Are you a coffee lover who wants to get things done in an instant? If so, one product that you might want to have is a cold brew coffee concentrate. Cold-brew coffee concentrate works faster than cold brew makers. All you have to do is get a glass, pour it in, dilute with water or cream, add ice, and your drink is ready.
However, a downside with cold brew concentrate is that you can’t adjust its flavor. Some are too bitter or too light. Therefore, buying the wrong bottle might result in an entirely useless purchase. One concentrate which we find trustworthy is chameleon cold brew coffee. For us, this product deserves a general score of 4 stars and we’ll explain why in this article.
How Much Do We Know About Chameleon?
Chameleon is a company that roasts and brews coffee in the semi-dry climate of Austin, Texas. The current CEO is Chris Campbell. . Chameleon produces ready-to-drink cold brews and oat milk lattes. It’s one of the leading coffee manufacturers in the U.S and Nestle even has its eyes on it
Chameleon is quite young. It’s has been operating for only 10 years. Nevertheless, Chameleon’s achievements make it a trustworthy coffee brand. For three consecutive years, Chameleon’s products have earned the recognition of BevNET. BevNET is one of the leading media and critiques for coffee products. Therefore, receiving awards consecutively from it is no easy feat.
The Chameleon concentrate that we’ll be reviewing today might end your search for a good instant cold brew coffee. We’re not saying that it’s the best. We’re only saying that it’s a product that you might want to try.
What We Love About Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee
- Very strong cold brew concentrate
- Good for 8 cups ( or more if you love light coffee)
- Comes in a reusable glass bottle
- Organic cold brew concentrate
- Can be diluted with water, milk, or cream
- Doesn’t taste too acidic
What We Don’t Like About Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee
- The bottle’s cap doesn’t shut well
- The taste changes if the concentrate inside the bottle is left exposed to air
- The bottle is a bit bulky and hard to hold
Key Features of Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee
Organic Coffee Concentrate
Chameleon cold brew concentrate is organic. But we find it intriguing that manufacturers didn’t disclose how organic this product is. If we give them the benefit of the doubt, then what they’re saying might be true. The aroma and taste of Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate are very rich. It’s even a bit oily. This is a common characteristic of good concentrates that are made out of the pure coffee extract.
Reusable Glass Bottle
This product uses a glass bottle that has thick construction. The glass bottle doesn’t look attractive. However, it’s pretty large. Thus, you can use it to store other liquids once the contents have run out. Aside from storage, Chameleon’s glass bottle might also be useful for projects related to arts and crafts.
Goes Well With Milk, Cream, or, Water
Usually, most cold brew concentrates can only be diluted with one liquid – water. Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate isn’t the same. You can opt to dilute this product with milk, cream, water, or a mixture of these. No matter which you decide to dilute it with, Chameleon’s signature nutty and slightly bitter taste still resides in the tongue.
Can Be Used for Coffee Cakes and Other Recipes
This product is made of natural ingredients. So it doesn’t undergo hazardous chemical changes, especially when exposed to heat. As a result, you can opt to use Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate on making coffee cakes. We didn’t try these ourselves. However, we found a recipe that uses this.
Chameleon Cold-Brew Coffee Concentrate Review
Build
The glass bottle is big and bulky. It’s designed in a round robust shape which makes holding hard. Also, the surface of the glass bottle is too smooth. As a result, the glass bottle becomes slippery whenever moisture accumulates. We think that manufacturers should’ve made a slender embossment that allowed for easy gripping. Also, the surface should have a rough part that prevents slipping.
Nevertheless, these issues are easy to solve. After seeing that the bottle is quite bulky, we opted to transfer the contents to a more portable glass container. In case there’s no extra glass bottle, you can opt to insert Chameleon cold brew concentrate on a bottle pouch so that carrying will be easier.
All in all, this product’s glass bottle didn’t suit our taste. Holding it is hard and it’s not very portable. Thus, we give this product 3/5 stars in this category.
