11 Death Wish Coffee Varieties, Ranked

Is your current morning routine failing to provide an ample amount of wake-up energy? Perhaps what used to be one cup of coffee daily has escalated to three, and you still feel like you're running on fumes. If you're always after that ever-elusive caffeine boost, you may want to give Death Wish Coffee a try.

The company's name may sound intimidating, but it clues us into what makes its coffee unique: namely, a higher-than-standard caffeine content. How high? Death Wish doesn't say directly, but external tests suggest that Death Wish's roasts may have more than double the amount of caffeine than a Starbucks coffee of the same size. How's that for a wake-up call? 

For today's taste test, I snagged a bag of each of Death Wish's current offerings (as of the time of writing this piece). I did not do any tests to approximate the caffeine content, so that was not a factor in my ranking. Rather, I focused on the tasting notes present in each coffee, and for the flavored coffees in particular, I took into account how natural the flavors tasted. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Unfortunately, what I thought would be a shoo-in for a high ranking on this list was ultimately my least favorite of Death Wish's coffees. I'm generally a big vanilla fan, an opinion which I expected to carry over to this cup. What I got instead was a pretty strong vanilla extract taste that didn't endear me to this roast. 

Now, I will say this: My opinion of Death Wish's Vanilla coffee may have been different had I tried it with cream. But because I always test coffee by drinking it black, I found the vanilla here to be too strong and too artificial. And, if one were to pair it with a vanilla coffee creamer, I think they'd be pretty overwhelmed. If you want to mimic a vanilla latte without using syrup, you may find success here; however, if you prefer to drink your coffee black (as I do), I'd go with one of the following instead. 

When I hear "cinnamon sugar," my mind automatically goes to snickerdoodles, which may have tainted my opinion of this coffee from the offset. I'll start by saying that I found a pretty wide gap in quality between Death Wish's Cinnamon Sugar coffee and its Vanilla coffee — there wasn't any artificiality at play here, but I still walked away a little underwhelmed.

The coffee certainly smelled like cinnamon, and I got hints of cinnamon spice upon taking a sip. Some caramelization hit after the sip to bring in those sugary notes, but overall, this one just didn't hit as loudly as I hoped it would. That said, I definitely wouldn't call it a bad coffee — it's just not one I could have identified in a blind taste test. Would I have it again? If it was put in front of me, sure. I just wasn't super "wowed" by it, which is why I could only give it a 10th-place ranking here. 

Again, I need to interject with my personal preferences before diving into this review: I tend not to be a dark roast fan. A few companies have crafted dark brews that I enjoy, most notably La Colombe's Waymaker roast. I had a similar experience tasting Death Wish Coffee's darker roasts as I did when I tried La Colombe's — they weren't my thing, but if you like your coffee strong and extra dark, you may very well enjoy them.

Of the darker roasts offered by Death Wish, its Espresso Roast was my least favorite. Now, this is presumably meant to be made into a latte and therefore tempered with milk, so I adjusted my expectations before sipping this black cup. It's very strong on its own, but I appreciated what it would offer a latte — it would hold its own well even when paired with a generous amount of milk. I found it wasn't too bitter at all, a huge achievement when roasting a coffee so dark. And, at the end of the day, I really didn't find it to be that bad, especially considering it's not in line with what I prefer my coffee to taste like. I could still only rank it ninth because of my own preferences, though. 

I'm sure it's not very surprising to see Death Wish's Dark Roast directly following its Espresso Roast in my ranking. This coffee is roasted just slightly lighter than the previous, and as expected, I liked it just slightly more. That said, I've had dark roasts that I've liked way less than this one; so, in the opinion of a light-medium roast girly, this coffee was still pretty approachable. 

Upon sipping, I found the coffee to be smooth and chocolatey, and definitely buzzy enough to wake up even the sleepiest bee. This cup certainly wouldn't be my first choice to drink black, but I could finish it pretty easily if it were in front of me — it wasn't bitter at all, though definitely robust. If you prefer creamer in your coffee and are in the market for something from Death Wish, give this one a shot. It will easily hold up to milk without losing its flavor. 

Ultimately, Death Wish's Valhalla Java Odinforce Blend was my favorite of the company's dark roast coffees, but don't worry — its Viking-aesthetic appeal didn't bias me toward this bag at all. The coffee's undeniably attractive bag (that notably stands apart from its other branding) will likely draw in many consumers, though, and that's not a bad thing. As far as dark roasts go, this is one I would indeed seek out again, for mornings when I need the illusion of being wrestled awake by some fresh Nordic air. 

This coffee is full of flavor, with a depth to it that took me by surprise — I don't usually find such complexity in dark roasts. Rich, malty molasses came through very clearly in the front of the sip, while dark chocolate trailed behind. I can still call it bold, but it also has potential for wide appeal, which I can't say about many dark roast coffees I've had. It will certainly hold up to creamer, but I recommend trying it black first — you might quite like it. 

Stepping back into Death Wish's line of flavored coffees, its Coconut Caramel bag is snagging a strong sixth place. It wasn't among my favorite of the company's flavored offerings, but I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone craving a hint of tropical appeal in their morning brew. Firstly, I got strong wafts of coconut scent upon opening the bag, which made me excited to try this one. While I liked it, I did end up enjoying the following more, which is why this only made it to sixth place here. 

