Ka'Chava Reviews

Protein powders are extraordinarily popular, but many of us might find them lacking, wishing for a similarly convenient drink that could tackle more health goals than merely increasing our protein intake. But we’re already saddled with a complex choice, with whey, soy, peas, and hemp being just some of the sources making up available protein powders. Adding more ingredients to the selection process is a daunting thought.

Ka’Chava might be a good place to start, though. It’s a complex protein powder whose formula takes it well beyond the scope of most competitors, better resembling some superfood powders and meal replacements out there. It offers 25g of protein per serving but also delivers greens, fiber, antioxidants, probiotics, adaptogens, and more.

Our team set out to evaluate Ka’Chava’s formula to see if its diverse ingredients actually make for a superior product and whether it tastes good enough in the first place to be worth your time.

Ka’Chava tastes excellent. If it was nothing more than a vegan protein powder, its taste alone would be enough to secure it a high rating. When you take its other ingredients into account, including a blend of greens, fruits, probiotics, and digestive enzymes on par with many superfood supplements, it becomes clear that the product is in a league of its own. The biggest drawback for most people would be the price, but the cost is ultimately less than you’d pay for a protein powder and a superfood drink separately.

At Innerbody Research, we research and test every product and service we review, including nutritional drinks like Ka’Chava. Over the years, our team has tested nearly 100 protein powders, greens powders, and meal replacements. We’ve also spent countless hours poring over research into these products’ various ingredients, from specific protein sources to superfoods and antioxidants.

For this Ka’Chava review, specifically, we got hands-on with the product, tried it for ourselves, and reviewed nearly 120 research papers related to its ingredients and intended effects. Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this guide was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy and will continue to be monitored for updates by our editorial team.

Over the past two decades, Innerbody Research has helped tens of millions of readers make more informed decisions about staying healthy and living healthier lifestyles.

In evaluating Ka’chava, we compared it to other leading protein powders, meal replacements, and nutritional drinks, considering five specific areas in which it might set itself apart. These areas were effectiveness — essentially an evaluation of its ingredients compared to its promises — safety, cost, customer service, and taste and mixability as determined by our hands-on testing.

Let’s take a closer look at how Ka’Chava performed in each of these categories.

Effectiveness

On Ka’Chava’s website, you’ll find that the company compares itself to three different product categories: protein powders, greens powders, and meal replacements. Our rating for Ka’Chava’s effectiveness is based on how it performs in each category.

As you can see, Ka’Chava delivers on two of its three promised effects, and there are a lot of good things to be said about many of its individual ingredients, which we’ll discuss more below. We might not recommend Ka’Chava as a meal replacement, but it could replace both a protein powder and a greens/superfood powder.

Safety

Ka’Chava should be perfectly safe for most people. The main exception would be those who are allergic to any of its ingredients, such as tree nuts (given the presence of coconut milk). The addition of digestive enzymes should help prevent discomfort in anyone sensitive to some of the product’s less common ingredients or to ingredients associated with gastrointestinal (GI) upset.

One small knock against Ka’Chava’s safety, at least in our eyes, is its insistence that you can use it as a meal replacement. Unless directed to do so by your doctor, limiting one of your meals to 240 calories could put you in a dangerous deficit unless your other meals are calorically dense. If you have Ka’Chava for breakfast and a salad for lunch, you’d likely need to eat something unhealthy to meet your body’s daily caloric needs. In our opinion, that defeats the purpose of adding a health product to your regimen.

Ka’Chava’s use of proprietary blends for each of its ingredient classes is also frustrating, as it makes it hard to know the quantities of so many ingredients. However, proprietary blending is an extremely common practice among similar products, so it didn’t cost quite as much in our rating as it might have.

One last thing for which we give Ka’Chava a lot of credit is its clarity in labeling which vitamins and minerals were added to the formula and which ones are naturally occurring and measured from the presence of other ingredients. For example, selenium, iodine, and biotin were added to the formula, whereas molybdenum, iron, and potassium come from the included food sources. Just about every other product you could compare to Ka’Chava leaves out these distinctions, and we appreciate their presence on the label.

