by Nigel Ong
Davidoff may be known for its luxury apparel and accessories but also carries a line of tobacco and coffee products.
I have recently reviewed three of its instant coffee – the Fine Aroma, Espresso 57, and Rich Aroma. Since I have reviewed three, I might as well complete the range. Hence, I picked up the last bottle in the range to find out.
In this post, I will review the Davidoff Crema Intense Instant Coffee. I will make cups of it and drink it black and with other flavorings. I’ll also compare it with other instant coffee before deciding if you should try it.
About Davidoff Crema Intense Instant Coffee
Davidoff was established by Zino Davidoff in 1875. You may know the brand as a maker of luxury items, and it is well known for its tobacco and scent offerings.
You can also find Davidoff coffee in many styles of blends. These blends are offered as coffee roasts, pods, and instant coffee. These blends are:
These blends vary in strength, roast types, and taste profiles, from gentle and well-rounded to strong and full-bodied.
Davidoff’s instant coffee is known for its smooth flavor, setting it apart from the more earthy and acidic taste typically associated with regular instant coffees. This is mainly because there may not be Robusta, Liberica, or Excelsa beans inside the blend.
Davidoff describes this with the Crema Intense blend as a rich, full-bodied, and velvety coffee with an intense flavor.
Despite the description, it is probably not made to be made into espresso; there’s the Espresso 57 blend for that. This is more likely a dark roast version of Davidoff.
First Impression
My bottle of Davidoff Crema Intense Instant Coffee arrived online from Amazon. Like its other sister instant coffees, this one also has that premium look.
It has a glass bottle with a shiny, dark blue plastic cap. The bottle is not straight either, with curves that make it easy to grab with your hands. Suppose the extra grip helps when you want to scoop some granules out when making instant coffee.
My regular-sized jar contains 3.52 ounces of coffee granules. That is about 100 grams if you operate in metric.
Flavor-wise, this is a rather intense instant coffee. Davidoff’s intensity scale ranges from 1 to 12, and the Crema Intense rank at 9. This should give you a richer coffee experience than the Fine and Rich Aroma. Only Espresso 57 is more intense, at 11 out of 12.
Once I popped open the lid, I noticed a thin aluminum seal, like its sister blends. The lid is also easily torn, which can be tricky to remove cleanly.
It’s best to gently peel off the seal to avoid tearing and prevent foil fragments from mixing with the coffee granules.
The granules are sizable and flat, like those in other premium instant coffees such as Nescafe Gold or Lavazza Prontissimo Intenso. Color-wise, they look darker than the other Davidoff roasts and slightly lighter than the Espresso 57.
Reviews indicated that drinkers love the smoothness and rich taste and how it easily dissolves into hot water. Complaints are not about the coffee but how the glass bottle breaks easily.
How Does Davidoff Crema Intense Instant Coffee Taste?
To give the Crema Intense a fair review, I thought I would try it in black with the most common flavorings people add to instant coffee. These include sweeteners such as sugar and Equal, milk, and creamer.
Black
To make black coffee, I mixed two teaspoons of granules with 180ml of just-off-boil water, heated to about 185°F (or 85°C for those using the metric system).
As I stirred, I found the coffee’s color was not as dark as expected. It is not as dark as the Espresso 57. Instead, I had a translucent dark brownish tint of Nescafe Gold. The aroma was inviting, laced with a hint of cocoa.
As I drew in my first sip, the flavor hit my palate with boldness yet maintained a surprising smoothness. This is an intense and rich coffee. It also does not have much of that ‘rough, dirt-like’ taste of cheaper instant coffee, which is very nice for me.
Checks online also show that the Crema Intense is a blend of Latin American Arabica beans with Indian Robusta. Taste-wise, I detected cocoa notes. The cocoa taste should reflect the blend’s Latin American beans, and to me, tastes great.
This coffee is quite a treat on its own, and I’d recommend giving it a taste before adding any extra flavors.