Chameleon vs Stok
Why They Make The Cut?
Review Summary
Flavor Profile
So, let’s start with the positives of Chameleon. What I like about it, is that it tastes clean and gentle. The flavor isn’t too harsh, and it feels smooth when drinking it. The only downside, is that some coffee drinkers report Chameleon having an unpleasant sour taste. Now, I didn’t experience that myself, but a few of the people I’ve talked to, as well as people online have reported that sour taste.
And compared to many of the other cold brews on the market, I’ll say that Chameleon ranks pretty close to the top. I don’t have a lot to complain about here, and I had a pleasant time drinking it during the last week. However, I will also say that it’s not the BEST coffee I’ve tasted. In my opinion, pure coffee concentrates usually taste a lot better, as long as they aren’t freeze dried, and the company doesn’t add in a lot of chemicals. (For example, Javy is a good alternative).
Okay, so here’s the most redeeming part about Stok. It’s the fact that they have a wide variety of delicious flavors for you to choose from.
Un-Sweet.
Extra Bold.
Un-Sweet Bright Mellow.
Not Too Sweet.
Protein.
Pumpkin.
Mocha.
Vanilla.
Now, I haven’t tried all of their flavors yet, but the Mocha, Un-Sweet, and the Extra Bold flavors are delicious! It’s nice that they have different flavors for different types of coffee drinkers. However, just keep in mind, Stok does have a few reviews of people claiming that their coffee tasted expired, so maybe try a single bottle before buying a bigger package.
Flavor Notes
Caffeine Content
I’m going to be honest here, and this is something that really irked me. The Chameleon packaging doesn’t tell you how much caffeine is in the cold brew, and their website doesn’t say anything either.\
I don’t know how a company can get away without providing that information, it just doesn’t make sense to me. However, what I can say is that after drinking their concentrate, I got a pretty strong buzz after drinking it. So there’s definitely caffeine in the brew, but I’m not quite sure how much. (And it also makes you wonder, if they’re leaving out crucial information like that, what else are they leaving out?)
Okay, I’ll be honest here, Stok comes LOADED with caffeine. Each bottle comes with 145 mg of pure energy-kicking caffeine...
And that can be a good thing, or a bad thing. If you’re used to drinking normal black coffee, it’s going to feel like a bit much for you. So the first time you drink it, you might get an EXTRA BIG kick, and that might be what you want.
However, the problem is, if you go back to drinking normal coffee, it’s not going to feel exactly the same. And that’s because you’re going to get used to having 145 mg of caffeine in each serving, so the next time you drink regular coffee, you might not feel quite as energized.
Now, what I do is if I’m ever feeling extra tired, or if I'm in a pinch. I’ll grab one of the cold brews, because I know that it will give me an extra big boost. However, I try not to drink them on a regular basis, so that I can still drink regular coffee while getting the energy boost I need.
Convenience Factor
Now, while I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t find the caffeine information I was looking for.I was even more disappointed with their concentrate. And here’s why:
To make normal hot coffee with Chameleon, it takes 2 parts concentrate, and 1 part water. (For example, that would be 2 cups of concentrate, and 1 cup of water). And that’s super annoying, because what’s the point of using a concentrate if it takes SO MUCH of it to make your coffee with? I’ve used other concentrates that only take 1 tsp to make a full cup of coffee, and that makes the bottle last a lot longer.
And in other words, this means if you’re using Chameleon’s Concentrate to make your coffee every day. Well, you better stock up on bottles, because you’re going to need A LOT of them. (And you’ll have to spend a lot more money as well!)
Ughhhhhh…
This is where I have a problem with Stok, and other cold brew coffees who make similar products. You see, each serving of coffee that you want comes packaged in it’s own bottle. So every time that you want to drink a new serving of Stok…
You have to open up a new bottle, which means you either have to drive to WalMart to pick one up, or you have to order a bulk package on Amazon. And I don’t know about you, but that’s SUPER annoying to me! Plus, can you imagine how much plastic you would waste in a single year if you drank Stok consistently?
And while this isn’t an environmentally-themed review, I just want to point that out. So let’s move onto something more positive for Stok, and talk about how easy it is to use.
Ease of Use
Ugh….
Honestly, I can’t stand the way that you have to measure their concentrate. I don’t have time to pull out a notepad and a pen just to calculate how much concentrate and how much water that I’ll need. PLUS- they also recommend that you use different ratios for different kinds of drinks!
WHAT!
We’re making coffee here, and it shouldn’t have to be like rocket science to make your favorite drinks. And I might be exaggerating a little bit here, but I just like the idea of being able to use 1 tsp of a concentrate for ANY drink that I want. This 1 part concentrate, 2 part water thing is just annoying…
This is probably the biggest selling point for Stok as well as other products like it. Because when you want to drink coffee, you don’t have to worry about mixing, heating up water, or doing any work at all…
All you have to do is tear the plastic seal at the top of the bottle, twist the lid off, and your coffee is ready to drink! It really doesn’t get easier than that, and you can see why so many people like drinking cold brew from a bottle.
However, for me, it doesn’t make sense for me to stock up on 20-30 bottles of Stock in my pantry. I just don’t have the room. So unless you’ve got room to spare, I recommend that you find a more space efficient way to drink coffee.
Scoring Breakdown
Coffee
Chameleon Cold Brew
Stok Cold Brew
Attribute Ratings
Origin
Chameleon Cold Brew
Stok Cold Brew
Quick Facts
Recommended Preparations
Different ratios required for different drinks, with a basic ratio of 2 parts concentrate to 1 part water for hot coffee.
Ready to drink straight from the bottle, best served cold. No preparation needed.
Ideal For
Pros and Cons
Chameleon Coffee
- Convenient to use
- Available in grocery stores
- Only a few servings per bottle
- Bitter tasting
- Bulky in a fridge
Stok Cold Brew
- Smooth flavor
- Available in grocery stores
- Convenient for cold brew coffee
- Only a few servings per bottle
- Limited flavors