I had never heard of Polar Joe prior to this review, but now, having tried these products, I want to make everybody aware of them.
I normally like to start my reviews with a bit of a teaser, but there’s no sense in beating around the bush here (I mean, I already spoiled it in the title): this is the best protein coffee I’ve had.
I got my hands on both the cold brew protein coffee and the protein matcha. Polar Joe has a bunch of other products that I’d love to go back and try, but the single-serve options are limited to these two and decaf.
Luckily for me, I’m a cold brew purist and exclusively drink black cold brew, so this is the version I would prefer anyway. If you enjoy specialty coffee, Polar Joe also has vanilla & mocha lattes, along with an espresso version.
Let me get the major negative out of the way: these products are expensive. There’s really no way to sugarcoat it.
For the single serves, you’re going to be coughing up $4 each. If you commit to the scoopable bag, servings vary from about $2.45-$2.80 per serving. That’s still a bit pricey, but it’s very much aligned with the ready-to-drink protein coffees out there, like Quest.
And if you compare it to something like Chike coffee, which has long been one of the biggest brands in the protein coffee space, Polar Joe is actually cheaper. You’ll just have to pay a premium for single serves, which is to be expected.
Both the cold brew and matcha come in at 190 calories, which is higher than a lot of protein coffee options out there, but is also nearly double the protein of most of those options, too.
Even better, Polar Joe uses straight whey protein isolate, whereas a lot of options use a blend of whey & collagen.
There’s a bit of sugar in these, which I actually appreciate. I mean, when you look at the ingredients, you see how simple this product truly is: protein, sugar, creamer, coffee. That’s exactly what I want for protein coffee.
Polar Joe claims that you can just add this powder right to cold water and shake for 30 seconds to have a “deliciously smooth” drink. I’ve been around long enough to know that mixing protein powder is never that easy.
Except, in this case… they’re not lying.
The serving size was WAY larger than I thought, and I was pretty confident that the large amount of powder would never effortlessly mix into water without leaving clumps or foam behind.
As it turns out, “deliciously smooth” was the perfect explanation, because the result was indeed incredibly smooth.
There is no way you’d know this coffee started as a powder, let alone a protein powder.
The mixibility set the bar extremely high, but that bar was immediately cleared when I took the first sip. If you’ve ever had protein coffee before, you know that it usually has a very distinct protein taste.
Or, lots of brands will flavor the drinks like crazy to try to mask the protein taste, leaving you with something extremely artificial tasting.
This one truly drinks like a cup of coffee with a little bit of cream and sugar added. When I first started drinking coffee, I would add a touch of creamer and sugar, and this is exactly the taste I remember. Considering that’s how much people prepare their coffee, I think the majority of people would be really impressed by this one.
Sometimes I’ll try a product and like it, then have it a second time and realize it’s not as good as I initially thought.
In this case, when I went back to try Polar Joe again after a few days, it was just as good as I initially thought. Just a smooth, subtly sweet cup of coffee. Oh, and it happens to have 21 grams of protein, too.
Seriously, I’m very impressed.
But then came the protein matcha latte.
I’ve never been a matcha drinker, although I have tried it a handful of times. If you’ve never had matcha before, it has a distinct earthy flavor, but when it’s prepared as a latte, you get an incredibly creamy, refreshing drink.
Just like the cold brew, the ingredients of this one are protein, sugar, creamer, and green tea.
Unsurprisingly, Polar Joe also nailed this one. The protein is undetectable, leaving you with a simple matcha latte without an overpowering sweetness. It’s truly as if you ordered a matcha latte from a coffee shop: distinct green tea flavor, but with a touch of sweetness and a creamy, smooth finish.
I have no idea how they nailed the flavor so perfectly.
It’s very rare for a protein product to blow me away on every level. When it comes to ratings, I am very protective of handing out 9/10 because that is very high praise, but Polar Joe deserves it as much as anyone.
The ingredients are great, it mixes very easily, it’s incredibly smooth, the flavors are accurate, and there’s no weird protein or artificial taste whatsoever.
Sure, I don’t love the price, but we’re currently living in a world where protein is just very expensive, so any products utilizing protein powder have gone up in price. You might feel some initial sticker shock, but when you compare Polar Joe to the other protein coffee options out there, it’s actually very similar.
At the end of the day, it’s still significantly cheaper than getting a latte from Starbucks; you just have the added benefit of getting 21 grams of protein.
This coffee snob approves, and 100% recommends trying this one.