Cost

Held up against individual protein powders or greens drinks, Ka’Chava is expensive. At $70 for a little over 33oz ($60 with a subscription), the up-front cost and the cost per serving are much higher compared to many competitors. Let’s take a quick look at how this comparison shakes out with a comparable greens powder and pea protein purchased separately or together:

As you can see, there’s a way of looking at things (cost per ounce) in which it makes more sense to buy Ka’Chava alone than to buy both a greens powder and a protein powder. And if you chose Athletic Greens instead of Amazing Grass for your greens powder, you’d spend around $80/bag up front. Ka’Chava presents an especially good deal in that comparison, though Athletic Greens has one of the best ingredient blends in the business.

There’s one thing that can throw the question of price out the window, though — and that’s taste.

Taste and mixability

Much of what we do here at Innerbody is objective — for example, comparing product doses to clinical doses to determine safety and efficacy, or pitting the features of one brand against another’s to see which are superior. When subjective criteria are involved, we try not to rave in any way; too ardent an endorsement could undermine our credibility to an extent.

However, Ka’Chava has made one of the best-tasting beverages our testing team has tried, in either their professional capacity as testers or their personal lives. To date, no protein powder, greens powder, or meal replacement we’ve had has tasted as good. At this point, we’ve only tried the chocolate flavor. We find that competing products usually have a chocolate option, so we always start there to draw direct comparisons, and Ka’Chava’s chocolate flavor is outstanding.

The product is sweetened with monk fruit, but it’s extremely difficult to detect. There’s a pleasant sweetness but no monk fruit aftertaste. It also contains powdered coconut milk, which adds a creaminess, even when mixed with plain water.

The real star in Ka’Chava’s flavor is the sacha inchi, a protein source that boasts a peanutty flavor. Its presence here turns a glass of chocolate Ka’Chava into the equivalent of a liquid peanut butter cup. It’s rich and flavorful without being cloyingly sweet or strong.

Ka’Chava also blends very well. It disappears into your liquid of choice with a blender or immersion blender. We found some clumps remaining when we used shaker cups to mix our drinks, but if you like little dry pops of chocolate peanut butter deliciousness, those tiny pockets of unmixed powder are a bonus. (Several of our testers are millennials who grew up drinking powdered Nesquik, which often left sweet, tasty clumps of chocolate powder that they loved dearly.)

Customer service

While our testers had no negative experiences with Ka’Chava customer service, we can’t ignore the large volume of customer complaints specifically related to ordering, billing, and cancellation. One set of complaints relates to the company’s guarantee, which doesn’t offer money back but provides store credit instead. It’s understandable that customers might feel misled by a satisfaction guarantee that doesn’t offer a refund, but the policy is also relatively clearly spelled out on the website rather than being buried in the fine print.

What’s more concerning is that multiple customers complain about Ka’Chava putting recurring orders through even after a customer has canceled. There also appear to be issues with Ka’Chava’s payment processing, which may cause either you to get double-billed for a single order or your order to fail altogether.

If Ka’Chava could see to the issues with its payment processing and offer financial restitution in these extreme situations, its customer service rating would undoubtedly rise.

Ka’Chava is the name of both the company and its drink powder. The powder is available in five flavors:

• Vanilla
• Chocolate
• Coconut Acai
• Chai
• Matcha

It’s tempting to call Ka’Chava a protein powder, but that doesn’t fully encapsulate its formula. Yes, it’s a powdered drink mix, the majority of which is plant-based protein, but it also contains components you’d typically see advertised in superfood powders (and it says “superfood” right on the label). Ka’Chava also bills its product as a meal replacement, though we’ll address its potential as such a little further below.

The company’s only other product is a travel bottle manufactured by MiiR that bears the Ka’Chava name and logo.

Ka’Chava could be a great addition to your diet if you find it hard to get a lot of nutrients into your system, especially if your macronutrient balance is too high in carbs and fats and too low in protein. Each serving contains 25g of protein from a blend of peas, brown rice, sacha inchi, amaranth, and quinoa.

On the micronutrient side, Ka’Chava’s blends offer a thorough multivitamin profile, as well as probiotics and digestive enzymes to help with potential GI upset and improve nutrient absorption. So, if your daily intake of fruits and vegetables leaves something to be desired, Ka’Chava may help fill the gap.

