An Honest Coffee Comparison: Cometeer vs Jot vs SWIFT

If you’re already a coffee snob, chances are you’ve heard of Cometeer, the frozen coffee company popping up everywhere from Wired to Bon Appetit. But in case you’re new to the coffee space, a refresher: Cometeer is redefining convenient coffee by providing an easy-to-prepare product that’s neither powdered nor concentrated— it’s frozen. This means your coffee is preserved at the height of freshness, so it won’t lose any flavor on its journey to your home.

Historically, the problem with instant coffee has been that both powdered and concentrated versions lose freshness over time. Cometeer provides an innovative solution by flash-freezing coffee right after it’s brewed, thereby locking in freshness and ensuring flavor that lasts. This also means that Cometeer isn't even an "instant" coffee, but it is as convenient as one!

With Cometeer, you no longer have to choose between methods of preparing hot versus cold coffee: all you have to do is change the temperature of your water! Preparing a cup of Cometeer coffee couldn’t be simpler: just run one of the individually-packaged aluminum pods under warm water for a few seconds, pop the frozen puck of coffee in your mug, add hot or cold water, and voila! Fresh, delicious coffee in seconds.

Cometeer partners with the world’s best specialty roasters to harvest their beans. One major upside of Cometeer's partnerships? Your favorite roasters may have already partnered with Cometeer! Joe’s Coffee, Counter Culture, and Equator are just some of the roasters working with Cometeer to elevate at-home coffee.

There are days you want to labor lovingly over a cup of coffee: measuring and grinding the beans, carefully pouring water over the grounds, and savoring each sip as you contemplate the day ahead. And then there are days you need to dump some form of caffeine-containing liquid in a vessel and guzzle it for a boost of energy. In the latter scenario, Jot is a lifesaver. The coffee concentrate is 20x more concentrated than your average cup of coffee, so like Cometeer, be sure to water it down before consuming, or you might find yourself a bit more jittery than usual on your morning commute!

Because Jot comes in liquid concentrate form, it’s ideal to pour over a glass of ice for a refreshing midday coffee. You can also mix it with your preferred milk for an iced latte. Unlike Cometeer, Jot isn’t pre-portioned, so it can be a tad trickier to measure out. Still, if you know you like your coffee strong, this can be a bonus, as you can adjust the amount of concentrate to your liking.

Unlike some coffee concentrates, Jot comes in a recyclable glass bottle, which is easier on the planet and easy on the eyes, too. We love how great Jot’s chic minimalist design looks on a kitchen counter. And according to Jot’s website, even Tony Hawk is a fan!

Even good old fashioned powdered instant coffee is getting a facelift with SWIFT, the instant coffee that elevates an old-standby. If you’re a frequent traveler or just prefer not to leave the house without knowing you’ve got some emergency caffeine in your bag, SWIFT might be your new go-to: the powdered packets are travel- and pocket-friendly.

SWIFT has a bunch of different options on their website that allow you to order up to 48 “cups” of coffee at once. Buying in bulk helps you save, which makes SWIFT the cheapest of the coffees listed. SWIFT still costs a bit more than grocery store options— but then again, it’s higher quality, too.

Like Cometeer, SWIFT offers a variety of roasts. SWIFT’s offerings range from light, medium, to dark roasts— and they even offer a decaf version! SWIFT gets a stamp of approval from publications like Food and Wine and The Kitchn, with The Kitchn calling SWIFT their favorite powdered instant coffee on the market. In short, while it’s far from being a coffee connoisseurs’ go-to, SWIFT is a notch above the instant coffee you’ll find on grocery store shelves.