Coffee Brewed With Coke, I'll Try That

As I age I like to be adventurous from time to time. Most of the time those adventures happpen. with food and drink.

About a week ago one of my brothers sent me a coffee video on Instagram. We send reels back and forth all the time. But this video stuck with me. When I drink coffee I like to doctor it up. I have told many people that coffee is my choice for caffeine, and I don't drink it because I necessarily like the taste of black coffee. I like to add sugars, real and fake, and flavors to it. I want it to be palatable for me, and adding stuff helps it in my opinion. So the reels I get from my brother are people doing just that. He has sent me a bunch of stuff with coffee and citrus fruits, one of my favorite combinations. He also sends me other random drinks with additives. But he recently sent me one where a person brewed some coffee with a Vanilla Coke. This person didn't use water, he used a 16 ounce Vanilla Coke. I had no idea that this was something that could be done. I was very intrigued. I spoke with my brother about wanting to try this at some point, and after having coffee with him and my dad last week, they both convinced me to try it out.

Last Wednesday I went for a run and had to stop at the store on my way home. I decided that I was going to try it then. Now, my store didn't have Vanilla Coke, but they did have regular ass Coke Zero. When I drink soda I usually go for Coke Zero, and I figured, from what I saw in the reel, that any type of soda would work, it was just based on preference. So I grabbed the soda and my other stuff and I headed home to try it out.

First I had to grind some beans, which I did, and then I grabbed my soda and proceeded to brew the coffee. I used espresso, placed it in my Chemex and opened the soda. First off, I ground way too many beans, but I was rolling with it. As soon as I poured the soda in the mesh fitting, nothing happened. The grounds kind of bubbled a bit, but nothing was brewing. I waited for a few minutes, and then some coffee started to finally come down the drain. I poured more and more soda, the grounds kept bubbling, getting fiercer with each pour I might say, and I kept it going for a long while. It took some time to get this to all brew. One 16 ounce Coke Zero added to 4 tablespoons of ground espresso took about 20 minutes. I watched it the whole time because it was pretty neat to see how the espresso would bubble and then brew. The grounds kept getting bigger and bigger and wetter and wetter. After pouring the final bit of soda in the mesh drain, I ended up with about 16 ounces of Coke Zero cold brew. When I took the mesh drain off to clean, the beans smelled like Coke Zero with a hint of espresso. It smelled great. I then added some ice to a glass and poured the Coke Zero cold brew into my cup. I tried it without any additions first. I wanted to see what it tasted like raw.

It was really damn good. It had a nice Coke Zero flavor, but it also had a nice espresso flavor. The espresso was definitely coming through in smell and taste. It was damn good. One thing the person on the reel made mention of was how the brewing process made the soda flat. They were right. But that didn't hinder the taste at all.

After a few drinks of the coffee raw, I decided I was going to add a few flavors to finish off the Coke Zero cold brew. I added about a tablespoon of heavy cream and a tablespoon of vanilla extract. I gave it a good stir and finished off the drink. This made it even more delicious to me. It was like a dirty soda mixed with some of the best cold brew I've had in quite some time. The cream and vanilla gave it an extra depth of flavor. The cream made it smoother, and the vanilla gave it the sweetness I was looking for. I drank the rest almost too quickly because of how much I was enjoying it. It was better than I hoped. I really loved the taste.

I have decided that I'm going to try it with some other sodas in the near future. I wanted to do Vanilla Coke now. I want to try Cherry Coke. I think cream soda would be dope. And tomorrow I'm going to try the same thing, but this time I'm going to use zero sugar root beer. I've had cold brew with root beer mixed in, but I have never had it brewed with root beer. I'm hoping it's going to be as good as Coke Zero. Time will tell. If you like to try different things with your coffee, I recommend giving this a go. It's really damn good. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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I'm Here to Praise Coca Cola Dreamworld

I leave for vacation tomorrow, but before taking the rest of the week off I wanted to leave you all with something.

I do the grocery shopping in my home. I’m the at home parent so the chores fall on me. I like doing chores, and I especially like grocery shopping. I’ve got it down to a science too. I’m efficient, I know where everything is, I know the deals and I know when I can meander a bit. Last Monday I had time to browse, so I did. When I got to the soda section I wanted to try something different. We drink Diet Coke in our home. I know it’s bad for you, but I enjoy an ice cold one with dinner. But I do, very seldom, buy a different diet or zero sugar soda. Last week I got the zero sugar variety of Coke Dreamworld.

What struck me first was the box. It is extremely colorful. There’s lots of light blue and red. There’s also the black that’s synonymous with Coca Cola. The mini cans, 7.5 ounces, were on sale. A ten pack was less than four dollars. That’s a bargain. And I figured if I didn’t like them, the cans are small enough that I could take them down anyway. I had one last week for lunch and I didn’t notice much of a difference. Then I had one the next day and liked it a little more.

