Taste test: Some bottled, canned javas don’t wake up taste buds

Ever since canned and bottled coffees flooded the United States 15 years or so ago, there’s been a steady increase in consumption as well as innovation. These days, ready-to-drink coffee is an almost billion-dollar bonanza – sales were $944 million for the previous 12 months as of July, according to market research firm SymphonyIRI Group – with canned and bottled coffees targeting most every taste and lifestyle.

We tasted canned and bottled coffees from the dozens available, some newcomers as well as the granddaddy of canned coffee, UCC Coffee with Milk from Japan. Half had milk (or a milk product); the remainder included chocolate. Some were amped up with vitamins, some with green tea. We found them at supermarkets, convenience stores and an Asian market.

They ranged in price from 13 cents per ounce to almost 33 cents per ounce. Some can be purchased on their own websites, others at Amazon.com. Here’s what our eight tasters found. Note that because the coffees are so different, we did not rank them; instead, we give a rating for each. Calories are per container.

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