Death Wish Coffee Review: does it live up to the hype?

Caffeine: it’s strong, it’s bold, it’ll keep you up around the clock. But sometimes a standard cup of java is just not going to cut it. You need more. More! Drinking five cups in a row can give you a stomach ache, though. What you need is a way to condense all five of those cups into one perilous beverage – a high-caffeine coffee that is a cut above the rest.

So, if caffeine is your thing, fasten your seatbelts, because you’ve come to the right place. Our Death Wish Coffee review is sure to leave your hearts pounding… literally.

Death Wish Coffee – In a Nutshell

The Death Wish Coffee Company is on a mission to keep you awake and protect the Earth in the process. Based in New York, the company responsibly sources beans loaded with caffeine that has been intensified by a painstaking process of bean selection and roasting.

It is one of the world’s strongest coffee. It’s so strong, it’ll keep you up at night.

Death Wish Coffee

• Uniqueness of Blend
• Taste
• Freshness
• Price
• Caffeine

4.5

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Before Reading Reviews of Death Wish Coffee, Consider this…

Now, if you’re going around reading reviews of Death Wish coffee, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind. For instance, do you like caffeine?

Ok, that one’s a joke… but seriously, this stuff is not for wimps. It’s brutally strong, but in a good way. If your academic or professional career is dogged by fits of exhaustion and you find yourself constantly hunting for something to keep you awake, Death Wish Coffee might be the answer you’re looking for.

On the other hand, if a cup of black tea hypes you up, if the smallest scare gets your heart pounding, or if you’re on heart medication, stay away. This stuff can be dangerous for anyone who can’t handle average to high levels of caffeine.

How Do You Brew?

If strong coffee is what you’re after, you’re going to want to keep in mind how you brew your coffee, too. Why? Well, the techniques behind how to brew stronger coffee (and we’re talking both stronger in taste and in caffeine, here) can differ from one brewing option to the next, and believe it or not, there really is a lot more involved than just using stronger beans.

If you’re getting a highly caffeinated coffee like Death Wish, you should first master how strongly you want to brew your cup of coffee, what quantities of beans and water you’ll need, and what method you’ll use. So, how can you brew stronger coffee, then?

• Increase the coffee-to-water ratio ever so slightly. You DON’T want to overpower the taste and make it intolerable. You just want slightly more grounds (and thus caffeine!) added into the mix.
• Grind your beans a little finer than with your regular coffee. This will extract more caffeine (though if you grind it too fine, you risk a bitter brew.)
• Try using slightly hotter water. But don’t get that water up to a rolling boil and immediately pour it all over the grounds. You’ll burn them!
• Consider using a method like the French press. A French press allows for a longer extraction time but still gives you enough control to avoid making bitter coffee.

Brush Up on Your Coffee Knowledge

Before you go diving into the details about a coffee as specific as Death Wish, make sure you’re up to date with all the typical coffee details like bean origins, growing regions, flavour profiles, roasts, and brew types. Why?

Because if you’re only interested in caffeine, you can get some caffeine capsules. But, odds are that if you’re reading this, you actually care about brewing the best coffee you can.

And if that’s the case, you’ll want to know what’s going on when a company as kick-ass as Death Wish spouts deep coffee knowledge about its bean origins or roasting processes. For example, even though dark roast coffee typically has less caffeine than a lighter roast, Death Wish has perfected a dark roast process that maximizes the amount of caffeine.

Would You, Could You, Do a Subscription?

Are you looking for a one-off experience, or do you need a steady stream of jet-fuel to keep you going through the thick and thin? One way or another, make sure to consider how much strong coffee you’re looking for. Why?

Because maybe you only require a sample size, or maybe you need a long-term subscription. Find a strong coffee brand that caters to what you need. 

As of 2023, Death Wish no longer ships subscription orders outside the US (1). But if you prefer to set and forget your coffee order, here’s a list of our favourite coffee subscriptions.

Death Wish Coffee: The Full Review

Let’s kick off the review with a little background, shall we?

A History Lesson: The Life of Death Wish

Death Wish Coffee Co. began its journey in a coffee shop in the sleepy little town of Saratoga Springs, NY. It was there, in 2012, that founder Mike Brown came up with the concoction. His goal: make the world’s strongest coffee.

Sourcing the beans and roasting them to perfection, Brown invented the method that has come to define the company… and provide that killer wake-up shot of caffeine.

With their fair trade certification and USDA certified organic beans, Death Wish is also a very Earth-conscious company. So you can rest assured (well, once the caffeine kick wears off, at least) that, along with you, the customer, they also have the farmers, roasters, and the beans themselves in mind.

