It all started in late April, when one of Instagram’s junk food watchdogs, @junkfoodmom shared a picture of four boxes of what looked like regular Hostess snacks. But on closer inspection, the red coffee cup and the small brewing machine cups in the corner signaled a much bigger development in the flavored coffee world.
The account confirmed three days ago that Hostess snack flavored-coffee was available for purchase, of all places, at Blain’s Farm and Fleet, a family-owned grocery store chain with 41 locations in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
A box of Hostess Coffee Cups comes with a dozen cups compatible with any single-brew coffee maker and comes in Twinkie, Ding Dong, Honey Bun, and Sno Ball flavor. The coffee and snack food mashup is also available in their online store and they ship everywhere, except California.
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At just $4.99 each, these boxes promise to back a whole lot of flavor: “Enjoy the sweet flavors of Twinkies sponge cake combined with notes of creamy icing filling,” the company suggests. The Sno Ball flavor can be counted on to deliver, “sweet coconut flavors,” while the Honey Bun has “a fabulous finish of glazed icing notes.” Finally, “extra rich chocolate Ding Dong cake flavors combined with notes of creamy vanilla filling.”
Yes, these descriptions sound like a sommelier waxing poetic on an expensive vintage. And yes, the box prominently says “Artificially Flavored Coffee” in what looks like off-brand Comic Sans. But there is something about a Hostess snack that is unparalleled and irreplaceable.
Time and time again, chefs, home cooks, companies have all tried and failed to recreate Twinkies’s signature flavor profile. About 100 years old, Hostess is not the company whose products can be easily duped. Just ask Claire Saffitz from Bon Appetit.
But if @junkfoodmom’s luck continues, then we should keep our eyes out for the Hostess Dessert Kits. The blurry image the account shared depicted six boxes, each promising a layered-dessert version of popular Hostess snacks like, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Orange Cup Cakes.