The Future - Fruit Punch

The Future has been a beloved staple on our year-round menu for quite awhile now. With it, we have been able to showcase excellence in processing techniques, particularly in regard to anaerobic and co-fermentation endeavors.. Our goal with each of these unique blends is to elevate flavor as the guiding principle for each creation.

HOW WE GOT HERE | Children of the 80's and 90's will likely remember Punchy, a quirky little surfer character that graced our in-between-cartoon commercials with a kind offer every time he found us staring at the screen: "How about a nice Hawaiian Punch?" Don't mind if we do. 

That imagery and the familiar flavors of Hawaiian Punch may be very nostalgic for many of us, but you may not know that the original recipe is over 80 years old, having been developed by three entrepreneurs in a converted garage in Fullerton, California. The primary ingredients of that initial concoction (which was sold as a syrup) were shipped in directly from Hawaii, giving us the origin of this now ubiquitous brand name. 

Fast-forward to 2024, and the folks here at HQ are already looking forward to a summer spent by the pool and in our backyards. And, as is usually the case, those longings conjure up sense memories, this time of slurping from juice boxes filled with a delicious red beverage that always had just the right punch. We sought to recreate that iconic beverage in a more adult-friendly (read: caffeinated) form, focusing on tropical flavors and all things red.

HOW WE DID IT | Re-creating this relic from our childhood summers in coffee form involved experimenting with some of our very favorite flavors here at Black & White: tropical fruits, and RED ("red" is a flavor, right? Right??). After sampling several candidates, we landed on a blend of five coffees from Colombia:

• 40% - Elkin Guzman Strawberry
• 30% - Unblended Developmental Lot
• 20% - Diego Orta - Anaerobic Natural
• 5% - Sebastian Ramirez Peach
• 5% Sebastian Ramirez Kiwi

TAKE A SIP | In 1992, then-owners of Hawaiian Punch, P&G, ran a presidential promotion campaign which featured Punchy as the favored presidential candidate that year, with a cheeky little slogan: "No one else has the punch." While that may have been true in 1992 (apologies to Bill, George, and Ross), we think we can hold our own with this delightful re-imagining of the familiar juice drink. Equally playful and complex, the flavors in this cup are obvious (see: red fruits and tropical citrus), but also vibrant and balanced. It reminds us, not just of Hawaiian Punch, but of all sorts of sweet summer indulgences: red Kool-Aid, green popsicles, juicy peaches, and any number of tropical, fruity drinks. Cheers, Punchy.