Death Wish Coffee Beans, Death Wish Ground Coffee and an Unmentionable

Death Wish Coffee Co. offers several ways for you to purchase their beans. Along with the widely-available Lavazza Coffee, Death Wish even in our list of the best coffee on Amazon. You can get whole bean coffee (the best option!) or you can get them pre-ground. What’s that?

Oh, yes, there’s that other unmentionable option too…

Okay, I’ll mention it, although it’s the one spot where Death Wish doesn’t get our vote. They also offer coffee pods for Keurig machines, called ‘death cups’ (could the K in K-cups stand for killer?) But coffee brewed this way tends to be subpar, and we are not a fan of pods in the first place.

But back to the whole bean bags that we DO like. For the most part, these come from India and Peru. While the Arabica plant is an overwhelmingly common choice for high-end coffee beans, Death Wish has boldly gone and mixed in some Indian Robusta beans too, adding that smash of caffeine that Robusta brings to the table.

They have also developed their own secret roasting method that uses time and temperature variations to roast in a way that’s crucial to increasing the caffeine content. The Death Wish blend has rather high acidity and a dark, roasted body that is strong but not bitter (as long as you brew it correctly). Other tasting notes include chestnut, browned butter, and even a sweet, nutty, pecan feel.

Death Wish Coffee Caffeine Content

As you can imagine, the “Death Wish” part of this comes from the fact that this stuff is PACKED with caffeine. How much caffeine? Death Wish delivers a whopping 54.2 mg of caffeine per 30 ml!

That translates to a ridiculous 600+mg of caffeine per cup of coffee, compared to the usual 100-200 found in most plain black coffees!

Learn more about caffeine in coffee here.

Death Wish Coffee Warning: Is Death Wish Coffee Safe?

The main Death Wish coffee side effect, as you can imagine, is that it’ll keep you up for a long time. But before you shrug and move on, there are a few things you should consider if you’re going to drink some. Keep in mind that it’s generally recommended not to have more than 500 mg of caffeine a day, so one cup should be plenty compared to your normal three or four. Don’t go downing a whole pot of the stuff, or you might end up at the hospital!

Even if you keep it to one cup, though, keep an eye out for any signs that indicate your caffeine intake is too high. This can include restlessness, a fast heartbeat, muscle tremors, and insomnia. And then, of course, definitely stay away if you have any kind of caffeine hyper​​sensitivity (2)! Seriously, if that’s you, don’t make the title of the coffee literal. Please.

Where to Buy Death Wish Coffee

Like most strong drinks, if you drink responsibly, Death Wish coffee really can be a sweet adventure. The only question that remains is: where can you get some?

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Here are 2 simple options to get you started:

• You can buy Death Wish Coffee on Amazon. You can choose between whole bean and pre-ground.
• Or in a speciality US import store, where you’ll also find the K-Cups.

Not Sold On Death Wish? Here Are 3 Strong Coffee Alternatives

If you’re a fan of strong coffee brands, but Death Wish just isn’t making the cut, here are a few other options to consider. We cover a complete list of the world’s strongest coffee here, but here are 3 strong contenders:

Very Strong Coffee

The name says it all – although they might be underselling it a little. Very Strong Coffee, produced by Great British Trading, is the most caffeinated coffee from the UK. A 360 ml mug of brewed coffee contains 1350 mg of caffeine, easily taking the cake for the most caffeine per cup on our list.

This stuff will keep you going around the clock. It’s the ultimate caffeine overdose that appeals to the daredevil in us all.

Cannonball Coffee

Also based in the UK, Cannonball Coffee is up there with the highest caffeine content in the world. Their Maximum Charge coffee is a single origin Robusta from Rwanda, and packs hefty 1101 mg of caffeine into every 360 ml cup.

If you’re looking for extra caffeine without compromising quality, this is worth checking out.

Black Insomnia

Another candidate in the “who makes the strongest coffee in the world” competition is Black Insomnia, whose coffee comes careening in at over 700 mg of caffeine per cup! It’s been in some hot competition with Death Wish over the years, too, with each claiming to be the world’s strongest coffee. While it seems to bring a bit more caffeine to the table, that comes at the cost of a slightly more bitter flavour.

If caffeine is the goal here, though, you’re going to want to give this one a look.

THE VERDICT – Should you try Death Wish Coffee?

So, what’s the final call?

After doing the research and seeing the stats, it’s safe to say we love these guys. I mean, they even sent some of their coffee up to the International Space Station in a bid to claim the title of strongest coffee in the Universe!

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How could we not love them? Death Wish is the answer to the nagging question, “how can I stay awake and satisfy my need for great coffee at the same time?” Their beans are absolutely loaded with caffeine and are sourced and roasted to perfection.