‘‘I couldn't drink a whole bottle of that stuff.’’

‘‘I dig it! I'd definitely buy some.’’

‘‘Now I need a real soda to wash the taste of that one out of my mouth.’’

Those were a few of the reactions we received after passing out samples of Coca-Cola Blak — a new carbonated beverage that fuses coffee extracts and Coca-Cola Classic — around the office this week.

The hybrid coffee-soda concoction hit stores last Tuesday and screams hip from the obvious misspelling of the word Blak to its sleek caramel and gold-hued eight-ounce bottle.

After getting past the initial ick factor, the full-bodied beverage wasn't as bad as one might expect. However, the combination of coffee and soda is a hard one to swallow, literally. Thankfully it comes in a small quantity because it would be challenging to drink 12 ounces of this filling drink.

Blak — the latest beverage fusion since Budweiser debuted B-to-the-E, an energy beer, in late 2004 — has a coffee-like froth when poured and offers a much-needed jolt to help you get the day started. The drink contains twice the caffeine of Coca-Cola Classic.

Whether it catches on remains to be seen, but hopefully Blak won't face the same fate as Vanilla Coke, which was pulled from store shelves last year.