Easy-Use
Making cold brew coffee with this product isn’t a hassle. It’s because we can dilute it with water, cream, or milk. Manufacturers didn’t specify how much diluting should be done for the best taste. Still, we found it better not to put a lot of cream for a deeper taste. On the other hand, a lighter taste needs more cream.
There’s no need to use coffee makers to make cold brew coffee with Chameleon cold brew concentrate. All that we had to do was get a glass, pour an adequate amount of the concentrate, dilute it, and add ice. We also tried making cold brew with this product on a tumbler. Nevertheless, the taste is just the same.
We appreciate that we didn’t have to follow complex instructions for brewing coffee with Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate. Everything was self intuitive. Thus, we give this product a rating of 5/5 stars in this category.
Nutrition
Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate is poor in terms of nutritional value. This product doesn’t have any other nutritional compounds except caffeine (though we can’t say that caffeine qualifies as nutrition at all). The caffeine content is high. Even so, we don’t think that this is an issue. It’s because high caffeine content is a characteristic of a good coffee concentrate.
There are a few methods that you can do to enhance the nutritional value of this product. First is you can opt to dilute Chameleon cold brew coffee with heavy whipping cream, hemp milk, oat milk, or almond milk. Second is you can try mixing this cold brew coffee concentrate with iced tea. Third is you can opt to mix a bit of coconut oil on the cold brew that you made from Chameleon cold brew coffee concentrate.
Commonly, coffee concentrates lack nutritional content. That said, we won’t give a rating to this product in this category.
Smoothness
We find this product’s smoothness exceptional. Its bitterness lingers no matter how much we diluted it. It’s a bit oily but not sticky or coarse on the throat and mouth. The nuttiness is very consistent. Still, it’s more noticeable when we diluted Chameleon cold brew concentrate with water. Finally, there’s a slight tinge of smokiness. We love this trait because it’s a sign that this product is made using pure roasted coffee beans. In this category, we give Chameleon cold concentrate a rating of 5/5 stars.
Other Concentrates That You Might Grab Your Interest
Monin Iced Coffee Concentrate
This product comes in a very narrow bottle. Thus, you might want to get this one instead of Chameleon if you’re looking for a concentrate that can easily fit on a travel bag or case. Monin is only 1 liter. You can’t make a lot of cold brews with it. Thus, it’s a coffee concentrate that’s only good for one-person use. So if you’re fond of sharing, we suggest that you buy Chameleon instead.
Starbucks Black Coffee Concentrate
You might want to have this product instead if you’re fond of cold brews that taste dynamic and rich. One thing that we like about Chameleon is its simple taste. However, it’s also a trait that other drinkers don’t like. So if you’re one of these, try Starbucks. This product is sourced from a variety of coffee beans. Therefore, its flavor changes depending on much you dilute it. A problem with Starbucks is that it might trigger allergic reactions. Go for Chameleon instead if you’re suffering from underlying health issues that might worsen with allergy.
Trader Joe Cold Coffee Concentrate
This one is a good purchase if you’re planning not to brew coffee for quite some time. Trader joe comes in two packs of 32 oz bottles. So this product is more than enough for you to make instant cold brew coffee for a few months. Trader joe’s smoothness is nearly similar to Chameleon’s. However, it’s nuttiness might be better.
Know that this isn’t the coffee concentrate that you want to bring when traveling. Its bottles are too big and heavy. Furthermore, they’re made out of plastic so they won’t store well in a large traveling case. Get Chameleon instead if you’re looking for a coffee concentrate that’s semi-portable and takes time run out.
Conclusion: Is Making Cold Brew From Concentrate Better Than Brewing?
Chameleon and the other concentrates that we reviewed give cold brews that you’ll enjoy. They’re great for making cold brews in the shortest span of time. However, we won’t say that making cold brews from concentrates is better than making cold brews using a drip tower or coffee maker. Home brewed cold coffee and cold coffee made from concentrate have varying perks.
To end, use a drip tower or automatic cold brew coffee maker if you can wait. On the other hand, go for coffee concentrates if your thirst for a good cold brew coffee becomes unbearable.