DEAD OR ALIVE

Text: Jessica Holzhausen I Photos © Lukas Hämmerle

A coffee so strong, it wakes up the dead

F or over a year now, a small group of entrepreneurs in the Rhine Valley have been producing one of the strongest coffees in the world: the brand name DEAD OR ALIVE speaks for itself. With more than 440 milligrammes of caffeine in each cup, the coffee not only has a rich flavour, but also gives a natural energy kick.

“I was on a motorbike trip through the United States when I got the idea,” says founder Mike Feurstein. First, there was the brand name, then the idea for the coffee. “Coffee is a very old and functional beverage. I wanted to make coffee with a benefit.” In short: a coffee that is special, and a coffee with a purpose. DEAD OR ALIVE is made from three different beans of the highest quality. For months, the team experimented with different beans and roasting processes. “Our aim was to produce a coffee you would actually not want to live without.” The result was a blend of Arabica and Robusto beans in a harmonic mixture.

Today, large gunnysacks with green coffee beans from all over the world and the smell of freshly roasted coffee shape the atmosphere in the roasting house. Here, the team prepares the coffee with great passion. “The secret of our coffee is its blend. Maybe, there are stronger coffees in the world, but you won’t drink them twice. They taste like dirt,” says Feurstein. DEAD OR ALIVE coffee, on the other hand, has a nutty and chocolaty taste and makes people happy, according to the coffee aficonados themselves.

The coffee dares to be different – as its logo and design already show: a scull and the slogan ‘Fuck sleep’ – and is aimed at people who aspire to achieve maximum performance and need an extra push of energy. Plus, it never fails to wake up all those people who are notoriously grumpy and sleepy in the morning, and hate getting up: it gives them a perfect start to the day. DEAD OR ALIVE is a return to traditional coffee culture that celebrates classic black coffee.

“I think everyone should have DEAD OR ALIVE coffee at home,” says Feurstein. It might not be for every occasion, or even every day, but when an extra level of energy is needed, the coffee makers have no doubt that their beverage is the best choice: “It simply gives you a different outlook to the day!”