Cold Brew Coffee

Just because it is cold doesn’t mean it is cold brew! Unlike iced coffee, which is brewed hot and poured over ice, cold brew coffee is prepared differently and delivers a much different taste. Coarse-ground coffee is steeped in room-temperature water for hours and then the grounds are filtered out. What results is a coffee concentrate that has never been heated so that the acids and oils that give coffee its bitter taste are never released and consumers experience a smoother sip. And as 2016 has shown, cold brew coffee has never been hotter!

According to Mintel, the cold brew sub-segment grew 580% from 2011-2016 with cold brew sales in 2016 being the strongest yet. Despite the massive growth, cold brew makes up only a fraction of the total coffee category. But big brands like Starbucks and Dr. Pepper/Snapple have taken notice of this rising trend and have released cold brew editions both on premise and RTD formats.  

With Millennials and the iGeneration as the most supportive consumer bases, the cold brew moment should continue its upward trajectory. New offerings are already giving consumers more choice—especially when it comes to flavors and preparation methods. Nitro brew, a nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee, is establishing itself as the next “it” coffee and is pushing the growth of cold brew to the next level.  

As the leaders in delivering preferred taste, our flavorists and food technologists are prepared to help you create a flavored or nitro cold brew coffee that aligns with this exploding trend and deliver the great taste customers expect. To learn more about our formulation capabilities, please get in touch.