Douwe Egberts

First things first - we don't like to be told when to have our coffee. So we made this "morning" coffee in the middle of the afternoon, just because we can. The top of this one is really filthy dirty - loads of swirls of powder and oil - which us Judges actually don't mind - although your average punter might. The first thing you notice is the smell of a harsh coffee - this is a strength 5 after all - but your immediate thought is cheap Robusta beans. Now it doesn't say so on the packet, but it also doesn't say 100% Arabica, which we've now taken to mean it's full of the cheap stuff. Even checking out the Douwe Egberts website doesn't give you any more clues. Everything about the Douwe Egberts packaging is dumbed-down for the average Joe - they don't want to tell you much about it, 'cos they don't think you'll understand!  Despite all this, it's OK and a good hit - just a little harsh. 6/10

Can you believe it? Douwe Egberts, who have been peddling the same three packets of coffee for donkey's years, have finally wised up and gone for some rebranding! Now, the cynic in me says that the contents of this packet are the same as the old packets. BUT - we're excited by this one nonetheless. Is it really a new strength 6 and a contender for the throne of the Lava Java? Well, clearly Douwe Egberts have been sniffing around the marketing dept. of Taylors of Harrogate - as this is just a straight forward rip off of their Lava Java - even down to the picture of some lava on the packet. But we don't care - packaging for coffee is important - these guys need to realise there is nothing else to tell them apart. For 99% of the UK population coffee is either just instant or real. Anyway - Taylors can rest - this one is a bit too harsh for our liking. The smell off the cup is strong and dirty - the smell of cheap Robusta beans - and the taste is so bitter I really had to load mine up with extra sugar to get it down. I still didn't mind it though - it's just really unsophisticated. 6/10

A standard, always available coffee. No matter where you go, you can pick this one up, and to be honest, it’s nothing special. It's not overly strong - we just did 5 spoons for 2 cups. The flavour is there, but it's the kind of coffee I'd expect to be served in a restaurant or something - just a generic filter coffee. It's got something of a dry aftertaste too which lingers around. Drinkable enough but I just wouldn’t rush out and buy it unless it’s all that’s available. Scores just a passable 5/10 at this point.