Magnum Coffee Roastery — Restaurant in Crockery Township

Rainforest Blend: The Magnum Coffee Roastery is family owned and was founded by owner “The Big Bean”. The Big Bean developed a love for coffee during late night study sessions while in college. I totally relate as college was when I acquired a taste for the drink (except it was before early morning lab). Anyways, this eventually led to him pursuing a master’s thesis on the emerging specialty coffee industry. All this was over twenty-five years ago and since then his company has become one of the leading private label coffee suppliers in the country. I’ve never heard of the company, but I spotted the Rainforest Blend on sale at my local Meijer and decided to give it a chance. The metallic purple packaging and tropical theme were what initially drew me in. I thought the grounds had a fantastic aroma, but the brewed coffee was overall somewhat bland. Who knows, maybe I just got a bad bag? I’ll be sticking to my regular brands though as the Rainforest Blend was just okay. Doughboy_Food_Reviews *I brew my coffee using 8oz of water to 2 tablespoons of grounds, adding 1 packet of Splenda and 1.5oz of unsweetened vanilla almond milk...

To put it politely, something here doesn't add up. There are 36 total reviews for Magnum, as of today. Less than half were posted over a 6-year period, and those reviews were mixed. Recently 16 new ones popped up. All are 5 stars. All were posted the very same week.

Coincidence? I think not.

One lengthy review extolls the virtues of Magnum's private labeling program. It was submitted by Tori Kihnke. Other 5-star reviews were posted by Aleksander Kihnke, and Ian Kihnke. On Magnum's web site, I found the owner is Kevin Kihnke. Apparently, Magnum doesn't think people who read reviews are too bright.

Look, there's nothing "exotic" or "gourmet" about this coffee. It's like any chain-coffee shop that over-roasts their beans. They have slick marketing. Their store looks nice. Their packaging has bright colors. But the coffee? I'd just as soon go to McDonalds for a cup.

In a blind taste test, I doubt any of their friends or family members who posted one of the gushing reviews here could tell...

Overall, they serve a decent bean. I especially enjoy their love potion blend. Drive-through service is usually good. But…I just pulled in today right after closing-time and hadn’t realized that they were closed - my mistake.

I saw two workers behind the glass of which they both completely ignored me. They obviously saw me and heard my vehicle running. They were too self-absorbed to take two seconds and say ‘hello and we look forward to seeing you next time, but we just closed’.

My guess is that Magnum has kids running the place when management isn’t around. Or, someone who’s not wise enough to understand that customers are always first and never lose any opportunity to make a...