Today we take a look at the 2nd flavor in the Corner Coffeehouse series with their Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Caramel Latte T-Discs.
Brewing these T-Discs resulted in mild caramel notes during brewing along with some of the usual buttermilk notes from the creamer. Again, we were hoping for a stronger aroma, but since it was being concentrated into a 2oz espresso shot, we suppose we were probably expecting for too much.
Flavor was a bit better as we detected light notes of caramel up top quickly followed by some of the espresso flavors, then a bit more tinges of caramel followed by sweet buttermilk flavors of the creamer at the bottom. As we neared the end of the cup, the buttermilk flavors & overall sweetness of the drink became more pronounced.
If something has SWEET in its name, you can damn well bet the final results will taste sweet and that is once more the case with these Tassimo pods. Unlike what we’ve been seeing lately, we didn’t detect any chemical notes in the sweetness and things just seemed like natural sugar overall.
At least that’s something that Kraft took the time get right. Acidity was pretty much washed-out by the creamer but did yield some bite from the espresso at various points throughout the drink. It helped let the mild caramel flavors come through & would have just washed them out had it been any stronger.
Body was layered with a light frothy layer on top followed by shades of swirled light beige in the middle and white creamer on the bottom. No amount of marketing magic could have resulted in a thick enough froth layer to support caramel drizzle like on the packaging.
We understand that Kraft have to make the packaging look appealing to customers, but come on… why not just show the drink with a reasonably believable amount of froth on top and leave it at that?
All this marketing fluff is starting to annoy us. At this rate, we half expect future packaging to include a plate of biscotti and a background of the French Alps or Italian Riviera.
Mouth feel was smooth and took on a light creamy texture with a clean finish that had light lingering notes of caramel in the aftertaste.
- Aroma – 8 – Mild notes of caramel followed by the usual buttermilk aromas in the creamer. We were hoping for a stronger caramel scent overall.
- Acidity – 6 – Barely present but did yield some bite from the espresso at various times. Mostly washed-out by the creamer but this likely aided in making the caramel notes more noticeable in the flavor.
- Body – 9 – A light layer of froth with light beige notes in the middle followed by white on the bottom.
- Flavor – 8 – A blend of very mild caramel notes on top followed by some espresso flavors which gave way to more mild caramel notes finished with sweet buttermilk flavors of the creamer which became stronger & sweeter as we neared the end of the cup.
- Mouth Feel – 8 – Smooth with a light creamy texture overall. Clean finish followed by light lingering caramel notes in the aftertaste.
- Coffee Drinker – If you enjoy caramel flavored drinks and prefer lots of sugar/sweet notes, you’ll likely enjoy this. People who don’t want loads of sugary notes should probably look for something else.
Overall Rating: 89 – Good
Again, rather than put the flavoring in the creamer, Kraft decided to put the flavoring in the espresso. As a result, the caramel flavors aren’t as strong or prevalent as they could have been. Thankfully, there’s still enough flavor present to remove any doubt that you’re drinking something with caramel notes in it.
It will be interesting to see if any future flavors will be released in the Corner Coffeehouse series (a raspberry latte perhaps?) or if things will be revised in the future so that the flavoring goes in the creamer next time around.
Regardless of what happens, we think the outcome can only go up & onwards to better results. It just remains to be seen if Kraft are willing to take the required steps to achieve these goals.
Corner Coffeehouse Sweet Caramel Latte T-Discs work in all Tassimo Brewers and are available in 16-packs (8 espresso + 8 creamer) for $11.99 USD in Canada.