What is nitro cold brew?

Nitro coffee is cold-brewed coffee with nitrogen gas. There are several forms of nitrogen.

What is nitro cold brew?

Nitro coffee is cold-brewed coffee with nitrogen gas. There are several forms of nitrogen. There are a few ways in which nitrogen-infused coffee differs from a regular cup of cold coffee. First, your waiter will serve cold nitro coffee from the tap or from the infusion kettle.

The drink starts with regular cold coffee. It's made by soaking ground coffee in cold water for several hours (usually at least overnight and up to 24 hours). The mixture is then infused with the nitrogen gas just before pouring it. This is done with special equipment that you may be more used to seeing in a bar than in a local coffee shop.

Our Nitro Cold Brew is created when our unique Cold Brew (simmered for 20 hours) is infused with nitrogen as it comes out of the tap. The nitrogen infusion creates microbubbles, giving the coffee a frothy, cascading texture. Nitro coffee is simply cold-brewed coffee with colourless and odourless nitrogen gas. If you've been to a local coffee shop recently, you might have noticed a new dish on the menu called nitro brew coffee.

Coffee shops and restaurants invest in commercial-grade equipment that can infuse cold beer with nitrogen gas on demand. The beans that the chain uses to prepare its cold beer already have a slight natural sweetness, and the foamy nitro cream offers a soft and thick texture, so you won't miss the cream or sugar. At the Manhattan coffee shop, Mighty Brew Bros (), it is used in cocktails such as nitro piña colada and combined with vanilla ice cream in a nitro float. An additional benefit of this brewing method is the fact that the lower the acid, the drink normally tastes much less bitter, a factor that any fan of nitrofrized beer will no doubt attest to.

Like all cold beverages, the nitro version is very low in acid, which is beneficial for coffee drinkers who have a sensitive stomach or are prone to heartburn and acid reflux. Cold coffee originated in Japan, where it has been a traditional method of brewing coffee for centuries. The lower acidity of the Nitro Brew final coffee is more pleasant for the stomach and causes fewer digestive problems for coffee lovers. While the coffee beans used in the preparation are usually to blame for higher acidity, in the case of nitrocold beer, it's actually the preparation style itself that helps keep the acid on a discreet note.

You may not have seen nitro brew coffee on the menu at your local coffee shop yet, but it will soon be there. Nitro cold brew is a variation of cold coffee that uses the addition of nitrogen gas to create a smooth texture. The cold infusion with nitrogen is released through a pressurized valve with small holes to create a creamy effect. Right now, Starbucks' Nitro Cold Brew is available in just 14 stores in Seattle and another three in Portland, Oregon.

Glenna Matthys
Glenna Matthys

Hardcore internet practitioner. Wannabe beer advocate. Infuriatingly humble beer expert. Devoted coffee evangelist. Hardcore social media scholar. Friendly beer fanatic.