Kohana Cold Brew

Product Type:Coffee Drinks; Container: 32 oz PET
BevNET Review: Kohana Cold Brew is a USDA Organic and Fair Trade (although it does not list certifiers for either) coffee concentrate that is intended to create 15 coffee drinks per 32 oz. bottle. The product, which lists only organic coffee and filtered water as its ingredients, is straightforward in taste, with a very bold coffee flavor even when diluted with the recommended one part cold brew and two parts milk or water. Compared with some of the fresh cold brew coffee products that we’ve sampled, this one has more bitterness. While adding some sweetener helps soften this, drinking it straight will take some getting used to. Fortunately for Kohana, we think that the quality of the coffee will keep consumers coming back for more. Packaging is another point of differentiation, with most of the competition currently in glass bottles. The shape of Kahana’s PET bottle largely resembles a multi-serve juice bottle (the dark liquid also isn’t all that far off from some of today’s superfruit juices). We do see this as an issue of perceived value for a product that’s selling at a price of over $10 per bottle. However, we like the Hawaiian themed blue label that they’ve created, which is easy to read, cleanly designed, and gives the product an authentic vibe. Our only suggestion is to make it say “Cold Brew Coffee” instead of just “Cold Brew” -- this would align nicely and help clarify things to consumers who are new to the concept. Overall, Kohana Cold Brew is nicely executed cold brew coffee that is definitely headed in the right direction towards the mainstream.Reviewed on: 7/19/2012