I have this flavor and I'm not very happy with it. It's quite strong and tastes like cheap, burnt instant coffee. Yes, I believe it is normal for it to be a transparent brownish-amber color.
It doesn't make a good coffee flavored
juice by itself (unless you like the flavor of cheap, burnt instant coffee). It does work moderately well as an add-on to other flavors when you want to add a hint of coffee, but use sparingly as it tends to take over a mix.