Super Espresso Is Uber Smooth And Keto-Friendly: Review

We are always a little skeptical of espresso drinks because nine times out of 10, they're thin and bitter. And when they aren't, they're typically made with loads of sugar and ingredients we can hardly pronounce. For people who want caffeine and flavor in a drink that doesn't bust a diet, there aren't a ton of options — so sleepy student athlete Jordan Decicco took matters into his own hands and created Kitu alongside his brothers Jake and Jimmy. Their coffee- and espresso-based drinks have a lot of buzzwords behind them — kosher, keto-friendly, non-GMO, lactose-, sugar- and gluten-free, organic — so these highly caffeinated drinks are a lot of things. But are they good?

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Kitu sent The Daily Meal its latest offering, Super Espresso, and because we're always down to try new products (and because we're constantly fatigued), we gave the drink a try. And, reader, we're in love.

Original, vanilla and caramel flavors of Super Espresso are available now, but our drinks editor went for vanilla — which uses natural flavors and monk fruit for taste — and it touched her tired soul.

First and foremost: This stuff smells like sugar cookies. Super Espresso is beautifully creamy and sweet despite the fact that is contains zero grams of sugar. Better-for-you drinks can have an artificial taste sometimes, but you don't get that with Super Espresso because, duh, there aren't any artificial flavors up in here. It's really smooth and tastes more like a nice café-made coffee drink, and it packs the same punch.

There's a lot of caffeine in this guy — 180 milligrams in one 6-ounce serving, equivalent to three shots of espresso — and our taste-tester experienced non-jittery energy all day without any crash. She also kept a clear mind and felt more productive than usual. Is this what it feels like to function as a normal person who gets an ample amount of sleep? The luxury. Fewer calories and all the caffeine? Sign us up.

Some other cool things about this drink are that it's only $2 a can — which is much cheaper than a certain someone's Starbucks addiction — and contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are healthy fats taken from coconut oil. Proponents of MCTs claim they're good for stabilizing blood-sugar levels, suppressing the appetite, lowering cholesterol, improving brain function and increasing nutrient absorption, among other things. Each can also contains 5 grams of protein from whey, so #gains.

Super Coffee, Super Espresso and a non-caffeinated Super Creamer are now available on drinksupercoffee.com and also at Rite Aid, Duane Reade, 7-Eleven, Jewel Osco, Wegmans, Target, Wawa, Whole Foods and other retailers nationwide. If you browse Kitu's store locator, you may even find it at the best grocery store in your state.

Drink samples for review were provided by their producers at no cost to the writer.