Despite being a powdered product, the final mix never felt sloggy or thick, though I would definitely recommend adding ice before drinking. While their dozen plus flavors sport the same caffeine as two shots of espresso (about 150mg), Chike also offers a reduced caffeine option. Plus there are a couple of plant-based coffees and protein iced tea, too. Decision fatigue? They also sell multi-flavor sample packs of single-serving pouches.

What I’d leave: The “coffee flavor” mileage varied from flavor to flavor. It ranged from more intense in the Triple Shot Espresso & Cream to hardly noticeable in the Caramel. Also, if I didn’t take time to thoroughly stir, I did get some clumping on the sides of my glass.

The best plant-based protein coffee: OWYN Double Shot Vanilla

While I said I wouldn’t judge protein coffees based on where their protein came from, I do understand that not everyone consumes animal products. I also understand that whey/milk protein and pea/plant proteins taste totally different from one another. OWYN (an anagram of Only What You Need) specializes in plant-based protein derived from peas and seeds, and offers a wide range of shakes including four caffeinated coffee flavors, three of which are in their Double Shot series and one of which is a “Cold Brew Coffee” shake flavor. And all of which contain 20g of vegan-friendly protein.

What I liked: Because they use pea protein OWYN products can have a rather legume-y taste to them. Within the lineup of flavored coffees though, OWYN’s vanilla came out with the most robust coffee flavor (though a hint of pea is inescapable).

What I’d leave: Besides vanilla, the other two flavors in OWYN’s Double Shot coffee set had some flavor issues. The mocha was cloying, the caramel not salty enough, and both had an all-too-present tinge of monk fruit. OWYN’s regular line of bottled non-dairy protein drinks includes a less-caffeinated cold brew coffee flavor, however I didn’t find the coffee present enough or the texture as enjoyable as the Double Shots.

Other powdered protein coffee products we tried:

Ascent Iced Coffee + Protein

Ascent’s plain Iced Coffee protein powder is pleasant enough to drink with its coffee-forward flavor and smooth, sippable texture. The sweetness from stevia was more than I wanted though. In addition to the original coffee flavor I tried Ascent’s pumpkin spice offering, which was very gourd-forward and not coffee-flavored enough for my taste.

Bulletproof Enhanced Coffee – High Protein Iced Coffee

You may recall Bulletproof for the brands addition of butter to its coffee (sometimes called “keto coffee”). I tried Bulletproof’s powdered iced coffee mix with added whey protein and MCT oil, the latter of which was the less-buzzworthy part of the formula in that whole butter thing. The “Original” and “Mocha” flavors were sippable enough, ranking in the middle for sweetness. However, it’s that MCT oil, derived from coconuts, that seemed to give both of these drinks an overtone of coconut and, more importantly, an oily texture on the palate that kept reminding me this wasn’t just coffee.

Javvy Protein Coffee

Javvy’s Original protein coffee flavor is its most coffee-like with bitter notes and a milky, latte texture. In lieu of any artificial sweeteners, Javvy uses Sukre which, like Stevia, is a natural alternative. However, like Stevia, it was too cloyingly sweet. Javvy’s flavored coffees were weaker than I wanted and, oddly, were actually less palatable with ice. However, perhaps my biggest issue with Javvy’s protein coffee is that the single serving only contains 10g of protein, very much on the low end and barely breaking above the protein in a coffee shop latte. However, Javvy does suggest using either water or milk, the latter of which would boost that protein number.

Laird Superfoods Protein Instant Latte

Like many of its enhanced products, Laird’s protein coffee also contains functional mushrooms (if you want to go deep on mushroom coffee, I tasted lots of those too), and it’s meant to be served as hot coffee. Yes, even the instructions for iced coffee on the package advise using a bit of hot water to dissolve the powder, then adding ice and cold water. By comparison, this is a higher-calorie, lower protein coffee, but it is completely vegan (and gluten-free) with plant-based proteins, coconut milk powder for creaminess, and those added lion’s mane, chaga, maitake, and cordyceps mushrooms. There is so much going on here I’d say the protein isn’t really the point. As for whether it’s a good substitute for coffee, the overt coconut flavor when hot and gritty texture when poured over ice couldn’t land it at the top of my list.

Naked Nutrition – Naked Protein Coffee Mocha Latte

Naked Nutrition prides itself on having “nothing to hide” and certainly its Mocha Latte flavored protein coffee doesn’t shy away from both rich chocolate and coffee flavors, the latter coming from Columbian coffee. A lot of these products pack a larger caffeine punch, so if that concerns you then Naked Protein’s comparatively tame 95mg might be more your speed. Unique in a field of so many “no added sugar” claims, Naked gets its sweetness from coconut sugar and fermented cane sugar, ditching the low- and no-calorie sweeteners common in other protein products. Despite this, I still found it too sweet for my taste as a coffee drinker, erring more on the side of drinking chocolate.

Other bottled protein coffee products we tried:

Joyburst

Joyburst’s black packaging proclaims that it has dark roast flavor and zero sugar. Unfortunately, I was met with an unpleasantly sweet and thick protein shake that wasn’t easy to finish. Texturally, it fared better when poured over ice and, in fairness, was one of the most coffee-forward drinks I tried, so if you’re truly looking for a flavor-free protein coffee shake but you’re also the kind of person who orders their coffee “light and sweet,” you might like this.

Koia Cold Brew and Koia Elite Coffee

At the risk of over-generalizing, as the protein content of a drink rises, its deliciousness diminishes. That’s the case with the Koia’s Elite Coffee drink, which is very much a pea protein shake, with little semblance to an iced coffee.