Whatever Happened To The Now Discontinued Coca-Cola Blak?
A cup of coffee or a bottle of Coke are some of the most common go-tos for lovers of caffeine. If you were to combine these beverages into one, you'd think it would quickly become an unstoppable force in the beverage department. That was exactly the mentality of the Coca-Cola Company upon creating the elusive Coca-Cola Blak — a coffee-flavored Coke beverage.
The company sold this unique drink in both four-packs and single 8-ounce bottles for $1.69 each back in 2006 — and each bottle contained twice the amount of caffeine as a regular Coke. The beverage was said to have a rich texture that mimicked the froth of a cup of coffee or latte when poured. Plus, it had half the calories of other Coke beverages.
The Coca-Cola Company had high expectations for Coca-Cola Blak's success. But against all odds, the product ended up not sticking around for very long. So what happened to the now discontinued Coca-Cola Blak? The product was launched in 2006, but just 16 months later it was taken off the shelves because people just didn't seem to like it. There were a lot of reasons why, from unfamiliar packaging and a confusing name to weird branding that only appealed to a niche market. Here's what else people who tried the beverage had to say about it.
Fan reactions to Coca Cola Blak
The Coca-Cola Company had high hopes for this beverage upon its initial release. As former vice president of Coca-Cola's Global Core Brands Marc Mathieu shared in a 2005 press release, "We believe we have created a new category of soft drink, 'an adult product in a carbonated beverage,' and a whole new drinking experience. This brand is ideal for any part of the day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a break."
While the description sounds good enough, some Coke fans had other things to say about the beverage when it was first released, per The Orange County Register. One customer claimed the drink tasted like "flat Coke mixed with coffee" and that the mix of both sugar and artificial sweeteners gave the drink "an unpleasant artificial aftertaste." At the end of the day she dubbed Coca-Cola Blak a "mongrel drink." Other reviewers were similarly dissatisfied. One consumer agreed that the aftertaste was bitter and even "somewhat brutal" according to BevNet. This customer also pointed to the less-than-stellar branding of the product. As the customer reiterated, it was hard to identify what Coca-Cola Blak really was since the word coffee was buried on the can, and the drink's tagline was elusively dubbed a "carbonated fusion beverage."
While some customers cited Coca-Cola Blak's bad taste, other people simply didn't like the bottle. Coca-Cola Blak only came in small 8-ounce containers.
A new era for Coca Cola and coffee
While there were more than a few haters of Coca-Cola Blak, some customers were actually fans of the drink. A few Reddit users are still lamenting the beverage's loss and agree that it was "ahead of its time." The Coca-Cola Company's current chief technical officer Nancy Quan also shared that sentiment. As she shared with CNN, she thought that people weren't ready for such a unique beverage twenty years ago. But now, times have changed. The Coca-Cola Company made an updated version of Coca-Cola Blak in recent years, and the reaction was much different this time around.
Similar to Coca-Cola Blak, Coca-Cola launched another Coke beverage infused with coffee back in 2021. The drink is known as Coca-Cola 'Coffee Plus'. According to a 2021 press release, the drink supposedly "sips like a Coke and finishes like a coffee." With better branding choices this time around, and new trends in both the soda and coffee markets, this drink is still around today and has already become much more successful than its predecessor.
So while Coca-Cola Blak is sadly discontinued, there are still similar options to choose from. And if you're really craving that specific coffee-flavored Coke, you can always try making a homemade Coca-Cola Blak. It's pretty simple.