Rau is a cold-pressed and raw cacao beverage that is sweetened with monk fruit. From a flavor perspective, this product tastes very much like raw cacao (like what you’d find in a cacao nib). There’s a nice “chocolate” flavor to it, but, like cacao nibs, it does have a bitterness that will take some getting used to.

Rawpothecary, which produces a line of whole food juice, nut milk and cold-brew coffee blends, markets its products with the tagline “nothing added, nothing wasted" and "the pulp and skins are in." From our perspective, the company's range of uniquely-crafted blends and well-designed labels are nicely differentiated from competing products and offer a long runway for success.

Introduced at Expo West 2014, Chameleon Cold-Brew's new line of ready-to-drink coffee drinks is an impressive entry to the category. Packaged in 10 oz. glass bottles, the line comes in three varieties — mocha, vanilla, original black -- each made with water, organic & Fair Trade coffee, and in the case of the mocha and vanilla, sugar and flavor. Pairing a simple formulation design with a clean and well-designed label, and overall, we’re big fans of these products.

Vertical Water is one of several products that is part of a new and unique class of beverages: maple water. This particular product is made with maple water (sourced from U.S. maple trees) as its sole ingredient, and, thanks to aseptic packaging, doesn't incorporate any preservatives. The result is something that should, at least in theory, be pretty close to what you’d get right out of a tree.