Australians love coffee, that’s a uncomplicated fact. Australians have become synonymous with the love of coffee, in the same way that Italians love espresso and Colombians love Colombian coffee.
And for good reason. Australia is home to some of the most sophisticated coffee scenes in the world. But the strange thing about Australia’s love affair with coffee is that it ends pretty quickly around 3 or 4 p.m. That’s when nearly every coffee shop closes for the day, leaving non-coffee drinkers across the country behind.
But in times of despair, the most unlikely heroes emerge: Doritos. The Australian branch of the brand announced it will be launching a narrow edition run of coffee-flavored Doritos chips in Australia, and the only way to get your hands on a pack is to win one.
As reported News.com.auDoritos describes the novel flavour as “the perfect snack to assist Australians get through their 3pm slump”. For 300 Australians, at least. The crisp brand will only produce 300 packs of Doritos coffee and will be giving away 25 150g packs per day starting July 3 and running until July 17. To win a pack, entrants must take to Instagram to “comment on what’s bugging you right now for a chance to WIN a pack of Doritos coffee” in a post by the brand about the novel crisp flavour.
While the odd combination of corn chips and coffee might seem like a mixed bag, the 700-plus comments on the post are overwhelmingly positive. (They’re all negative, with people hoping to win a pack.) Even non-Australian YouTuber and coffee lover James Hoffmann is furious with the Doritos comments, trying to understand the pack.
According to News.com.au, Doritos Coffee is following the 2023 Doritos Coriander flavor controversy — cilantro to Americans — due to the soapy taste some people experience when eating cilantro. (Someone once told me they were a super taster because cilantro tasted soapy to them, and if the inability to eat cilantro came at the cost of heightened taste buds, I don’t care.) Fortunately, coffee doesn’t have that problem, except that it just, you know, goes weirdly with salty chips.
I’d happily take a leaflet for coffee-flavored chips, though. Especially if all the coffee shops in town did the craven act of closing at 3:00 PM.
