Customer Reviews

Coffee People Santa's Buzz, 24-Count K-Cups for Keurig Brewers

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is a seasonal coffee from the Coffee People. This is not a flavored coffee. Santa's Buzz is billed as a "full roast" blend It is a little darker than their medium roast Donut Shop coffee. It is marked as an "Extra Bold" style K-cup, so it holds up well to the ~10 oz tall size cup that the newer Keurig machines can make. At the 8 oz setting, this makes a pretty strong cup of coffee. The taste is smooth and bold, but not bitter. It also combines nicely with some flavored creamers that I have tried. Two thumbs up for this one!

This is not a flavored coffee- no spice or fruity notes. It's just a good bold coffee. As I drank it I was thinking it would be just what Santa would need to fly across the globe delivering coffee. My opinion is that it's very tasty.

I really enjoyed this blend! I have been a die hard Nantucket Blend fan until I tried Santa's Buzz. It is so flavorful and not bitter in any way. I tend not to like super strong coffee, but my mother likes strong coffee, and this one got a thumbs up from both of us. Now if only my Amazon delivery would arrive...it's lost somewhere clear across the country and they won't resolve until another week goes by, so I am back to Nantucket Blend until then.

I am sipping Santa's Buzz as we speak. I personally use Coffee People Donut Shop as my base to measure all other blends against. Santa's Buzz is definitely bolder with a more pronounced burnt or woody aftertaste than Donut Shop. It's like Donut shop on steroids. While I like the taste, my sensitive stomach can't handle it as well either. It makes me percolate!

FYI, You can trade your unwanted k-cup flavors at the K-Cup Exchange on Yahoo Groups. It's an excellent site with good people where you can find/leave reviews, find the least expensive places to buy k-cups, and get freebies from vendors and manufacturers.

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People's tastes differ, as well as taste perception. I've read reviews where people describe Donut Shop as being able to "stand a spoon up in it." Yet among the coffees that I enjoy, Donut Shop is probably the weakest.
So this review of Santa's Buzz will rely mostly on comparisons to other varieties. Also, I will tell you that I ALWAYS use one k-cup for one 9.25 oz cup (largest on my machine), so that's what my opinion is based on. I find reviews much more useful when there's comparisons to other coffees and it is stated what cup size is being used.

Ever since trying the Coffee People Variety pack (Black Tiger, Jet Fuel, Organic, Wake Up Call) my new favorite coffee is Jet Fuel. Before that it was Santa's Buzz (when available), and Diedrich's French Roast. I find Santa's Buzz to be nearly identical to Jet Fuel. It's a full flavored coffee, but not bitter or burnt. Stronger (more full bodied) than Donut Shop (Wake Up Call is closer to Donut Shop, IMO) but not nearly as strong as Black Tiger. French Roast is more like Starbucks with a somewhat burnt taste, but like the former two, not too strong, but full of body.
To me, Donut Shop is a full-flavored coffee; it is not strong. Emeril's Big Easy Bold, Timothy's Parisian Nights, and Coffee People Black Tiger are strong coffees.

So as I said, Santa's Buzz was my favorite coffee until I tried Jet Fuel, so I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a full-bodied coffee without the bitterness or burnt taste.
Since it is only available seasonally, I would recommend either Wake Up Call or Jet Fuel as a substitute until it's available again. In case you're wondering, I think the Organic is horrible. I can't even drink it. Not too strong or too weak, just bad tasting IMO.
Oh, and I've also read reviews where people stock up on Santa's Buzz to last them until the holidays again. This is all well and good if you don't mind older coffee. In case anyone never noticed, all k-cups have a "best used by" date etched on the side of each individual cup, and it's only about 6 months or so. Do you really want to be drinking that until November?

I've tried over 40 types of K-cups either at home or at work. There are only 5 coffee types I personally buy after trial and error, and this is one of them.

1) Coffee People - Donut Shop
2) Emeril Lagasse - Big Easy Bold
3) Coffee People - Wake Up Call
4) Coffee People - Santa's Buzz
5) Green Mountain - Lake & Lodge

Santa's Buzz is a more mild brew than what I usually prefer. But, it is consistent in flavor, very smooth and wakes me up on a Texas, winter morning. It is not gimmicky with unnecessary holiday flavors; if that is what you are looking for than best to look somewhere else.

If you are wanting a good change-up in your usual rotation or to try a solid coffee, Santa's Buzz is a valid option.

Santa's Buzz is one of the best K-Cup varieties I've tried. It's strong but not overpowering, well-balanced with a slightly nutty aroma and flavor. Santa's Buzz has a truly "brewed" coffee taste, unlike some K-Cups that taste like instant coffee that's had hot water run through it. This one is a winner.

Update November 23, 2011:
Contacted Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in regards to where is the 2011 Santa's Buzz and got this response back:
"Thank you for taking the time to contact us in regard to seasonal coffees. Coffee People Santa's Buzz has recently been retired. We are committed to consistently bring you the world?s finest beverages, so we are always looking for ways to improve our current selection. Sometimes that means we need to make hard choices and retire a few products."

I can't quite grasp why a limited time/seasonal offering coffee K-Cup that completely sold out on Amazon in both 2009 and 2010 has been retired. Go figure!

This is one of the best BOLD blends that I've tried. It's not bitter, has a nice flavor. Previously, Coffee People's Wake Up Call had been my favorite bold blend but this has moved into my #1 spot for bold coffee's. Worth trying!

We have looked forward to this for the past 2 years since we bought our Keurig. It is the best bold coffee out there, I am drinking it right as I type! The best thing about this coffee is the absence of the strong acidic aftertaste a lot of bold coffees have. And for those that we have let try it have ordered it for themselves. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to a friend, and for the rest of the year, if you like the taste of this coffee, and wouldn't mind something just a bit milder, but with a smooth rich taste I would recommend Donut Shop k-cups. Yum!