Hot Weather, Cold Coffee

It’s getting hotter and hotter every year. And this summer is no exception!

As consumers we love to cool ourselves down with cold coffee, but spare no expense to get our caffeine kick. “POW!”

With the increasing demand year on year for Iced Coffee, many coffee shops and coffee brands have been pushing to sell more quantities and varieties of Iced Coffee. As a result, the increase of variety and developing styles of Iced coffee have driven up the consumer desire to buy more. And so on, and so on…

Moreover consumers who have been known to enjoy a cold beverage have also started to switch out their usual hot coffees for something sweeter and more refreshing all year round.

So what is available? Is any method of cold coffee better than the rest? Let’s get into it!

Iced coffee

First, we have the current champion. The widely popular and super easy to make, Iced Coffee.

Well technically all of the drinks mentioned in this article are “Iced Coffee” of some sort but all are slightly different from one another. You get the jist.

Although popularized in the western world in the late 19th century, Iced Coffee is said to have originated from Algeria around 1840. Originally called Mazagran, a sweetened coffee syrup over ice and diluted with water. From then, coffee brewing methods have evolved and have been adapted by many cultures around the world leading to today.

The modern Iced Coffee is typically a longer drink presented in a cocktail fashion. Ice cubes accompanied by a mix of water, milk and sometimes flavoured syrup will be met with a strong and sharp espresso shot. Strong enough to cut through the concoction of flavours, yet leaving enough room to fully enjoy and brag about it to your mates.

We can all agree that the look of an iced coffee is now an iconic sight in the world of coffee. The seemingly most “Marketable” coffee to buy in the hotter stages of the year is the Starbucks “Iced Caramel Macchiato”. Many younger people find it trendy and are more than happy to pay the massive mark-up price in order get their hands on one. Still delicious though.

A simple mix of ice, milk, espresso and vanilla syrup (Can’t forget the caramel drizzle of course) is all that’s is needed to make this staple cold beverage.

We all love a basic Iced Coffee, and coffee shops love the margins made when selling them. I think it’s here to stay haha.

Cold Brew

For anyone that has tried making your own Cold Brew overnight and has succeeded, I applaud you. Cold brew used to just be a way to brew a medium strength coffee for the convenience of selling it quick during busy service periods. But it’s become much, much more that that!!

There are a ton of recipes online about how to make Cold Brew, both at home for personal use and in large batches for booming businesses. Ultimately the process is the same…low and slow.

Cold Brew can be described as a mix between a Percolation brew and an Immersion Brew. A certain amount of cold water is introduced to a certain amount of ground (typically medium coarse) coffee to form a ratio. The brew is then sealed and left alone for 12-36 hours; in a cold place or fridge, typically away from sunlight, maybe under the stairs. (Insert Harry Potter reference here)

Although there are many recipes online, most either tend towards making a delicate and bright filter style cold brew or a concentrate to then dilute at a later time. Both can produce fantastic results if brewed right with a delicious coffee.

As a lover of bright, zesty and slightly acidic flavoured coffees, I am so happy to have cold brew as my go-to summer drink. It highlights all the boldness of the flavours presented whereas reduces any harshness and bitterness. A concentrate poured over an Iced Tonic with a wedge of citrus fruit, now we’re talking!

Iced drip coffee

Iced drip coffee. Or “Japanese Iced Coffee” came about in the early 20th Century and we are forever thankful for it being worked on meticulously over the years. (Sometimes called “Flash brew” by some it’s worth mentioning.)

Barista’s love to make it, it’s super simple and most importantly is a superb way to show of a high quality coffee. Furthermore the set-up of Japanese Iced Coffee is also quite theatrical and eye catching. Many bars in London impress with brewing counters fit with scales and equipment suited for customers that want to see their coffee being made from scratch. Iced pour overs are no exception.

Recommended to drink as is though as added flavourings or milk can easily disguise the flavour of coffee.

How to make it: The simple way to make an Iced Pour over is to do exactly that. Use a standard recipe for a pour over, and brew it over ice. As the hot liquid falls on top of the ice it will cool rapidly.

Apparatus such as: Hario V60, Chemex, Kalita, Clever Dripper etc. can all produce great iced coffee.

Again, it’s 2024. There are so many methods and recipes out there so finding one which suits your own palette is super important.

A little extra mention here to the “Slow Cold Drip” method where ice cold water is controlled very carefully to drop small amounts of liquid on top of ground coffee to fall through. It takes a little longer however reduces the effect of melted ice diluting the final brew. It also has quite a theatrical image also and is used in some specialty coffee bars.

Nitro brews

New and exciting, simple to make, fun to drink, Nitro Brew coffee is sought after by many. But what is it?

Nitro as you can probably guess comes from the word “Nitrogen”. The nitrogen gas is pumped through a cold brew mix to form a concoction that looks similar to a “Pale Guinness” and has a playful, creamy texture.

You’d think that Nitro Coffee would have a gassy element to it when drinking, but with a nicely brewed recipe it can be wonderfully delicious. So if Nitro Brew has so many positive features about it, why don’t we see it more?

Although a simple concept, Nitro Brew takes more than just the simple coffee and water blend. It requires the Nitrogen itself, and a way to insert the nitrogen into the coffee. This can be done by buying special canisters and shaking it up in the same way you would for fresh squirty cream. Or for larger batches, dedicated machines feed the gas through the coffee as it’s being poured, similar to some draft alcohols. Both methods require an investment beforehand and extra time to prepare cold brews to be used. Many coffee shops might say that it’s too much.

I would say however that if the chance arises next, buy a can of nitro brew from a good source. It’s great stuff, much better than most energy drinks. (I am super biased though!)

Conclusion

There are actually many more ways of drinking coffee cold, from intriguingly crafted filter brews for the coffee connoisseurs to more indulgent sweet blends for those who think plain coffee is a bit too punchy.

Whichever way you drink it, we are all aiming to achieve that first initial sip of delightful refreshment.

I think the world of iced coffee is ever evolving and I’d love to do some more research to keep up with the trends and talents wide spread across the world. It’s here to stay!