Cook Like Chuck

Soylent (Rosa Labs) released a new product last week: Coffiest. I bought a case a few hours after the announcement and I made it my breakfast the past few mornings.

This is the fourth, and best, type of Soylent I’ve tried. Here are my notes on the other ones I’ve tried:

• 1.4 (powder, no longer available) was thick, clumpy, and tasted like pancake batter. I added a lot of cocoa powder to it.
• 1.5 (also powder, different formula, no longer available) was thinner and had a more neutral taste. Not bad, but I thought the carb-to-fat content was a little too high.
• 2.0 (original pre-mixed version, still available) is pretty good. I really liked the convenience of not having to mix powder with water and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before I drank it. My main use-case for Soylent is a quick breakfast or lunch when I have a lot going on and no time to make something. Drinking a bottle of 2.0 keeps me going until dinner time. It is thinner and even more neutrally flavored than 1.5. It has a slight cereal milk taste. I didn’t dislike the flavor, but I found it to be a whole lot better when I added in some of my iced coffee.

Coffiest is the latest addition to their line. It contains the nutrients of one meal and some caffeine to get you going. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about what the flavor of Coffiest would be. I’m happy to say that Rosa Labs nailed it. Coffiest has a good balanced coffee flavor and just a little bit of the cereal milk base flavor peaking through. In fact, it tastes pretty close to what I mixed together myself with Soylent 2.0 and my iced coffee. Some people say there are chocolately overtones in there, but they don’t really come through for me. It isn’t too sweet and doesn’t leave a weird film in your mouth like coffee+milk. It tastes just like a balanced coffee drink should.

It is easy to forget that this is a meal replacement drink because it is so thin. Remember that this is packed with the nutrition of a full meal, so consume it wisely!

Be aware of the amount of caffeine you usually drink and how it compares to Coffiest. 150mg is roughly 1 large strong cup of coffee or 2 cups of weaker office coffee. I’m a caffeine addict, so Coffiest doesn’t replace my caffeine intake for the day. I usually follow it up 2-3 hours later with a cup of coffee or shot of espresso. If you arent a coffee drinker though, 150mg might be a lot for you.

You might feel a little different after drinking Coffiest. It has 150mg of caffeine and 75mg of l-theanine, an amino acid in green tea that has been found to smooth out the effects of caffeine. In short, it helps keep you from getting jittery. I’ve taken l-theanine before and gives me a somewhat dazed feeling, even when combined with caffeine. If you aren’t used to it, it can be a little strange.

I’ve had no problems so far consuming it on an empty stomach, unlike some of the early powdered versions. I’ve been taking it with me on my morning walks (see the photo at the top of this article), so by the time I get back home, I’ve had a walk, something to “eat”, and coffee. I’m pretty pleased with this version and I think it will become a regular breakfast item for me.