The meal-replacement drink Soylent, which debuted two years ago, was created by Rob Rhinehart to solve the problem of having to feed himself when all he wanted to do was work on his San Francisco startup.
Now, it seems, making a cup of coffee has also proven to be too much of a bother. Last month, Soylent debuted Coffiest, which adds coffee to the meal-in-a-bottle’s basic formula.
The company has since relocated to Los Angeles, but Soylent is still a quintessential Bay Area creation. For those ensconced in the other side of the local food world — those obsessed with restaurants and farm-fresh produce — the thought of drinking sludge instead of eating dinner is hard enough to swallow. Now Soylent is coming after our coffee, too?
To find out whether Coffiest could really pose an existential threat, we gathered a half dozen Bay Area coffee roasters to try it. We wanted their tasting notes because in order for a product to stand in for coffee, or food, it has to be at least tolerable to drink. We wondered what insight this craft coffee brain trust could give us on Coffiest.
Tara Duggan
