We independently select these products — if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Death Wish Coffee Review – The World Strongest Coffee Tested

Death Wish Coffee Bag and Box

Summary:

  • Growing Region: Typically from Peru and India.
  • Acidity: Medium to High
  • ​Roast Profile: Dark
  • ​Flavor Notes: Butter, Chestnut, Pecan
  • Body: Heavy body with a medium dry mouthfeel
  • Pairing: Death Wish Coffee will go well with any pastry or light snack.

Death Wish Coffee Review

You drearily wake up in the morning.

For some reason, your eight hours of rest still left you groggy and lethargic. You know that after you pull through the morning routine, a cup of coffee will be waiting for you. Yet, even this cup of coffee will only get you through the first few bits of the morning.

Your work day will ensue, forcing you to drink not one, but upwards of four or five cups of coffee…

This is a problem for many. In 2010 Mike Brown attempted to resolve the issue of weak, unsubstantial coffee. Which is how, in 2012, Death Wish Coffee Co. was born.

Death Wish is the remedy to weak coffee. The company offers the world’s strongest cup of coffee, and it’s no joke.

This coffee will get your blood pumping, letting you wake up and conquer the world.

The Coffee

Death Wish Coffee bag and beans

Terms like “world’s best” or “world’s strongest,” are overused these days. We see this in ads everywhere, and roll our eyes.

But Death Wish Coffee Co. is serious. They’ve done their research, and they deliver.

The front of Death Wish’s packaging greets the user with a label shouting, “WARNING: WORLD’S STRONGEST CUP OF COFFEE.”

We built up the courage to continue, cutting open the bag. A smoky, rich nutty aroma filled the room, and we were left speechless. We then brewed up an aeropress. The coffee was delicious.

Death Wish isn’t your average coffee. We tested this coffee at around 10 in the evening…

It’s safe to say that we ended up staying up that night. The caffeine kick was unlike any coffee we ever reviewed!

It wasn’t too strong or burnt tasting. The coffee tasted balanced, full, and had a range of nutty flavors. When Death Wish says strong, they mean caffeine and body – not burnt and tannic.

Their premium Death Wish blend is offered ground, whole bean, or in the form of “death pods” (Keurig pods). Today, we ground up our shipment of the whole bean option.

Death Wish Coffee bag and beans

Farming practices:

Death Wish is a proponent of fair trade. All their beans are USDA certified.

Sure, Death Wish could pump out a bad tasting, super caffeinated product, but they don’t. They swear by the tasty benefits of organic beans.

In doing so, they promote sustainable farming practices that forgo the use of harmful insecticides and pesticides. Organic coffee is farmed by those who incorporate the use of all natural growing processes. When organic practices are encouraged, the soil becomes healthier and chock-full of nutrients.

Organic coffee is tasty and healthy for the world.

Caffeine / Growing Regions / Roast

Death Wish states that the roast of the bean is not as simple as “dark” or “light”.

We use a strategic roasting plan including time and temperature variation, and it plays a giant role in the flavor and caffeine content in the coffee. It is, in essence, our secret recipe that sets us apart from the others.”

They coffee typically comes from India and Peru. In order for this coffee to be the strongest in caffeine content, Death Wish updates their recipe when necessary. If climate or farming processes fluctuate, causing the bean’s caffeine content to drop, the recipe will be altered to compensate (which usually doesn’t happen, but Death Wish makes sure their beans stay on top!).

Death Wish uses Robusta beans in their blend. The Robusta species of coffee has a higher caffeine content than the usual Arabica species.

We experimented with several different robusta beans before finding one as delicious as the Indian Robusta currently in Death Wish Coffee. This small percentage of robusta adds more caffeine and a bit of a bite to the flavor.

Death Wish stays on top of their game to achieve the infamous amount of 54.2mg of caffeine per fluid ounce.

This means that a normal cup of Death Wish will have around 650mg of caffeine. Compare this to the normal 150mg of caffeine per cup in most coffees!

Tasting Attributes

Death Wish Coffee on an Aeropress

Death Wish is big, bombastic, and tasty. It’s not too heavy, letting you enjoy your coffee while being ingratiated with caffeine.

We used an Aeropress to brew up the blend.

Flavor Notes:

Expect notes chestnut, butter, and pecan to resonate from this coffee.

As you first take a sip, you’ll notice a browned butter taste. This will evolve into a roasted chestnut that eventually takes on a sweet pecan feel. It’s definitely not too dark or too nutty.

Acidity:

The coffee has a medium to heavy acidity.

The acidity of this coffee isn’t overwhelming. It actually compliments and balances the nutty profile.

If brewed at a higher ratio (18ml of water for every gram of coffee), you’ll be able to mellow out some of the deep flavor and acidity that is inherent in Death Wish.

Death Wish Coffee on an Aeropress

Body:

This coffee exudes a full body of taste that never overpowers the drinker.

Even using two paper filters – brewing with an Aeropress – the heavy body came through. The mouthfeel was dry, like a dry red wine.

This heavy dry hybrid made for a supreme cup. It’s not boring, and it’s very palatable.

Aroma:

The aroma was very similar to the taste. It was nutty and crisp.

Slight peanut notes were noticed along with notes of pecan.

The aroma was a bit lackluster compared to the taste, but together, the aroma and taste fit the coffee perfectly. It provided a balanced cup that quenched the palate.

Conclusions

Serving Death Wish Coffee

The beautiful thing about Death Wish coffee is that it doesn’t overwhelm the drinker.

We expected a massive punch in the face from this coffee, but we also received subtle flavors, heavy body, and ample caffeine.

No one does caffeine better than Death Wish and on top of that they are a company that cares about the well-being of farmers and the sustainability of organic practices.

If you’re ready for good coffee that revitalizes your morning, check out Death Wish Coffee.

Don’t let the lack of caffeine get you down.