The product is vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free, so it conforms to a wide range of diets.

Who might want to look elsewhere?

Certain people may want to pass on Ka’Chava. At the top of the list are those who are allergic to certain ingredients, including anyone with a tree nut allergy. Certain ingredients in the blends may trouble those with FODMAP sensitivities, as well.

Like most protein powders, Ka’Chava isn’t keto-friendly. Depending on the flavor you choose, it has either 17 or 18 grams of net carbohydrates per serving. Keto dieters would be better off with an unflavored pea protein, like Naked Pea from Naked Nutrition.

The best way to get a sense of whether Ka’Chava would be a good fit for your regimen is to take a close look at its ingredients and nutrition facts. While we can’t cover all of the nearly 60 ingredients in each flavor, we can examine the research behind key components.

Protein blend

Ka’Chava’s protein blend combines five plant-based protein sources:

• Yellow peas
• Organic whole-grain brown rice
• Organic sacha inchi
• Organic amaranth
• Organic quinoa

While pea protein is the most abundant ingredient, sacha inchi may be the star of the show. The seed of the sacha inchi plant is rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs), with a favorable balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (0.83:1-1.09:1).3 The Western diet has an imbalance of around 15:1 omega-6 to omega-3, which can account for significant differences in inflammation compared to non-Western diets.4 Attenuating this imbalance has been shown to reduce incidences of cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, asthma, and autoimmune disorders.3

Combining the five protein sources in a single blend also helps round out the amino acid profile. There are 20 amino acids that make up protein in the human body. A “complete” protein source has all 20 amino acids in effective quantities, but different protein sources contain them in different amounts. As an example, pea protein is sometimes criticized for its low methionine content. Quinoa can help make up for the deficiency, as research indicates that its methionine content “meets…the requirement for all age groups.”5

Omega EFA and fiber blend

Ka'Chava's omega EFA and fiber blend provides additional EFAs from chia and flax seeds, as well as 4-7g of fiber per serving, depending on flavor. Considering the average North American gets around 17g of fiber daily compared to the 28-50g recommended in various studies, it’s no wonder health conditions like colorectal cancer are on the rise.6 7 Those extra grams of fiber can be critical, and Ka’Chava’s chocolate blend contains 7g, the most of any flavor.

Antioxidant and superfruit blend

Flavonoids, polyphenols, and other compounds found in many fruits and vegetables have been directly linked to the mitigation of oxidation — a process that creates inflammation and cell death, which contribute to aging and disease.8 9 The purpose of the antioxidant and superfruit blend is to give your body the tools to reduce oxidative stress caused by free radicals and, hopefully, slow down the associated adverse processes.

Here’s how some of the antioxidant ingredients work:

Greens blend

Ka’Chava’s greens blend contains 20 ingredients, more than any other blend in its formula. Many of them will be familiar to most people — parsley, brussels sprouts, asparagus — but there are also a few components that are likely less so.

Here’s a look at some of the most noteworthy ingredients in Ka’Chava’s greens blend:

Adaptogen blend

Adaptogens are substances that can help the body deal with stress. This doesn’t necessarily mean psychological stress; many adaptogens target physical stresses like inflammation or cortisol levels. Ka’Chava’s adaptogen blend comprises maca and ginger roots along with four varieties of mushrooms. Let’s take a look at the adaptogenic potential of the mushrooms in this blend:

Probiotic and prebiotic blend

While it’s nice that Ka’Chava includes probiotics in its formula, the label doesn’t provide critical information that could define their potential. We know the blend includes two Lactobacillus species, rhamnosus and acidophilus. L. rhamnosus strains have been shown to block some inflammatory signaling pathways, and L. acidophilus seems to attenuate the symptoms of several digestive disorders.28 29 But we don’t know the exact strains of the species in the blend, nor their quantity in CFU, both of which are key to assuming any impact they might have. Ka’Chava only provides the milligram weight of the whole blend, which also contains the prebiotic fiber inulin.

Digestive enzyme blend

Any significant change to your diet has the potential to upset your gut, and digestive upset is commonly associated with some of Ka’Chava’s ingredients, including sacha inchi.30 Including some straightforward digestive enzymes helps guard against this side effect.

