Caza Trail Coffee, Kona Blend, 100 Single Serve Cups

I bought Caza Trail Kona Blend Coffee to drink at work and I figured for 34 cents a cup If I didn't like it I could at least give it away at the office. When I made my first cup I was very pleased with the aroma and smell. It is a bolder taste than the "original Donut-shop Coffee" but much smoother on the palate. I am only comparing to Original Donut shop because that was my last box of coffee before this order. The Kona Blend is a great cup of coffee and I am very happy with my purchase. Before I ordered I was almost discouraged because of bad reviews about the foil on the k-cups tearing in the brewer. I have used two different k-cup machines and I have had no problems. Both of my Keurigs are 1.0 versions and one is a B40 model and the other is a K10 mini single serving brewer. Again no problems I will but these again but this time I am ordering a box for the house instead of work! As far as the other flavors go I can make a testament. But here is the Caza Trail Link [...]

I've purchased several these Caza Trail K-Cups in Kona, Hazelnut, and Creamy Hazelnut, and continue to reorder them. I was skeptical at first after reading reviews that people had trouble with coffee grounds leaking through. I do not believe this has anything AT ALL to do with the brad of K-Cups, it is the machine needing cleaning. I only once encountered this situations (after about 100 or so brews and not having cleaned my machine). My K-Cup machine appeared clogged, and the water was staying in the K-Cup, rather than flowing through. Upon inspection, I found that the needle that pierces the K-Cup, which has a slit in the side of it and is meant to have the coffee flow through, had become clogged with a small amount of coffee grounds. I took the K-Cup cradle out, rinsed it under water in the sink, and popped it back in, and voila, no more issue. The Keurig machine directions state that you should clean it once in a while anyway, so I would attribute anyone having these issues to not having cleaned their machine. I use the Cuisinart Keurig. I love the Kona flavor, it is a medium roast and I think it has great flavor. I usually buy Hazelnut, but I found the Caza Trail flavored coffee's were too weak and seemed watered down. The box does state that brew strength corresponds to the amount of actual coffee grounds in the pod. I won't be purchasing any of the light roasts again, but the Kona was great and I'm putting them on my subscribe-and-save because I like them so much. So, to recap, if you experience the Keurig clogging, don't just keep popping in new K-Cups thinking the K-Cup is the problem - it is a clog in the machine, and it takes a quick 5-10 sec rinse under the kitchen faucet, and you can probably go another 100 brews without a problem. Of course, cleaning/rinsing it on a regular bases (perhaps weekly, bi-monthly depending on how often you use it) is something you should be doing anyway and I really think this would prevent any problem.

I like this coffee, it's really good. It's a medium blend and not bitter at all. So no complaints at all with the coffee itself, it's a hell of a bargain actually at like 34 cents a pod. The problem I had was that I would get a clog and backwash where the pod wasn't allowing the water to flow through the pod and coffee and exit out the punctured hole at the bottom. So it would make a mess with hot water and coffee backing up through the top of the pod. For my particular coffee maker (Gourmia GCM3600) I found the pods worked best if I inserted the pod into the holder 2 or 3 times, turning it some so the holes at the bottom were punched in 2 or 3 places. That seems to allow the hot water to flow the right way. I'm not sure if this issue is caused by the thickness of the plastic of the pods as the other ones I use (Maude's) seem to be a thicker plastic. Still, now that I know to make several punctures at the bottom I'll not waste any more of the Caza Trail pods.

The coffee of choice, pods are actually filled and it makes a great cup

This has become my go-to favorite for my morning cup. No 'burned' flavor that is common in many dark roasts. Just a nice rich full flavor. Although this is called "Kona Blend", there is no way of knowing if/how much Kona coffee is actually in it. Legally, a "Kona Blend" only has to have 10% actually Kona coffee in it. The box is labeled 100% Arabica beans (which is the type of bean, not where it's grown). Generally a blend will identify the minimum amount of the more expensive Kona it contains, but this one does not say. With that said, I don't really care. I just love the coffee. It has 11.4 grams of coffee per cup, which puts it in the "Extra Bold" category, which simply means more coffee grounds are in the cup. I brew it on the 10-ounce setting and it's strong enough for my taste. This is also one of the few K-Cups made by someone not affiliated with Keurig. I don't know how they are getting around the patent licensing issue, but it looks and works just like a K-Cup in my 2.0 machine (It's not like the ones that have an exposed filter with no 'bottom' to the cup). Most k-cup manufacturers pay Keurig a huge cut of revenue as a licensing fee, and I assume that this is the primary reason that these are so much less expensive per cup than most. At $0.33-35 per cup, this is a deal in the single-serve world.

Will it set your hair on fire? No. Does it taste good enough to drink? Yes. It's not the best K-Cup I've ever had, though it's got enough flavor that you can brew the largest size and it doesn't taste watery or bitter. I don't taste much Kona in it, but for the price I wasn't expecting it to be great. This would make a good, cheap coffee to have around in case you run out of some better stuff or if you like milder coffee and you're on a budget. If you like a bolder Kona flavor you should look elsewhere.

Ok first of all the reviews are high because this coffee has a great price. I think the price point is a good take away for this coffee, it's not cheap it is just a fair price. Look, good coffee doesn't have to be expensive. Some companies want to sell in volume because they are smarter then greedy companies who want an unfair profit. Enough said on price. Now second the reviews of flavor are not overblown. This Cana Trail Kona Blend is full of flavor that isn't burnt tasting. It's got a medium bite with a smooth pleasant finish. Just the way you want coffe to be. It's comparable to any of the delicious diner coffees that you wish you could get at home. I use a Carmel Machiato creamer and I don't need to add extra to cover a bad coffee taste, it's great! I save money on the coffee and the creamer. Third and last, this coffee is full flavored at 12 ounces. I use a large cup so cheap coffee doesn't work since it gets watered down. This is a full pod of coffee grounds, again a fair amount of coffee for a fair price. I would serve this to any of my family or friends and they would love it too. I honestly feel if you are not a "brand snob" you will truly enjoy this coffee! (No I don't work for the company, haha.)

Update 5/17/16: So, I ordered the Donut Shop. Based on all the reviews I really wanted to love Donut Shop. Don't get me wrong... it's good. There's just something about it that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps, it's slightly less acidic than Green Mountain Donut Shop blend. It's a little flat for a Donut. I'm really torn here. It's good coffee, but not what I hoped it would be. It's definitely worth the price to try it, and I will drink every cup. I might even order the Donut again, but I will explore the other offerings first. All told, it's hard to go wrong with Caza Trail. For the Kona on a previous order: This is great coffee. It will stand toe-to-toe with any of the mainstream brands. I have the Kona, and love it. It's rich, smooth, but very bold. Can't really explain how it can be all that at once. It's good black, and it's good with all the extras. For this price on a 100ct box, you can't go wrong. I've been passing out samples to all of my "Keurig friends", and they've all loved it too. Take a chance!