Hook Coffee

Hook Coffee (@hook_coffee) is a brand I've been subscribed to for ages, so it's only natural that I give their shotpods a try now that I have a Nespresso machine! This is their Give Me S'mores flavor, a flavor I've also tried before in drip coffee and French press forms. This shot is chocolatey and fruity, and most surprisingly, you absolutely do get a whiff of toasty and pastry notes! Such a pleasant shot of espresso with no harshness at all - 4.5/5!

Described by Hook Coffee as "Velvety Hot Chocolate topped with marshmallows and spice", this coffee is a blend of Ethiopian, Indeonesian, and Nicaraguan coffee. At just SGD$0.60 per pod, it's an absolute steal for such delicious coffee!

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

Here's yet another classic from Hook Coffee (@hook_coffee) that is also offered ground or as whole beans - Sweet Bundchen! This coffee has an aroma that is surprisingy floral, with biscuity notes. It is light and sweet, with just a touch of bitterness and impercetibly little acidity. All in all, a very pleasant and unique coffee down to the finish - No harshness, no disagreeable tastes. 4/5 - Very pleasant!

This coffee is described by its manufacturer as creamy and bold with notes of milk chocolate and hazelnut, and has an intensity of 6. They've even name-dropped Kinder Bueno as the type of flavor profile they were going for! Having tasted it, I can definitely see why - The combination of flavors go together so well. This coffee is certainly very high up on the list of coffees I should revisit sometime to get to know better!

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

Here's another pod out of the Hook Coffee (@hook_coffee) shotpods taster pack - The Godfather! This is one of those big, intense coffees, bitter with an acidic hit, but not overwhelmingly so - You can still taste the hints of spice and nuttiness under the bitter notes. The aftertaste is also bitter, but doesn't linger in a bad way. Overall, 3/5 - It's not off-putting or bad in any way, but I do prefer coffees with a bit more sweetness.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

Hook Coffee's Brazilian Tan again, opens with the dreaded earthy notes, but thankfully, this dissipates quickly, giving way to light floral and chocolatey scents that are quite enjoyable. There is a subtle sweetness hiding underneath this otherwise primarily bitter coffee, leaving behind a rather acidic aftertaste once it all goes away. 3/5 - This is a very bitter, intense coffee, a little too much for my tastes!

The manufacturer tasting notes for this coffee bittersweet chocolate and sweet earthy chestnuts, which is more or less in line with what I got! With a listed intensity of 11/12, you can imagine that the bitterness of this coffee is by design.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

Argh, it's that weird earthy scent again! Yes, here's another pod from Hook Coffee, and again, there's that off-putting muddy smell that I really am not a fan of. Thankfully, in this case, it falls away into something a bit more woody, allowing cleaner, chocolatey notes to come to the forefront. Overall, the drink itself is well-balanced, though the aftertaste is also rather strongly bitter. 2.5/5 - This will fare better if you like bitterness and that earthiness.

Listed by the manufacturer as a coffee with a 9/12 intensity, this Colombian blend is supposed to have notes of nuts and honey, creamy with a subtle sweetness. Not getting too much of any of these unfortunately, though the sweetness is indeed nice.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

When I first brewed this pod from Hook Coffee, I was hit by the dreaded earthy notes that I'm really not a fan of. Thankfully, this is complemented here by chocolatey notes as the earthiness falls away after a sip or two. A lot of bitterness in this one, with the acidity catching you at the back of the throat afterwards. 2.5/5 - There's a little too much bitterness in the cup for my liking.

Marketed as a pod with intensity 11/12, this coffee is a blend of beans from around the world. The manufacturer describes it to have a taste of fig, berries and honey - I suppose I could taste the fig a little, though it contributed more of an acidity than I would've liked.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

"Choco Loco" sounded interesting, so I gave this taster shotpod from Hook Coffee a try. This coffee has a prominent woody and earthy scent, which was unfortunately rather off-putting. It is also overwhelmingly bitter, and this bitterness lingers on in its aftertaste as well. It's really hard to taste or detect anything else underneath these two notes, which leads me to my rating - With apologies to Hook Coffee, I have to give this one a 0/5.

I know Hook Coffee makes some exemplary coffee blends from high-quality beans, I can attest to that as a regular customer for almost two years. But unfortunately, this particular blend has been a miss for me. One word that stood out for me in the official description was "Wheaty Biscuits", and I suppose that might have been the strangely savory woody note I was getting.

Oh well, we've still got quite a few pods to go in this taster pack, and I continue to have high hopes for the rest of them.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.

Uh-oh! It's that woody-earthy smell again! Yes, if you've been following some of my other Hook Coffee reviews, you'll know that some of the pods have a rather off-putting smell I really couldn't get behind. While the smell is more muted here when compared to Choco Loco where I first reported this, I still found the drink primarily bitter, which I'm really not a fan of. Again, with apologies to Hook Coffee, this is a 1/5.

A coffee originating from Papua New Guinea, this coffee is described by the manufacturer to have hints of dark chocolate and tropical stone fruit, with a smokey oolong aftertaste. The listed roast intensity is 8. Perhaps the "dark chocolate" notes can explain the bitterness, but I'm really not sure what the earthy note is.

Cupping Method:This Nespresso capsule review was added to Coffee Roast with the permission of coffeepodthoughts. See profile for more information.