You'll be bouncing off of the walls! (Percol Rocket Fuel)

Member Name: unnameable

Product:	Percol Rocket Fuel
Date:	18/01/04 (349 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great 'WAKE UP!' feeling

Disadvantages: price...well it's only a slight disadvantage

Rocket Fuel Coffee must be one of the best kept secrets of the supermarket. I had no knowledge of this great invention until my wife brought home a jar instead of the usual Asda own make generic coffee!
One mug (with admittedly a HEAPED spoonful of coffee) had me hyper and ready to take on the world at 5am!

Very brief history:

Rocket Fuel Coffee is made by Percol, a company with recognition in the filter coffee market. I suppose it can be said that this is one of their first instant coffee's (along with Caffé Espresso, Café Americano, and Dark Americano).

Percol Coffee was introduced to the UK 15 years ago by the company founder Brian Chapman, with all the coffee beans being bought from small plantations in different regions (Percol were the first to introduce a 'country of origin' coffee range to the UK).

Percol themselves, are a supporter of Fair Trade, meaning suppliers of their coffee beans get paid a premium for their produce. Also, most Percol products sold contribute to a charity called Coffee Kids, which aims to improve the future for children in these coffee growing communities!

I bet you're already thinking what a great company, but on top of that, they are also Bird Friendly Certified, AND are protecting the rainforest through leaving it untouched as the coffee grows beneath the canopy!

I think I shall have to name them Saint Percol ;)

Packaging:

Available in a rather squat glass jar wrapped in a mainly red plastic wrapper, with Percol written towards the top in white lettering. In the centre of the wrapper (from memory) RocketFuel is written in silver lettering, with a picture to suit the brandname! The jar contain 100g of instant coffee powder (or should that be POWER!).

Also available in single sachets to the catering indutsry.

Nutrition/ingredients:

I cannot find many details on nutritional values, but will add when I can get hold of
a jar (Asda are out of stock).

The coffee contains 1.75% guarana, and 4 times the caffeine of standard coffee giving it the kick you would expect from something so aptly named.

Containing Arabica beans for a richer flavour.

Now for the warning....

If you are caffeine intolerant I think I can safely say STEER CLEAR of this! This coffee is fine for vegetarians (obviously!) and contains nothing else to worry about for those of you with allergies. Also, it may be pleasing for you to know that Percol only ever use organic produce.

Taste:

A very rich, smooth coffee, with a real guarana kick to it (you can even taste it afterwards!). Very strong tasting, and nicely bitter. Of course, if you're not keen on the bitterness you can reduce the amount of coffee you use, or add some more sugar.

Adding hot water to a mug containing 1 teaspoonful on the coffee creates a very tempting aroma, as well as an appearance reminiscent of Espresso (complete with foam on top!)

I suppose the best way to describe is as a cross between Kenco Rich Roast and a cattle prod!

Cost:

At the moment a 100g jar costs £2.48 in my local Asda, but on saying that, I have seen it as low as £1.89 in Safeway (although I bet it was a special offer!)

I don't have any details on the catering prices, as it isn't that easy to find out! (I suppose I could phone and pretend to be interested... ;) )

Contact info:

Cathy Sparkes
Food Brands Group
9/10 Calico House
Plantation Wharf
Battersea
London
SW11 3TN
0207 978 5300

Percol's website is www.percol.co.uk but Rocket Fuel is strangely absent.
They have a seperate website at www.rocketfuel.uk.com

To sum up:

Rocket Fuel definitely lives up to it's name! If you've had a bad nights sleep and need a bit of a boost first thing in the morning, a mug of this will definitely do the
job! Just one mug will keep you wide-eyed and scarily energised until lunchtime. But be warned, don't drink more than 3 mugs of it a day or you're asking for trouble!

I can describe Rocket Fuel as a coffee equivalent/alternative to Red Bull, or maybe even liquid Pro-Plus (those who burn the candle at both ends know the stuff!)

An immensely tasty cup of coffee to be had, wehter you need the added kick or not, I would definitely recommend this to you coffee lovers as something very different to the usual brew.

It may cost more than your average coffee, but remember, this is NOT your average coffee! Just think of all the good that is coming from your purchase.

Support fair trade!


Thanks for reading,

Marc

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