The enzymes in Ka’Chava are:

• Amylase
• Protease
• Cellulase
• Lactase
• Lipase

Important other ingredients

While not included in Ka’Chava’s official blends, a couple of ingredients listed in the label’s ‘other ingredients’ section are worth highlighting for what they add to the formula.

• Coconut milk: Coconut milk may be good for cholesterol levels and adds a nice creaminess to the final product.31
• Lo han fruit extract: This is another term for monk fruit, which provides a light sweetness without the aftertaste associated with stevia.

With such a long list of ingredients, it would be normal to wonder whether Ka’Chava is a safe product. Fortunately, most of the ingredients are natural foods, many of which are organically grown, and the vast majority of which have great safety profiles in research.

Ka’Chava’s formula contains some ingredients that might pose a threat to certain individuals. It contains coconut milk, which makes it dangerous to those with tree nut allergies. It also contains inulin and a few other ingredients that might aggravate GI symptoms in people with FODMAP sensitivities.

Perhaps the biggest concern with Ka’Chava’s safety, however, is the company’s insistence that you can use it as a meal replacement. The issue is that Ka’Chava provides just 240 calories per serving. That’s only about 12% of the recommended daily caloric intake in the U.S.32 Most of the successful meal replacement research we’ve seen uses replacements with calorie counts closer to 400.33

Granted, there are some ingredients in Ka’Chava that can promote satiety, making you feel full for longer after you finish the drink. The mushrooms in Ka’Chava’s adaptogen blend and the green tea in the greens blend are two good examples.34 35 But caloric deficits require careful management, and cutting one of your three daily meals down to 240 calories may not be the right decision for you. If you’re interested in using Ka’Chava as a meal replacement, we encourage you to talk to your doctor first.

Sacha inchi and peanut allergies

Sacha inchi is sometimes colloquially called Inca peanut or mountain peanut. It imparts a decidedly peanutty flavor to Ka’Chava’s blends. That’s one of the reasons the chocolate flavor was so highly rated by our testers — chocolate and peanut butter are good friends. But its inclusion in the Ka’Chava formula also raises a common question about sacha inchi: can you have it if you’re allergic to peanuts?

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, sacha inchi is safe to consume by people with peanut allergies (and tree nut allergies, though Ka’Chava’s coconut milk likely rules those folks out).36 Sacha inchi isn’t botanically related to the peanut, and there are no documented reports of an allergic reaction.

As with many products like Ka’Chava, we set out to test it for ourselves. When we try a new flavored protein powder, we typically reach for the chocolate flavor, as it’s ubiquitous among protein supplements and allows us to compare competing companies more directly. Hence, we picked Ka’Chava’s chocolate flavor over its other four offerings.

We mixed Ka’Chava into plain water as well as almond milk via different methods:

• Stirring with a fork: Not effective, very clumpy
• In a dedicated shaker bottle: Mostly effective, but with a few small clumps
• With an immersion blender: Completely effective
• In a Vitamix blender: Completely effective

As to the taste, all of our testers were impressed with Ka’Chava’s chocolate flavor. It was sweet enough to cover any potential bitterness from its pea protein, greens, and mushrooms. And, despite being partially sweetened with monk fruit, there was no detectable monk fruit flavor.

It was pleasantly chocolatey, and the peanutty flavor of the sacha inchi was a perfect companion to the chocolate, creating the impression of a chocolate peanut butter cup. The use of coconut milk in the formula also lent it a thick and creamy quality even when mixed with plain water, though our testers preferred it with almond milk or stirred into Greek yogurt.

From a satiety standpoint, our testers were pleasantly surprised to find the product to be nearly as filling as the company claims it would be. It’s likely not enough to replace a lunch or dinner and leave you feeling full, but you might get away with using it as a breakfast if you’re in a hurry one morning.

Ka'Chava sells only two products: its drink mix, available in five flavors, and a travel bottle, available in two colors. Ka'Chava might cause a little sticker shock at first, but its cost is ultimately in line with or better than what you'd pay for a high-quality vegan protein powder and a similarly composed superfood or greens powder.

