Our Final Verdict
We give Jot a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Quality
Flavor
Variety
Convenience
Value
If you love coffee but hate the process of actually brewing it, you may think your only options are instant or K-cups. But there’s a new kind of convenient coffee on the market: Jot.
Jot’s coffee comes in a highly concentrated brewed form that you can mix with water or the milk of your choice to make a quick cup. Available in a range of flavors (including limited batch offerings like Chocolate Hazelnut and Caramel), Jot promises to make delicious coffee easy, fast, and sustainable for the world. Does it live up to the promise? We gave it a try to find out.
Our takeaway was that this is a delicious coffee option that offers incredible convenience. Especially tasty in iced lattes and dirty chais, this concentrated coffee turns into a barista-level brew in seconds. Depending on your budget and how you like your coffee, it may not fully replace your existing coffee machine or pour-over, but it would add variety and flavor to almost any coffee lover’s life. Keep reading to learn more about this company and its tasty coffee!
At a Glance: The Best Jot Recipes
About Jot
Founders Andrew Gordon and Palo Hawken set out to make concentrated, ready-to-drink coffee that tasted good and was good for the planet. The result was Jot Ultra Coffee, brewed at 20 times the concentration of regular coffee and twice the concentration of espresso. The name, which stands for “Just One Tablespoon,” is also the recipe: you only need one tablespoon of Jot for every eight ounces of water or milk.
The Boulder, Colorado-based company aims to reduce packaging waste and extract more coffee from each bean, reducing the footprint of your morning cup. According to their website, the company’s progressive enrichment brewing process is a closed system that maximizes the coffee brewed from each set of beans, brewing 60% more compared to cold brew.
Jot Coffee Overview
What should you expect when you order your first batch of Jot? We’ll break it down:
Pricing
Jot’s coffee bottles cost $26 each and contain enough for 14 cups of coffee. You can buy the bottles individually or save 25% with a monthly subscription. The company is also currently offering a welcome package that includes two flavors (Original and Winter Seasonal), an extra bottle of coffee (Chocolate Hazelnut flavor), a mystery gift, and the tablespoon, all at a discounted price.
Packaging
Jot coffee arrives nicely packaged in a secure cardboard box. The glass bottles are nestled in cardboard, reducing the chance of breakage, and the welcome kit includes a measuring spoon and a small recipe book to get you started. Overall, the packaging is certainly nice enough to send as a gift or simply enjoy yourself!
Flavors
Jot offers several different flavors: three classics (Original, Dark, and Vanilla) and a rotating cast of limited batch (currently Chocolate Hazelnut, Caramel, and Winter Seasonal).
You can also mix your Jot with almost anything – the company recommends trying water, milk (including almond or oat), sparkling water, and even alcohol or ice cream.
Caffeine
Jot contains 150 mg of caffeine per tablespoon of coffee concentrate. If you follow the bottle’s directions, that’s enough for an eight-ounce cup of coffee. That’s a bit more caffeine than the average cup of coffee (95 mg). Of course, you can always put less coffee in your drink!
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Available in 6+ tasty flavors
- Convenient & easy to drink
- Stylish and secure packaging
- Discounts and subscriptions available
- Includes measuring spoon and recipes
- 20-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- May not fit all budgets
- Needs refrigeration
Key Features of Jot
Easy Brewing
The biggest distinguishing feature of Jot is its convenience. Jot’s coffee is 20 times concentrated, so you only need a little bit to make a full cup of coffee. If you like hot coffee drinks, all you have to do is boil a cup of water or steam milk and add a tablespoon of coffee to the cup. For cold drinks, it’s even easier! Add ice to a cup, pour in your favorite milk, alternative milk, or plain water, and then stir in a tablespoon of Jot.
Variety of Flavors
Some coffee drinkers like to shake it up flavorwise! With Jot, you don’t have to provide the syrups or other flavors yourself. You can choose from three classic flavors (Original, Dark, Vanilla) or try out the rotating cast of limited-batch flavors.
On top of that, you can choose your add-ins, like whole milk, half-and-half, water, or oat milk. Jot also recommends trying sparkling water (like a coffee tonic) or pouring your coffee over a dessert.
Satisfaction Guarantee
If you’re curious about Jot but not sure it will work for you, there’s good news! Jot offers a satisfaction guarantee. You have 20 days from your purchase to test the coffee and see if you like it. If you don’t, you can email the company for a full refund. Read the full policy here.
Is Jot a Good Value?
Coffee is one of those things that you can spend as much on as you want. Jot’s coffee bottles cost $26, which sounds like a lot until you consider how concentrated they are. According to the company, each bottle contains enough for 14 cups of coffee, putting the cost per cup at a very reasonable $1.85. Of course, if you like your coffee stronger, your cost will be a bit higher.
