Death Wish Coffee: Is It Really That Deadly? (Explained)

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Death Wish Coffee is a specialty coffee company that offers highly caffeinated coffee which has double the amount of caffeine than an average cup. Even the SCAA has recognized them as a gourmet coffee blend.

Imagine this, you are in your kitchen, just got up out of bed and making coffee for yourself, while the toaster is warming up your bread. I mean, why is there a need for that freshly brewed coffee before anything else?

Maybe it’s because of the taste of coffee or maybe the caffeine that gives you an instant jolt of energy. If your answer is caffeine, then keep on reading.

In this article, we’ll discuss all Death Wish Coffee and why is it so popular.

Let’s take a deep dive in to understand.

Is It Safe To Drink Death Wish Coffee?

It is safe to drink Death Wish Coffee only if you’re not on any medications, are not caffeine sensitive, are not pregnant, and do not have any heart problems.

Coffee by nature contains many health benefits. It’s one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the Western diet. Since there are not any artificial flavorings that go in it or any kind of preservative, it’s all-natural.

With millions of drinkers worldwide, it’s no surprise how specialty coffees like Death Wish pop up every once in a while in the corner. One of the main reasons people drink coffee is caffeine. Caffeine helps to keep you stay awake and lets you power through the day. Moreover, caffeine also provides many health benefits, like it prevents many brain-related disorders like Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even Parkinson’s.

two white cups of black coffee.

However, it is important to note that those benefits only come when coffee is taken in moderation.

The FDA recommends only consuming 3 to 4 cups of coffee which is about 8 oz. This makes for 400 mg of caffeine in total. If you go overboard and cross these limits, you’re at the risk of caffeine overdose.

Those symptoms may include:

  • Vomiting
  • Racing heartbeat
  • Jitteriness
  • Irritation
  • High-Blood Pressure
  • Fever
  • Abdominal Pain

Here are some food and beverages that contain caffeine with their respective caffeine content.

Food & BeveragesQuantityAmount
Dark Chocolate1 oz 30 mg
Soda Pop12 oz60 mg
Regular Coffee1 cup97 mg
Espresso Shot1 oz65 mg
Green Tea1 cup28 mg
Black Tea1 cup47 mg
Regular Donuts100 gms2 mg – 5 mg

Death Wish Coffee has very high levels of caffeine per cup. A 12 fl. oz cup has about 700 mg of caffeine in it, which is way past the recommended limit by the FDA.

SCAA has labeled them as a gourmet blend of specialty coffee. You see, people having any underlying conditions like heart issues, or caffeine sensitivity cannot and should not consume this at all. Such a high dosage of caffeine can be fatal for such people.   

So, in conclusion, it’s safe to drink only ONE cup, that too only if you don’t have any underlying health condition.

Side Effects Of Drinking Death Wish

You can imagine that the main side effect of Death Wish Coffee is that it keeps you awake for a long time. Side effects of too much caffeine may also show, like jitteriness and a racing heartbeat. If you have a sensitive stomach, it may also give you the runs.

When you decide to drink some, you should take a few things into consideration before shrugging and moving on.

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t consume more than 400 mg of caffeine per day, so one cup of coffee is more than enough as opposed to your usual three or four. You may end up in the hospital if you down a whole pot of that stuff! Keep an eye out for signs that indicate excessive consumption of caffeine.

someone pouring a freshly brewing coffee from the pot into a mug

Is Death Wish The Strongest Coffee?

Death Wish Coffee is a strong caffeine-packed coffee, but it is not the world’s strongest coffee. It isn’t even the world’s most caffeinated beverage, surprisingly. It is only a drink heavy in caffeine that can keep you boosted for several hours. If you’d like to know about the world’s strongest coffee, read my other article here where I talk about them.

In the world, there are many types of coffee. Lighter brews to stronger brewers. The strongest coffee is espresso. Though it’s less in volume as compared to others, the caffeine and other coffee compounds are very potent and strong in an espresso. That is because of the way it’s brewed. Finer grounds of coffee are passed with hot water using pressure. This is done without any sort of intervention.

However, if we talk about Death Wish Coffee, it was specifically made to have 4 times more caffeine than the average cup. It has about 54.2 mg caffeine per fluid oz. Yes, it’s an extremely high number.

History Of Death Wish Coffee

In 2012, Mike Brown, the co-founder of Death Wish Coffee Co began perfecting his recipe in a small coffee shop in Saratoga Springs, NY. He desired to make the strongest coffee in the world. As the company’s supplier and roaster, Brown invented a method that’s defined the brand and provides that killer caffeine boost.

How Are they Able To Make Such a Strong Coffee?

As mentioned earlier, they’ve developed a special blend that is unique to them. The coffee beans that they use are mostly sourced from India and Peru.

Despite the overwhelmingly common Arabica plant as the go-to for high-end coffee beans, Death Wish has boldly experimented with some Robusta beans as well, which gave the blend that big blast of caffeine as Robusta coffee beans have a much higher caffeine content than Arabica coffee beans.

Using time and temperature variations, they have also developed a secret roasting method that increases the caffeine content of the beans. There is a high acidity level in the Death Wish blend, while the body is rich and robust without being bitter.

You can watch this video by Buzzfeed where they try Death Wish Coffee for the first time.

How Much Caffeine Is In A Deathwish K-Cup?

One K-cup pod of Death Wish Coffee which makes 1 cup of coffee has about 420 mg of caffeine. That’s a whoppingly high number for a single cup of coffee.

Death Wish Coffee offers 3 types of variety. It offers whole coffee beans, ground coffee and other are K-cups. If you aren’t familiar with the K-cup variety, they are small coffee pods that you just add to a single-serve machine. And that’s it. No need to do anything else. No hassle of measurement and weight etc.

Anyways, the Death Wish k-cups are meant for the Keurig machine. They are called Death Cups. They too are jam-packed with dangerously high levels of caffeine just like the ground or whole coffee beans. One Death Cup has about 420 mg of caffeine. This is an extremely high number when 400 mg is the healthy limit set by FDA for one day.

My Final Thoughts

Death Wish Coffee has taken the world by storm. It’s a highly caffeinated coffee that has staggering amounts of caffeine in it. One 12 fl oz cup of Death Wish Coffee has about 700 mg of caffeine. And the FDA has only approved 400 mg of caffeine in a day.

They are successful in developing this highly caffeinated strong coffee by mixing and blending. But drinking highly caffeinated coffee can be really unhealthy and even fatal for people who have an underlying health condition or are simply caffeine sensitive. Plus, even if you were a normal average healthy human, you might still face issues. So it’s best to keep track of your caffeine intake and be careful.

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