You can save a little bit of money by subscribing, as well. Here’s how it works out:

That free gift you get when you subscribe is a five-pack of single-serve packets, each containing a different Ka’Chava flavor. Combined with the company’s guarantee, this allows you to try each of the flavors and decide which one you like best. If it’s a different flavor than the big bag you bought, you can swap it out for free.

Ka’Chava’s travel bottle is made by MiiR and branded with the Ka’Chava name and logo. It costs $30 and is available in black or white with a capacity of 20 ounces. Similar bottles made by MiiR cost $35 on the company’s site, so this is a pretty good deal for a well-made, insulated bottle.

Ka’Chava’s satisfaction guarantee

Ka’Chava’s guarantee has caused much consternation on the company’s Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot pages, with numerous customers complaining about its fine print. That’s because there’s no route within the guarantee that leads to getting your money back. Instead, Ka’Chava guarantees that you’ll like whatever flavor you choose. If you don’t, you can swap that bag out for another flavor until you find one you like. If you don’t like any, you can get store credit, but that’s not very useful unless the company expands its flavor options and introduces something you happen to like. You’re also on the hook for shipping back the flavors you don’t like, which can end up costing quite a bit.

Still, it’s a bit more generous than Naked Nutrition’s 14-day policy, but not as generous as Athletic Greens, which lets you try its greens powder and request a full return within 90 days.

Ka’Chava’s online reputation

The payment processing problems we discussed in the customer service section above have significantly damaged Ka’Chava’s online reputation. The parent company, Tribal Nutrition, has an F from the Better Business Bureau, where 14 customer reviews result in a score of 1.57 out of 5 stars.

The picture on Trustpilot is a little better. There, Ka’Chava has a 2.4-star rating from 59 reviews. It’s worth noting that these review counts are rather low and don’t rise to the level of statistical significance. Still, it’s hard to ignore the fact that so many complaints center on the same payment issues.

If you aren’t sure Ka’Chava is worth the price or you want to have separate protein powders and superfood products, you might consider going with an alternative. To help compare, let’s take a look at similar drinks that offer diverse blends of ingredients, as well as standalone protein powders, superfood drinks, and dedicated meal replacements.

Protein powders

Many people will likely use Ka’Chava as a protein powder, a product for supporting their general health and their performance in the gym. They’ll consider the inclusion of all Ka’Chava’s various blends as a health-boosting addition they might not get elsewhere — something that’s nice to have but not essential.

But for those who are interested only in a good plant-based protein, there are less expensive options that might serve them better. These include:

• Naked Nutrition: Vegan and non-vegan options, plain or in various flavors, for a fair price
• Gainful: Vegan and non-vegan options customizable by goal, costing a little more than the average powder
• Nutrasumma: Well-priced vegan and non-vegan options, including a fermented pea protein

Superfood powders

We’re using the term “superfood powders” here to encompass both fruit-based powders and greens powders, as Ka’Chava has a nice blend of both. If you already get plenty of protein in your diet but are concerned about your fruit and veggie intake, superfood powders can give you access to many of the micronutrients you may be missing. Some of our favorites include:

• Athletic Greens AG1: An admittedly expensive option but one with an unbeatable quantity and diversity of ingredients
• Nested Naturals Super Greens: Outstanding quality-to-price ratio but not as comprehensive a formula as AG1
• Orgain Superfoods + Immunity Up: A mid-tier option, though one that doesn’t list any of its ingredient quantities, not even as a proprietary blend

Meal replacements

Meal replacements should be nutritious, filling, and sufficiently calorie-dense to ensure you can meet a minimum daily requirement. Ka’Chava ticks two of these boxes nicely, but its 240 calories per serving are likely too few to replace a meal completely (unless you’re making up for it with healthy snacks, like nuts).

If you’re looking for a product that ticks all three boxes, some of these companies might be able to help:

• Soylent: Soy-based shakes in various flavors, delivering 400 calories each
• Huel: Pea protein shakes that are pricier than Soylent but offer superior nutrition and around 400 calories
• Garden of Life Raw Organic Meal: Good choice for organic eaters, but a little pricey and only 300 calories per packet