Not only does coconut come through abundantly on the nose, but it's very apparent on the palate, as well. The caramel notes are far subtler, but still there, contributing a toasty, slightly sweet character to the overall coconut-forward punch. Moreover, the caramel notes don't feel like a cop-out here, which is something I frequently have a problem with — caramel notes are naturally produced during the roasting process, which is why you'll often see "caramel" listed as one of the tasting notes on darker roasts. Here, though, it felt intentional. 

I adore chai, so I had fairly high expectations for Death Wish's Pumpkin Chai Coffee, and it delivered on most points. I tasted it black for the purposes of this piece, but I could perhaps be fooled into thinking it was a dirty chai if I'd added some steamed milk. I can't say it mimics, say, a pumpkin cream chai from Starbucks, but it's also not supposed to (and it did still remind me of the drink, which is saying something). 

After brewing, the coffee's chai scent is readily apparent, and pumpkin spice comes through behind very subtly — I'm not sure I'd have identified it if I wasn't looking for it. Chai comes through right when you sip it, as well, followed by a gentle pumpkin essence that adds small hints of sweetness. At the end of the sip, I was left with a mild smoky appeal that I found pretty compelling. The only reason this didn't rank higher is because it wasn't quite as punchy as the coffees that followed. But if what I've just described sounds appealing to you, don't hesitate to grab a bag. 

Up next we have what was unequivocally my favorite of Death Wish's unflavored coffee lineup: its Medium Roast bag of beans. I liked this one so much that it even beat out some of the company's yummy flavored versions (though it couldn't usurp my top three choices). This coffee had everything I look for in a standard black cup — plenty of flavor that leans neither bitter nor acidic, and that could be enjoyed equally solo or with some steamed milk. 

Notes of stone fruit and chocolate are abundant throughout the sip, and it's smooth enough that I'd easily use these beans to introduce a coffee newbie to a black cup — it's a middle-of-the-road roast that will easily appeal to any type of coffee drinker. The end of the sip was incredibly juicy as all the stone fruit notes came together. This is a great unflavored coffee that definitely doesn't taste plain, and you could probably catch me enjoying it again in the near future. 

If you're a general fan of the peppermint mocha at Starbucks, don't hesitate to pick up this bag of this coffee. It obviously doesn't give the creamy, sugar-laden appeal of your OG fav, but it captures all of its tasting notes very well, ideal for mornings when you can't make it to your local coffee shop (or mornings that just beg for a strong, black cup). 

I could tell right away that Death Wish's Peppermint Mocha offering would deliver on what it promised — after opening it, there was a strong peppermint smell with warm chocolate notes coming through behind, and it reminded me of wintertime instantly. Fortunately, the purported flavor profile also came through very well on the palate. Peppermint took over the front of the sip and brought an interesting cooling appeal to my hot cup, while chocolate grounded and mellowed the peppermint to keep it from being too overwhelming. This would be easy for any peppermint mocha fans to love, though I didn't find it quite as enticing as my top two choices. 

While bright, fruity notes are frequently present in light-roasted African coffees (always my coffee of choice), it's rare that I see a fruit-flavored coffee on offer. So, I didn't entirely know what to expect from Death Wish's Blue and Buried expression, a blueberry and vanilla flavored coffee that had me stymied from the moment I opened the bag. It smelled like a fruity dessert coffee which, I have to admit, endeared me to it instantly. 

Admittedly, it took me a few sips to make up my mind on this brew, perhaps because it presented a weird combination of the familiar and the unfamiliar. But after taking those few sips, I decided I liked it quite a lot. Juicy blueberries come through right away and are warmed by subtle hints of vanilla (which, by the way, didn't carry any of the extract-esque qualities I found in the company's vanilla-flavored coffee). It reminded me of some sort of blueberry bake. I really enjoyed that this was different from what you'd typically get with a flavored coffee, and that Death Wish was able to pull it off well — for that, it was a pretty easy contender for second place. 

Nothing, however, could quite measure up to Death Wish's Chocolate Hazelnut roast, and here's why — it takes two tasting notes commonly found in coffee and essentially amplifies them beyond what unflavored beans could achieve. The result is coffee that doesn't seem flavored off the bat, but which instead tastes like your favorite brew with all the tasting notes dialed up to 10. It was both new and familiar, punchy and approachable, and I found it made for quite the effortless, enjoyable sip. 

The hazelnut aroma was strong and inviting, and though I don't tend to love hazelnut flavors, I adored it here (again, probably because it's so commonly associated with coffee). After sipping, the hazelnut lingered on my palate for a while, which just enticed me to take another sip. Chocolate was present as more of an accent, but I didn't mind; it gave this brew a similar appeal to a nut butter-filled chocolate candy, which is to say it was both playful and indulgent. If you want an easy entry point to Death Wish Coffee's lineup, you certainly won't go wrong with this bag. 

To rank Death Wish Coffee's lineup of flavored coffees and whole beans, I brewed each as a pour-over, one right after the other. I let each cup cool down for about 10 minutes, until it reached a temperature that would let me fully taste its notes without scalding my mouth. Authenticity of flavor played into the bottom half of my ranking — Death Wish's Vanilla got last place because it tasted like extract, but that was the only major issue I had across any of the coffees.

Aside from that, I ranked these coffees based on how well their purported flavors came through (in the case of flavored coffees) and the general appeal of each roast (in the case of both flavored and unflavored coffees). While some of the flavored bags were a little too subtle for my liking, others really knocked my socks off, and the latter earned higher places here. Personal preference played a larger role when deciding where the unflavored beans would place in this ranking; as I'm not a fan of dark roasts, they had to rank lower than some of their counterparts, but I definitely wouldn't advise against trying any of the company's whole-bean blends.