Hostess Cakes have been a staple of American snack foods since before I was a kid. While originally known for one of the first snack cupcakes on the market, Hostess is now best known for the Twinkies! We sample and review the Twinkies flavored single serve coffee cups for Keurig style K Cup brewers.
Overall Ratings |
Score 1-10 |
| Flavor | 6 |
| Aroma | 8 |
| Roast/Beans | 6 |
| Packaging | 6 |
| Caffeine | 3 |
| Total Average | 5.8 |
The Coffee Flavor:
Twinkies have always been known for their delicious golden sponge cake and sweet vanilla flavor. After two cups we can't say this really nails the sweet sponge cake flavor you would anticipate but the vanilla flavor does stand out in this coffee. If you had a cup of this in a blind taste test with no label on it we don't think your first thought would be "how did they cram a Twinkie into this cup of coffee?". If you want a solid vanilla flavored coffee that can be enjoyed without adding creamer you wont be disappointed.
Now we do think this would be the perfect coffee to enjoy while snacking on a Twinkie or two but that's up to you.
The Coffee Aroma:
The aroma may hit the mark a little better in terms of making us think a fresh pack of Twinkies was just opened in the office. Remember the movie Zombieland where Woody Harrelson was scouring the land for Twinkies? Well some of our warehouse staff thought it was free Twinkie day at the office while we were brewing. The sweetness of the Vanilla highlights the aroma.
The Roast/Beans Used:
The packaging from the manufacturer states 100% arabica coffee beans are used to make this coffee cup. Since there is no other info our assumption is this is a blend or arabica beans and not a single origin, which is common in flavored single serve style coffee cups.
The Caffeine Level of this Coffee:
While the coffee will pack way more caffeine compared to an actual Twinkie, the use of arabica tells us the caffeine level will be on par with most standard mass produced coffees. While drinking multiple cups to sample we did not feel and caffeine buzz that would lead us to think otherwise.
Brewing using a Keurig machine will typically extract less caffeine per ounce compared to other methods.
How We Suggest Brewing For the Best Cup:
Since single serve pods do not allow for much decision making in terms of brewing methods, we tested this using several different brew sizes. While testing 6, 8, 10 and 12 ounce brews, we found the 8oz option produced the most consistent flavor each time. Anything higher watered down the coffee and left a weakened vanilla flavoring. Brewing at anything less than 8oz highlighted the artificial side of the vanilla flavoring.
Packaging:
Hostess Twinkies flavored coffee is available only in single serve pods at this time. They are made for use in Keurig K Cup style brewers but are not specifically made by Keurig themselves. So you may have occasional issues with older Keurig brewers that do not like off brand cups. The downside of these pods is most brewers struggle to extract the maximum coffee flavor and often leave your cup slightly watery.
Where to Buy Online:
You can find the Hostess Twinkies flavor as well as all their flavors at Amazon or you can check out all of our Hostess flavor options. Click Here
Overall Rankings (1-10)
- Flavor: 6
- Aroma: 8
- Roast/Beans: 6
- Packaging: 6
- Caffeine: 3
- Overall Rating: 5.8
Conclusion
Overall the Twinkies flavored coffee does a better job attempting to mimic a non coffee item compared to many of the other attempts out there to create coffees that replicate snacks, candy and other non liquid edibles. While you may not think Twinkie in a cup, the vanilla flavoring is still a very enjoyable coffee option to add to your morning rotation.
Have you tried this yet? Leave your review in the comments below!
Want More Coffee Content?
Daily Coffee Grind - Click Here
Coffee Reviews - Click Here
Coffee Brewing Guides - Click Here
