I'm all for functional ingredients getting in on the action of the coffee space. I love a good chaga-cino or a buttered up Bulletproof coffee or the occasional Laird Superfood creamer however things may have gone too far. Coffee has become the biggest bandwagon industry I have witnessed since sugar. Everyone wants to get in on the action from alternative milks to keto-fanatics to beer and spirits companies. What's next, avocados?!?! Maybe....
There is a new product dubbed Avocajoe, notice the integration of both avocado and joe, the lay-term for coffee. You may remember avocados from such hits as: avocado toast and guacamole! Now you can finally find your favorite fatty fruit in a cold brew coffee. Get all the health benefits of a milked avocado in the caffeinated soup of cold brew coffee.
"Tasty and gives great energy with a hint of avocado." says Brant, verified purchaser according to Avocajoe's website.
Is a product like Avocajoe innovation or simply imitation or variation? We seem to already have a glut of cold brew coffees paired with different fats and health supplements. Is the formula for beverage innovation X + cold brew = instant success? I'm not convinced that just any ingredient can inhabit the X space in the formula. Even Starbucks Oleato makes more sense than avocado though equally derivative. If I'm going to pair my cold brew with a healthy fat coconut milk sounds much tastier. It invokes the winning combination of a mounds bar, bittersweet coffee balancing the fatty sweetness of coconut. What X do you think works best?
Written by Jake Leonti, F+B Therapy
Mr. Leonti has worked in coffee for over twenty years with disciplines at every link of the value chain from barista to roasting, green grading and importing. Jake is the current Editor-in-Chief of Coffee Talk Magazine, columnist at Santé Magazine, member of the Roasters Guild and host of the Food and Beverage Therapy podcast