Ben & Jerry's - Chillin' the Roast

Chillin' the Roast - Cold Brew Coffee Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie-Covered Coffee Liqueur Truffles & Fudge Swirls

Today, we return to Ben & Jerry's again for the second of their three new "Truffles Flavors" for 2018.  This flavor is called "Chillin' the Roast".  It has coffee in the base, coffee liqueur in the truffle and some chocolate to accent in the the truffle coating and the fudge swirl.  We know from previous reviews that coffee and chocolate are flavors that complement each other well due to their similar active ingredients (caffeine and theobromine).  This looks like an interesting new way to combine the two,   Let's check it out!

Removing the lid shows the tan color of the coffee base with lots of coffee bean specks in the base.  A couple of the truffles and a dollop of the fudge swirl are also visible.  Digging in the coffee base is quite flavorful.  I looked up 'cold brewed' to see what that meant.  It is quite different from iced coffee.  Iced coffee is brewed hot and strong like regular black coffee and then is poured over ice and served cold.  Cold brewed is made by steeping coffee grounds in cold water for a long time (at least overnight).  The result is then strained and also served cold.  Cold brewed creates a weaker, but less bitter cup of coffee.  That combination actually works well in ice cream -- the coffee flavor without the bitterness or the caffeine headache.  I am not a coffee drinker though, so I may be exposing my bias.  The presence of the bean specks means that they did not filter it as much as they would the drink.  That also works well, as the small specks get suspended in the ice cream.  Overall it was delicious.  The truffles here are quite amazing.  Again, the chocolate-cookie coating just acts like a crunchy wrapper for what is inside.  The coffee-liqueur-flavored inside is actually chewy.  It is about the same texture as nougat.  As much as I enjoyed the base, these truffles were even better.  The fudge swirls provided the occasional creamy accent to it all.  There was not a whole lot of fudge here, but it was quite good when you got some.

This is an excellent pint of ice cream.  I am not even a coffee junkie, and I really loved this.  Lots of coffee flavor, a delicious chewy coffee mix-in, the fudge was great too.  This is a must try for coffee lovers.  Enjoy.