Taika, makers of RTD functional plant-based coffees, recently announced the launch of two new flavors: Matcha Latte, a permanent addition to the flavor lineup, and a Pumpkin Spice Latte that is their first limited time offering.

The original three flavor Taika lineup positioned each SKU differently, ranging from using oat milk or macadamia milk, and even a straight black coffee. With these two new flavors featuring macadamia milk, has Taika perhaps decided where they want to focus going forward? 

In addition to both SKUs having a macadamia milk base, the products share a somewhat similar functional blend of MCT oil, ashwagandha, pea protein, L-theanine, and lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps mushroom extracts. Both products also 80 calories, 0 grams of sugar and 2 grams of protein per 8 oz can.

After that, the two products diverge. The Matcha variety uses organic ceremonial grade matcha tea and is sweetened with erythritol and monk fruit, which does a nice job of providing a subtle sweetness without any aftertaste. There’s a lightly grassy note to it, which is exactly what is expected from any good matcha beverage. The macadamia milk base is creamy but smooth and the added functional ingredients seem to be more or less masked. 

For the Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor, Taika has done a nice job of creating a product that has solid flavor and avoids the gimmicky candy flavor that plagues so many pumpkin spice products. There’s definitely some pumpkin-like flavor to it, but it doesn’t get in the way of this being a really enjoyable tasting coffee drink either. It feels like more of a “fall spice” drink rather than something that’s trying to slam your palate with pumpkin.  The macadamia milk also does a nice job of complementing the other flavors.

On the packaging front, each product has a slightly different approach to its respective labels. Matcha’s front panel follows the format of their original SKUs, which is centered around a phone number. This is the primary means of communication with Taika and is how consumers can order the product. On the other hand, Pumpkin Spice Latte doesn’t have the phone number on the front of the can (it’s off to the side) and instead has a circle filled with the words “limited edition.” 

For us, the placement of a phone number on the front of the can has always felt like somewhat of a temporary move that might evolve as the company narrows its focus or as technology trends change. To that end, we were pleased to see Pumpkin Spice Latte going outside the box a bit. However, we’re not so sure that “limited edition” should get more prominence than the actual flavor name.

Going back to the Matcha for a moment, we do feel that its visual execution is strong. The phone number is a part of the plan for now and we’re fine with that — and the green color used for the background certainly stands out from the coffee SKUs.

Overall, there’s a lot to like about Taika’s most recent additions. Both products have excellent flavor, deliver on trend functional ingredients, and look like polished modern products.