ninjarefinery.com is built around two pillars. Gaming and Coffee.
The crossover of the two is obvious to me. Marathon gaming sessions require a natural boost. Caffeine is that hit, and coffee is so rich and deep in the flavours and ways to brew/drink. You’re spoiled for choice.
I’ve written posts about it many times, I’ve seen people selling beans in gaming-themed bags. I mean, sure, coffee is coffee is coffee, it’s all how you market and sell it to your intended audience, right?
Well, Kontrol Coffee is here with your on-the-go option! Aimed at gamers, designed to take-on the chemical energy drinks in the market. Natural energy.
About Kontrol Coffee
To quote Kontrol Coffee:
We are the UK’s first gaming-focused ready-to-drink iced coffee can on the market. For too long powdered energy drinks have ruled, taking up precious gaming time in their preparation.
Our grab-and-go Kontrol cans are the largest available in the RTD coffee game. Our mission is to pause gamers’ thirst, not their session.
I love this as a mission statement, to be honest. They’ve picked a market, and they understand that the growth of the “RTD” (ready to drink) market is a lovely niche. Particularly when you don’t necessarily have time for the perfect brew mid-raid.
Chilled coffee, ready to go. Keeping you caffeinated as you play. Perfection.
In concept, this is ideal, and Kontrol Coffee deserve praise for identifying this niche.
The concept
Let’s get to business shall we?
Kontrol Coffee very generously sent me 2x 12 packs of their coffees. The original latte and the Assassin’s Creed Mirage Vanilla Latte.
I’ve had cans in the fridge and been taking them out during writing sessions, having them for breakfast on the go, and of course, whilst I’ve been sat sailing the seas in Sea of Thieves recently.
As a coffee snob, I’ve often derided the ready to drink model. Where’s the joy of making that perfect brew? Getting your espresso dialled-in or mastering your Aeropress?
How about being able to just get a drink in a hurry? Convenience is often the requirement. With time becoming more and more premium throughout the day, the value here is starting to become quite clear.
The coffee
Of course, taste is subjective. However, this isn’t our first coffee-reviewing rodeo.
The Kontrol Coffee Original Latte was the natural first port of call.
A quick look at the ingredients was initially a bit of a surprise. We’re not talking about cold-brewed coffee here, which was a concern. That and “Latte Coffee Flavour”. Odd.
My expectation of a quality coffee in a can is something made from Cold Brew Coffee and likely a blend of semi-skimmed milk and whole milk. So the ingredients here are not what I expected.
However, I suspect that these are designed for a longer shelf-life, and with a product that perhaps hasn’t hit retail yet, I can see why you’d maybe launch like this.
Being extra generous, I’d say Kontrol Coffee might expect gamers to stock-up in bulk and that longer life would help people store it?
Without seeing it in retail outlets yet, I’m not sure if they’re sold off the shelf or in the chiller. So I can see why the drinks would require less “fresh” ingredients, if that makes sense?
Now, if it tastes like coffee and gives you the caffeine hit, that’s likely enough, right? I think for a drink on the go, that’s fine. We’re not talking micro-lot, small batch roasts here. We’re looking at grabbing a drink and getting stuck into your gaming session.
So how does it taste?
Kontrol Coffee taste
Phew! The Original Latte tastes great!
Extract, creamer and milk powder with “Latte Coffee Flavour” mixed with cane sugar tastes great! You’re getting a creamy, smooth, rich coffee drink straight out of the gate.
Served chilled, this is the way to go, for sure. There’s a little bit of a long tail on the aftertaste which isn’t uncommon with coffee that contains milk, but it’s prominent enough for me to notice. So it might not be to everyone’s taste.
The original Latte is a solid choice. So…..what of the Vanilla Latte?
Kontrol Coffee Vanilla Latte is very much the same, you can see that it’s built on the same base of flavours, but it definitely has a lighter hit of coffee flavour. The vanilla is in there for sure, not overpowering at all. It’s nicely balanced and I would say my favourite of the two.
The subtlety is commendable, to be honest. Some of the coffees on the market are a little more ham-fisted in their application of syrups and flavours.
The rest
It’s worthwhile noting that the Kontrol Coffee cans are actually bigger than your standard canned coffee, too. Hitting 330ml instead of the traditional 250ml. That’s a great approach. As energy drinks come in bigger cans, there’s a perceived value applied to quantity.
The Assassin’s Creed Mirage Vanilla Latte can looks exceptionally stunning, too. The design here is lovely, genuinely the best can design I’ve ever seen. What a visual treat!
One gripe with the cans, is that the branding is actually a plastic sleeve on the can. The feel on the lips is a little odd. Nothing concerning, just notable. It doesn’t diminish the experience or impact taste in any way.
Overall
I really want to see Kontrol Coffee succeed, because the gaming space is marred with crap energy powders and shaker bottles.
They create a great product, they’re aiming for a the perfect niche and there’s real legs in it.
It would be nice to see a more “fresh” variety in the product portfolio, so hopefully when they grow, the ingredients can change. It’d be nice to see a fairtrade logo on there, too.
This is a great start, though and I can’t wait to see Kontrol Coffee in stores.
Launched in the UK, you can buy in bulk online (again, you can store these for a while based on the ingredients!).
I look forward to seeing how far Kontrol Coffee can take things, and hopefully they’ll be at expos etc in the near future for gamers to see.
