SA coffee brand goes global
BLACK INSOMNIA: AMERICA COMES TO A GRIND
Local brew is the perfect export.
South African based coffee company, Black Insomnia, launches ‘the World’s Strongest Coffee’ with Amazon, making it instantly available to the American public. Although several other coffee brands have tried to stake this claim, none have been able to reach the unadulterated caffeine content that defines Black Insomnia, nor should any brand attempt to surpass this content in the interest of public health and safety. Black Insomnia Coffee Company, which first launched in Cape Town in July 2016, is the brainchild of founder Sean Kristafor, who had a vision of ‘rebooting’ the coffee industry. According to Kristafor, “it is time to offer something a little different – something stronger and darker, with an edge”. After experimenting in the Black Insomnia Coffee lab, Kristafor and one of the world’s foremost roasters, Dr. G (Gerald Charles), managed to roast up the perfect blend of beans, which produced an indulgent, smooth, sweet, nutty flavour that trumps all other coffees trying to make the same claim.
Since the discovery of the Robusta coffee bean in 1896, with its higher caffeine content in relation to the Arabica coffee bean, coffee roasters have been experimenting with various blends and roasts to produce the world’s strongest coffee. Though this is a title that countless roasters and brands have claimed and still claim today, such as the nine different brands on Amazon that all claim the title in one variation or another, Black Insomnia has legitimately earned this title. Firstly, Black Insomnia is pure and naturally very high in caffeine without any added chemicals, preservatives or sugars. Laboratory test results, using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography method, have found that this amounts to an incredible 17524mg of caffeine per kg. Comparing this to the 13179mg of caffeine per kg in Deathwish Coffee, it is clear that Black Insomnia is 33% stronger. Lastly, the international caffeine reference website The Caffeine Informer has now accredited Black Insomnia as ‘the World’s Strongest Coffee’. This is not to say that coffee cannot have a higher caffeine content, whether natural or artificial, but rather that it shouldn’t. This is motivated by two primary reasons, of which public health and safety are first and foremost.
According to Mayo Clinic, “Up to 400 mg [equivalent to 6 mg/kg body weight in a 65-kg person] of caffeine a day, appears to be safe for most healthy adults. That’s roughly the amount of caffeine in four [6 oz] cups of brewed coffee”. Thus, having just one 6 oz cup of Black Insomnia almost fulfills the recommended maximum intake. According to Kristafor, during their experimental phase, “any blend that resulted in a higher caffeine content than 702 mg adversely affected the flavour and thus was rejected”. Through passion, ingenuity, skill and the ultimate craving for that perfect cup of coffee to kick you into action, Kristafor has created a coffee that defies competition, borders on narcotic but most importantly is available on your doorstep. – Ciitzen reporter
Black Insomnia is available on and selected global retailers