Overall, Jot may cost a bit more than a basic bag of coffee beans, but when you consider that it’s almost as easy as buying coffee at your local cafe, it feels like a steal.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Does Jot Coffee Need to Be Refrigerated?
Yes, Jot recommends refrigerating its coffee before and after you open the bottle to better preserve flavor and freshness.
Is It Sustainable?
As you might expect from a company based in Boulder, Colorado, Jot has a few eco- and people-friendly features. The company composts 100% of their coffee beans, and according to the website, their brewing process extracts 60% more coffee per bean than cold brew.
Jot has also pledged to source at least 50% of its beans from women-owned farms and co-ops and is a founding member of the Gender Equity Index.
Is There a Decaf Option?
No, Jot does not currently offer decaf coffee.
Reviews of the 3 Best Jot Recipes
1. Original
Best for: Lovers of balanced, medium-to-dark coffee
It’s hard to beat an original, classic flavor! Jot’s Original is a full-bodied, smooth blend that mixes well into pretty much any drink. It’s not overly dark and does not have any additional flavoring, so you can enjoy the simple pleasure of tasty coffee. If you like balanced cups of coffee, this is probably the flavor for you. It’s also a great option for iced lattes and dirty chais!
Pros
- Classic, well-balanced flavor
- Not overly dark roast
- Mixes well into many drinks
- Convenient and delicious
- 150 mg of caffeine per tablespoon
2. Vanilla
Best for: Coffee lovers with sweet tooths
Jot’s Vanilla flavor is the surprise hit of this trio. It’s a delicate, complex coffee that balances vanilla notes perfectly with a robust coffee flavor. Not too sweet or too strong, this is a good option for anyone who likes a little extra flavoring in their morning cup. It’s also a tasty addition to a bowl of ice cream, and you can mix it with steamed or cold milk to make a café-style vanilla latte. If you like your drinks a little sweeter, you can always stir in a little honey or sugar.
Pros
- Delicate and complex vanilla flavor
- Goes well with desserts
- Not overly sweet or strong
- Makes a great vanilla latte
- 150 mg of caffeine per tablespoon
Cons
- For a sweet drink, you’ll need to provide the sugar
3. Dark
Best for: Dark roast fans
Finally, we have Jot’s Dark flavor, which is a great option for dark roast coffee lovers. This is Jot’s darkest blend, a bold but smooth coffee that holds up well to cream. Although it’s versatile enough to use in a wide range of drinks, we think the Dark edition is best with a hearty splash of half-and-half.
Pros
- Bold dark roast flavor
- Complex and smooth blend
- Stands up well to cream
- 150 mg of caffeine per tablespoon
Cons
- May be too dark for some coffee lovers
Our Experience With Jot
As a veteran coffee tester, I have tried a lot of different beans, but I was curious to try a coffee concentrate that can be turned into so many different drinks. I got to try the three classic flavors, Original, Dark, and Vanilla. For the sake of science, I tried a sip of the original flavor straight. It was intense and bitter, like the world’s strongest espresso.
I was impressed with how convincing and convenient the coffee was. Having the bottles in my refrigerator made afternoon iced lattes and mid-morning cups of hot coffee incredibly easy. All I had to do was boil a cup of water or put cold milk in a glass, add a splash of coffee concentrate, and enjoy!
The vanilla flavor particularly surprised me. I don’t usually drink sweet or flavored coffee, so I was skeptical that I would like this one, but it is not overly sweet and is instead coffee-forward with delightful notes of vanilla.
I tried all three flavors in a variety of methods, including an Americano, an iced latte, and even a dirty chai (made with another Boulder product, the famous Dushanbe Teahouse chai). I also tried different types of milk and cream (including almond milk, skim milk, and half-and-half). It was exceptionally tasty and satisfying in every drink, though I did find myself adding more than the recommended dosage because I like my coffee strong.
All in all, I enjoyed Jot’s coffee and was very impressed with the flavor. I won’t be throwing away my beloved Moccamaster quite yet, but Jot is a great addition to my coffee collection!
Verdict
If you’re looking to simplify your morning coffee routine or replace a pricey coffee shop habit, Jot could be exactly what you need. This concentrated coffee turns into a flavorful drink in seconds, with no machine required. It’s also available in a delicious range of rotating flavors and offers sustainable and eco-friendly features.
If you’re on a tight budget or only drink single-origin pour-overs, this may not be the coffee for you. But most coffee lovers would enjoy this company’s offerings, whether daily, as an occasional treat, or even as a thoughtful gift.
