeinated beverage, they could create a much more potent (and addictive) beverage since the extract can be used to “deliver” way more caffeine then the same amount of coffee could contain. (This is similar logic to some of the tobacco companies adding additional nicotine to the cigarettes in order to ensure that smokers would find other brands “weak and unsatisfying”.) This was actually Coca Colas original product model, since as everyone already knows the Coca in Coca Cola is actually Coca leaf from which the stimulant cocaine is isolated. With small amounts of cocaine plus the caffeine and the coca leaf extract (polyphenols) as the vehicle for all the wonderful alkaloids, the “original” Coke beverage produced an eye opening jolt, and so Coke was a medicine. The medicinal proprieties were lost when the teetotalers, made cocaine illegal. Now the buzz is back and Coke knows they can charge a premium since it is an energy drink.
This buzz is actually making me consider drinking Blak again, and since I have 3 more left I will. After that for my caffeine buzz I will go back to coffee since for the same money as Blak, I can buy the ultra smooth Kona coffee, but maybe I’ll drink it with a Diet coke chaser. ;)
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