I didn’t look up what the flavor was at that point so it was hard to pick certain flavors I was tasting. My wife had one but wasn’t a fan. She said it was too sweet. She asked me what it was supposed to taste like so I googled it. The Coca Cola website said it “explores the realms of the surreal, the imaginary and the otherworldly”. That sounds like a description of an A24 movie that I’d be super in to. But this is a drink. With a little more digging I found out it’s citrus and fruit. No particular citrus or fruit, just notes of those flavors. I guess it’s the flavors you think of when hearing citrus and fruit. So it is kind of imaginary I suppose. But when I found out that was the flavor profile, I liked it even more. I had another the next day and found myself craving one last evening. With each small can, I enjoy this Dreamworld flavor more and more. I’m a big fan of citrus. I used to squeeze a lime into Diet Coke sometimes. With this new flavor I guess I won’t have to do that all the time. It says it’s a limited release, but I wouldn’t be bummed if it sticks around for a bit. It’s better than some of the other drinks that other companies try, like chocolate cake Dr Pepper.

I definitely think people who drink diet sodas should give this one a go. I think it’s great.

Ty

Culinary Delights From Ty: Crush Mixers

Imagine this, but with toms of sugar, and in soda form

Every night before bed, when we eat our dessert, my wife and I have a bottled water filled with a packet of Crush mixer. Now, for those of you that don't know, Crush is a soda brand. Crush sodas used to be one of my favorite brands. I loved how sweet and bubbly the soda was. I used to get it whenever I could, be it at a gas station or a restaurant. I loved all the different flavors as well. They truly ran the gammit.

But, as I got older, like most people, I switched over to diet soda when I do drink soda. Unfortunately for me, I have never found a diet Crush. For Crush to be as great as it is, it needs the full, real sugar taste. I tried a Crush recently, but it was far, far too sweet for me. It was so sweet that it reminded me why I liked it so much as a child. Kids love sugar, and Crush soda is filled with it.

So, I had just kind of forgotten about Crush sodas. I moved on and specifically drank Diet Coke, with a Coke Zero or Diet Dr. Pepper sprinkled in there from time to time. But, to be honest, I do not drink much soda that much anymore.

Well, my wife's cousin, who does Atkins like we do, told us about this miracle drink. She mentioned that Crush was making these mixers, now with fake sugar, and that they were amazing. I was excited/skeptical because, as I said, I used to love the soda, but that last time I tried one, it was too much. But, my wife's cousin has great taste in food and drink, so I trusted her, she gave us a few boxes of the packets, and we tried them.

I have got to say, she was 100 percent right about these things. They are amazing. They taste so good, It fully reminds me of being a kid, but without all the real sugar. I do not know how they do it, with fake sugar after all, but damn, they have made this stuff amazing, and accessible to dieters, and I couldn't be happier.

Oh, remember when I talked about all the flavors at the beginning? Well, the Crush mixers has just as many flavors, maybe more than I remember. They have the classic orange, grape and strawberry, all of which are tremendous. But, they have expanded now, and they have flavors like cherry limeade, cherry, raspberry, blue raspberry, and my absolute favorite, pineapple. The pineapple is out of this world. It has this amazing pineapple flavor that is just sweet enough. It doesn't over power you, but you most definitely get the taste of pineapple in there. The other flavors are great too. The cherry limeade mixer is second only to the Sonic drive thru cherry limeade drink. The raspberry is the sweetest of them all, but it is wonderful. That is my son's favorite. Blue raspberry is like drinking a slushie, which is awesome. And the cherry, my goodness is that a taste sensation. It is second only to pineapple. It tastes like a cherry Jolly Rancher, and everyone knows that those are the best. The classic flavors are great as well. The orange literally tastes like the soda, without the bubbles. Not that it tastes flat either, it just tastes good. The grape tastes exactly as I remember the soda tasting. And the strawberry is perfect on a hot summer day. It is very refreshing.

The other thing that my wife and I like to do with these mixers is put them in a water bottle, shake them up and put them in the freezer for, at least, 2 hours before consuming them. This takes the taste to a whole new level. When you have the bottles in the freezer long enough, you get that slushie texture that I talked about a minute ago, and it is wonderful. Also having them ice cold makes them that much more refreshing. It is second only to an ice cold glass of water after a work out.

I look forward to drinking Crush mixers at night when I have my dessert. It has replaced my decaf coffee or water. I load up on the boxes when I go grocery shopping. There is usually a deal on them too, which makes it even better. Oh, another suggestion I got from my cousin in law was to pour a LaCroix into a cup, I have found that the passion fruit flavor works best for this, and then put any one of the mixers into the cup. Then stir and add ice. I swear, it tastes just like the soda. You get the bubbles, the crush flavor and just a hint of the passion fruit from the LaCroix. It sounds weird, but it works so god damn well. Finally, the fact that these packets have zero carbs in them is just the icing on the cake. I have a big time sweet tooth, and while on Atkins, I have found that what I crave most is sugary sweets. Well, the Crush mixers appease that fix, and I do not have to feel guilty about drinking one.

Crush mixers are great, and I highly recommend everyone go out and try them. They rule.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor puts some rum in his late night drink. It takes the edge off, makes you sleepy, and taste awesome after the fourth or fifth one.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.