Now, cold brew has been a favourite with coffee connoisseurs and millennials for a while now. For the connoisseurs, the lower perceived acidity, smoothness and nuanced flavour are contributing factors to its popularity.
Conversely, millennials see cold brew coffee (and iced coffee generally) more like an experience - just think of nitro cold brew. Furthermore, cold brew is attractive for on the move millennials as it is easy to transport comes in convenient packaging and, as some commentators propose, more ecological.
Whatever the drivers behind the growth in cold brew coffee, what is certain is that it has infused across almost every area of coffee - from iced lattes to hard coffee. It just falls to us to take you through some of the top trends in cold brew coffee.
Home Brew
Perhaps the best place to start is at home with cold brew. With lockdown affecting so many peoples out of home purchases, there has been a boom in home cold brew coffee makers - similar to other "COVID purchases" such as eggs cups, and air fryers - the cold brew flask has become the must-have item for coffee lovers.
Nitro Brew
If straight-up cold brew is just not enough for your home coffee need, how about home nitro cold brew? From handheld cream whippers counter top kegs, there is a slew of new machines on the market ready to aerate and foam your cold brew into a whipped nitro frenzy.
Calibrated Cans
One of cold brew's attractions is the claim that it has more antioxidants than hot brewed coffee (the claim is the boiling water in hot brew destroys these chemicals). Although the evidence is not conclusive, the perception still percolates cold brew's reputation as a "healthier" coffee. Taking advantage of this is a subset of cold brew coffee that has added functionality. Be it adding CBD, MCT oil, infusing with adaptogens or brewing with a specific ph or caffeine content, cold brew's health halo is still glowing.
To read our report on Cold Brew Coffee in full click here, or to find out about 'shifting the future of food & drink' and to join the TFP community visit www.thefoodpeople.co.uk