What is Kick Ass?
The blend that built the roaster, and the one most people meet first.
Kicking Horse publishes tasting notes of chocolate malt, molasses, licorice and an earthy lingering finish, an aroma of smoky sweet vanilla and dark chocolate, a dark roast described as velvety, earthy and spirited, Certified Organic, Fairtrade and Kosher status, roasting in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and green coffee as the only ingredient. The bag is 10oz.
What a roast this dark does and does not give you
Molasses and licorice are roast flavours, and that is the honest description of this coffee.
Roasting past second crack caramelises the sugars heavily and drives off the acids that give lighter coffee its brightness. What is left is body, sweetness of a burnt-sugar kind, and the smoky, earthy notes Kicking Horse names here.
That is a real and enjoyable flavour, and it is also why you will not find fruit or citrus in this cup. A dark roast erases origin character by design. Anybody who has read that specialty coffee is about tasting the farm should understand that this coffee is not attempting that, and is not worse for it.
The practical upside is forgiveness. Dark roasted beans are brittle, grind more evenly on a cheap grinder, and extract fast, so a slightly wrong grind still gives a drinkable cup.
Certified organic and fairtrade at this price
This is the unusual part, not the roast.
Plenty of dark roasts taste like this. Very few carry an audited Fairtrade minimum price and organic certification while costing about what a supermarket bag costs.
Fairtrade means a price floor paid to the grower regardless of the market, plus a premium. Organic means audited farming without synthetic pesticides and a segregated supply chain. Both add cost at every step, which is why the combination is rare below specialty prices, and it is the main reason to choose this over an uncertified dark roast.
Kick Ass vs 454 Horse Power
Two dark roasts from the same roaster, and the difference is body against sweetness.
454 Horse Power is published as heavy bodied with sweet tobacco and a black licorice finish, and an aroma of cacao nibs, peat and nutmeg. It is the more savoury and the more intense of the two.
Kick Ass leads with chocolate malt and molasses and finishes earthy. It is the rounder, more approachable dark roast and the better first purchase. If you find it too polite, 454 is the step up.
Is Kick Ass worth it?
Worth it, and it is the best-value certified coffee on this site.
Three certifications, a published tasting note, a stated no-additives policy and a genuine dark roast character, for supermarket money. Very little else combines those, and 8,000 reviews suggest it is consistent.
Kicking Horse publishes no origin country, no farm, no altitude, no varietal, no processing method and no roast date on this bag, only the certifications. Ten ounces is a small bag, which is good for freshness and worse per kilo than a Lavazza kilo bag.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if you take coffee dark and want to know how it was farmed.
It suits a French press, a drip machine or a moka pot, and anybody who has been buying uncertified supermarket dark roast.
Do not buy it looking for fruit or acidity, which a dark roast removes. Do not buy it expecting origin detail, because none is published. And if you want a lighter cup, Three Sisters is the medium in this range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kick Ass the strongest Kicking Horse?
It is the best known dark roast. 454 Horse Power is published as heavier bodied. No caffeine figures are published for either.
What does it taste like?
Chocolate malt, molasses and licorice with an earthy finish, per the maker, with a smoky vanilla and dark chocolate aroma.
Is it organic?
Yes, Certified Organic, Fairtrade and Kosher.
Is there a roast date on the bag?
Not published on this listing.
Is it good for espresso?
It is a dark roast and will pull well, though Kicking Horse does not name a brew method. For a blend engineered for espresso specifically, Lavazza Super Crema is the one.
