Every product I review is bought with my own money, tested in my own kitchen, and scored against the same fixed criteria — no exceptions. No brand decides my rankings, and nothing skips the process. Here's exactly how it works, so you can judge the reviews for yourself.
I purchase each product at retail, the same way you would. I don't review anything I haven't personally used for at least a week or two, and a free sample never earns a better score — if a brand sends something, it goes through the identical test as everything else, or it doesn't get reviewed. Reviews are never sold, and placement in a ranking is never for sale.
I test the products people actually ask me about: the best-sellers, the ones going viral, and the ones readers request. For a roundup, I aim to include the most popular and most representative options in the category — not just the ones I happen to like. If a well-known product is missing, it usually means it's next on my list, not that it was left out on purpose.
Every product is scored 1 to 5 on the same six things:
The final rating is a weighted average of those six criteria, with protein quality and taste weighted most heavily — together they decide whether a coffee is actually worth drinking every day. That's also why my top pick doesn't win every category: a product can top the overall score while a competitor still beats it on value or single-scoop protein, and I show that in the per-product scorecards. When two products are close, taste and real-world usability are usually the tiebreaker.
As a nutritionist, the label is where I spend the most time. I look at the protein source and whether it's a complete protein, the exact dose per scoop (not just per "serving," which can be two scoops), the sweetener system, added sugar, caffeine, and any functional ingredients — and crucially, whether those extras are disclosed at real, effective doses or just sprinkled in for the label. I'm skeptical of "proprietary blends," undisclosed amounts, and health claims a product can't back up.
Numbers on a label only tell part of the story, so I live with each product for a week or two, not a single sitting. That's how you find the things that matter day to day: whether it still tastes good on day six, whether it upsets your stomach, whether it keeps you full until lunch, and whether it's something you'd genuinely reach for again. A product that scores well on paper but I never want to drink again won't top my list.
For anything you drink every day, I give real weight to third-party testing and quality certifications (for example, testing for banned substances, heavy metals, or label accuracy). Transparency about sourcing and manufacturing counts in a product's favor; secrecy counts against it.
To keep things fair, I test products against the same criteria whether or not I have a partnership with the brand, and I keep my commercial relationships separate from how a product scores. You can read exactly how this site is funded — including my brand partnerships — on the how this site makes money page.
I re-test my picks every few months and whenever a brand reformulates. If a product changes for better or worse, its score changes too, and I update the "last updated" date on the review so you always know how current it is. If I ever get something wrong, I correct it and note the change.
Think I've missed a product that belongs in a roundup, or spotted something that's out of date? I genuinely want to know — send me a note and I'll take a look.
I'm Lauren Mitchell, a certified nutritionist based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I write every review on this site personally. My goal is simple: to read the labels so you don't have to, and to tell you what I'd actually buy. Questions about my process? Get in touch — and see how this site makes money for full transparency.