Hot or Not? – No Normal Coffee Dark Roast coffee paste on test

No Normal Coffee’s Dark Roast coffee paste promises hassle-free coffee pleasure on the go – up to 20 cups from a single tube. Whether you’re camping, practicing endurance sports, or hanging out at a festival, this water-soluble paste wants to be a practical companion. But can it outperform instant coffee in terms of taste and convenience? We put it to the test!

Hot competition for espresso makers and instant coffee! A tube that delivers coffee enjoyment wherever you are – that’s the idea behind the Dark Roast coffee paste of young Swiss brand No Normal Coffee. Designed specifically for outdoor enthusiasts, the paste promises hassle-free coffee on the go – and it can even be consumed straight out of the tube, or spread on a banana for a quick caffeine boost. It’s a solution aimed at providing coffee lovers with their favorite drink without the need for equipment. The Dark Roast coffee paste seeks to solve two common issues for coffee-loving adventurers: an overstuffed backpack and bad coffee. The Swiss founders seem to have hit a sweet spot in the market, one familiar to anyone who’s played Tetris with outdoor gear: stovetop espresso makers, camping stoves, and pots take up lots of space. Often, you wish for a more compact solution for your caffeine fix. Should you pack instant coffee? While it’s a space-saving alternative to the Bialetti, it often tastes flat, lacking the aroma complexity many coffee connoisseurs can’t do without. But that might be about to change. According to the people at No Normal Coffee, their Dark Roast coffee paste offers the perfect on-the-go coffee solution without compromising on quality or flavor.

In a nutshell, the Swiss outdoor enthusiast blends fair-trade Arabica extract with locally sourced organic beet sugar, water, and coffee powder. Since summer 2024, they’ve been pushing the trend for sustainable, delicious products in the outdoor sector. But in the end, it all comes down to taste and usability. Does the tube deliver on its promises?

This article is part of our Coffee Special, full of product tests, exciting insights and some valuable new perspectives on coffee. Curious? Then click here!

No Normal Coffee Dark Roast coffee paste on test. Does the Swiss tube coffee deliver on its promise?”

While you can consume the paste straight out of the tube, the most common way to use it is to dilute it with water in a classic coffee mug – whether on a summit break, at the bike park, or perched on a cliff during a climbing tour. Preparing the hot drink takes just seconds. So, is No Normal Dark Roast simply a glorified instant coffee paste?

Not instant coffee, but “coffee made in an instant“

With the No Normal Dark Roast paste, you’ll still need hot water to make coffee. But there’s no need to lug a camping stove and pot. Instead, just stir a teaspoon of the paste into very hot water from a well-insulated thermo flask. Done – couldn’t be easier, just coffee made in an instant. The difference from actual instant coffee lies in the production method. Instant coffee is first brewed and then evaporated into a concentrate, which is either freeze- or spray-dried to make coffee powder. No Normal Coffee, by contrast, is a “wet product.” Here, the ground beans are also extracted and evaporated into a concentrate, but this concentrate isn’t powdered. Instead, it’s packed straight into tubes. What’s more, volatile aromas – which are typically lost in instant coffee production – are captured during the extraction process and reintroduced to the concentrate later. This gives the coffee paste an edge with a more diverse, nuanced aroma profile.

How does the No Normal Dark Roast coffee paste taste?

It’s fair to say that this coffee won’t appeal to everyone. Let’s be honest: it’s far from mainstream. Eight out of ten testers on our team didn’t find it tasty or thought it was an acquired taste at best. However, one of us actually liked it – the aroma and flavor transported them back to their professional past, reminiscing about Turkish coffee shared with colleagues from the Balkans. Indeed, the scent alone evokes memories of Turkish mocha: bold, smoky, and packed with intense roasted notes that verge on burnt. Both the texture and taste deviate significantly from what most of us are used to – freshly ground beans from an espresso machine, with no sugar. No Normal Coffee leans heavily into the mocha direction: sweet yet robust, edgy, with pronounced acidity and bitterness. Using the recommended 5 g per 100 ml of water results in a drink that’s rather watery and sweet. Upping the dosage gives it more strength but also intensifies the sweetness – which comes as no surprise with a 30% sugar content.

For the hardcore only – No Normal Dark Roast, straight up

One thing’s for sure: sucking the bitter, smoky-sweet coffee paste straight out of the tube, or even spreading it on a slice of bread – as suggested by the No Normal Coffee team – is definitely hardcore. After trying it once, we’re in no hurry to do it again. Instead of pushing ourselves to the edge of tolerance with this tar-like substance, we prefer pairing it with a piece of banana. That way, it tastes more like a pleasant coffee-infused dessert. Speaking of dessert: the boys and girls at No Normal even whipped up tiramisu using their Dark Roast paste.

As far as sheer handling goes, the aluminum tube performed well in our test, staying leak-proof even when rolled up. However, things can get messy with the coffee paste if you roll the tube too tightly. Upon opening, the sticky substance can ooze out like black lava, smearing everything in its path. The paste tends to accumulate around the cap and leaves stubborn brown stains on your hands – so handle with care.

Do you need No Normal’s Dark Roast coffee paste?

For outdoor fans who prefer to travel light, coffee from a tube is an ideal solution. All you need is the tube, a thermos flask with hot water, and a spoon. It’s also a great alternative for marathon runners – just squeeze a bit of paste onto a banana for a quick caffeine and sugar boost to power through the last few kilometers. However, if you take your coffee without sugar or aren’t open to experimenting with flavors, No Normal Coffee Dark Roast might not be for you.

So, does No Normal Coffee deliver on its promise of simple and good coffee? Only partially. The tube is undeniably practical, and the ingredients are sustainably sourced. But does that automatically make it great coffee? A good coffee should taste delicious – and here, the Dark Roast falls short of expectations.

And then there’s the price: is the minimalist approach worth € 0.90 per cup? That’s fairly expensive compared to Fairtrade beans for a stovetop espresso maker, which cost just € 0.30 to € 0.45 per cup. While a € 17.95 tube of coffee paste yields up to 20 cups, 500 g of Fairtrade coffee for the same price can brew up to 60 cups.

Would we buy No Normal’s Dark Roast coffee paste?

While we appreciate the minimalist and sustainable approach of No Normal Coffee – and admit it’s as convenient as instant coffee – the Dark Roast coffee paste didn’t win over most of our team. At this point, many of us would still opt for the slightly bland taste of regular instant coffee.

However, the Swiss startup is just getting started, and we’re hopeful their product range will expand soon to include other roasts and sugar-free options. For now, unfortunately, the paste is still a “not hot“ for us.

Words: Felicia Nastal Photos: Julian Schwede