Reader FavoriteGreat Value

Kicking Horse

Kicking Horse Coffee 454 Horse Power Ground Coffee

Velvety, earthy, spirited. This smooth riding dark horse conjures up power from the depths of the shadows. This is the winner, the champion of taste. Hop on, hold on, and head for the hills.

9.3 /10
★★★★½ Must Drink Overall Score · 80% expert / 20% community Ranked #56 of 1193 (Top 5%)
Our Coffee Score 9.3
Coffee Lovers Score 9.2
Overall Ranked #56 of 1193 (Top 5%)
Ground Coffee Ranked #19 of 200 (Top 10%)
Our Coffee Score Ranked #53 of 1193 (Top 5%)
Coffee Lovers Ranked #313 of 1193 (Top 27%)

Our verdict: Ranked #26 of our top 200 ground coffee — an outstanding dark pick with earthy, smooth, sweet notes, earning a 4.6★ average across 3,027 Amazon ratings.

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Key facts

Roast
Dark
Origin
Multi-region blend
Process
Organic
Size
10 oz
Price / oz
$1.43
Best for
Cold Brew, Drip, Pour-Over, French Press

Flavor notes

EarthySmoothSweet

The Coffee Score review

Velvety, earthy, spirited. This smooth riding dark horse conjures up power from the depths of the shadows. This is the winner, the champion of taste. Hop on, hold on, and head for the hills. Our team spent hands-on time with the Kicking Horse Coffee 454 Horse Power Ground Coffee to see how it holds up against the rest of the ground coffee we've tested.

Across repeated sessions we evaluated it on the categories that matter most: quality, consistency, value, and how likely we are to reach for it again. Ranked #26 of our top 200 ground coffee — an outstanding dark pick with earthy, smooth, sweet notes, earning a 4.6★ average across 3,027 Amazon ratings.

From the roaster

  • TASTING NOTES: Heavy body, sweet tobacco, earthy with a black licorice finish.
  • DARK ROAST: Velvety, earthy, spirited. This smooth riding dark horse conjures up power from the depths of the shadows. This is the winner, the champion of taste.
  • ROASTED IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS: It’s all deep, dark and delicious, roasted right below the towering Canadian Rocky Mountain peaks. In our facility we only make only one thing: coffee! It's roasted from one ingredient only: green coffee. We don't use preservatives, additives, fillers or flavoring.
  • AROMA: Cacao nibs, peat, and hints of nutmeg.
  • ALL ORGANIC & SUSTAINABLY SOURCED: Grown in a socially and environmentally responsible way, by farmers with sustainable businesses they can depend on.

What we liked

  • Strong overall Coffee Score of 9.3/10 — ranked #56 of 1193 (5% percentile).
  • Distinct flavor profile: Earthy, Smooth, Sweet.
  • Community agrees — a Coffee Lovers Score of 9.2/10 from 3,027 ratings.

How we graded this coffee

Small-batch / craft roaster Grading framework
Taste 40% weight 9.5
Freshness 20% weight 9.8
Bean Quality & Sourcing 15% weight 9.7
Value 15% weight 7.5
Roast Quality 10% weight 9.3
Our Coffee Score (experts, 80% of overall) 9.3/10

The Coffee Lovers Score

Averages 4.6★ from 3,027 verified Amazon shoppers.

5 star 75%
4 star 14%
3 star 7%
2 star 2%
1 star 2%
  • Audio music engineer Verified purchase ★★★★★

    Very good slightly dark

    Very good tasting, little dark for my liking. Regular good coffee no over amount of caffeine, as kicking horse would apply

  • Bevin Verified purchase ★★★★★

    Pleasantly Surprised

    I am so surprised by this blend of coffee. This is such a good brand of organic coffee, but as this is one of their stronger darker roasts I was expecting it to be overpowering. This blend while strong is also smooth, fresh, and aromatic without that burnt aftertaste you get with alot of dark roast coffees.

    2 found this helpful

  • Southern Missouri Verified purchase ★★★★★

    Excellent Cup Of Joe!

    Great Coffee! Dark and Bold but smooth and tastes great!!

  • Joanie Verified purchase ★★★★☆

    Good 454, but my fav is the Grizzly Claw whole bean.

    I accidentally purchased the 10oz med, in ground, 454, instead of whole bean. I intended to do a taste comparison from my 2.2 lb Smart Ass Medium whole bean and my Grizzly Claw, a Dark Whole Bean.The 454 is tasty, but it is my least favorite of the 3 that I have tried. My fav is the Grizzly Claw, a Dark Whole Bean.

    4 found this helpful

Read all 3,027 reviews on Amazon