Are you someone who loves coffee and wants to become a home barista? If so, you’re in good company as 62% of Americans consume coffee-based beverages each day. A large proportion of the younger generation of coffee drinkers are opting for high-quality gourmet options, with roughly 60 percent preferring the more specialty gourmet style of coffee over plain conventionally made drip-brewed coffee.
Have you heard about the rise in popularity of cold brew coffee amongst younger coffee lovers? Sales have been rapidly increasing annually.
What’s the scoop on cold brew coffee, and are there any advantages to it?
“Is cold brew, iced coffee, and nitro coffee the same thing?”
Well, for starters let’s clear up some confusion. You need to be familiar with what kind of cold brew coffee you’re ordering before trying it for the first time.
What Is Cold Brew?
We should be explicit here, cold brew is a totally different type of beverage than iced coffee. Cold coffee which is the same as regular coffee but served over ice is either mixed with milk or consumed without any additions.
Here’s a quick video showing how to make a basic cold brew:
Cold brew is a type of coffee created by allowing coffee grounds to brew in cold water over an extended period of time, just like when steeping a bag of tea in a cup of water. The beans are immersed in the water for 12 to 24 hours. It is necessary to give the coffee beans time rather than warmth in order to draw out the flavor, caffeine, and sugars from them. The steeping method is more considerate to the coffee bean, so the resulting flavor is not as harsh and bitter as it may be due to roasting.
The longer it steeps, the stronger it will be.
Brewing coffee with cold water as opposed to hot water is essential for making cold brew. If the beverage is heated up and allowed to cool, it is not considered to be a cold brew.
Cold coffees that are not cold brew include: iced americanos, iced cappuccinos, iced lattes, and standard iced coffee.
It’s important to keep in mind that cold-brewed coffee is made by allowing time to do the work, rather than using heat.
Cold drinks that have been brewed can be served right away or can be made more concentrated. The latter drinks, as the title implies, possess a much larger quantity of coffee.
Typically, pre-prepared iced coffees come in a 1:12 mix, while concentrated forms of the beverage will range between 1:4 and 1:8.
Once the cold brew is made (details below), it is combined with water and ice to give a strong-tasting iced coffee.
If you would like to, you are able to put milk and sugar in the beverage, but I prefer to drink it natural, with no additives.
Okay, but What’s Nitro Coffee?
Nitro coffee is a type of cold brew coffee that is infused with nitrogen gas. The coffee is placed into a beer keg for storage and then is poured from a tap for drinking. The rationale for using a beer tap for coffee is that it yields a silky, sugared taste. When you pour a cold glass of nitro beer, you’ll get something similar to a Guinness, featuring a frothy, rich topping.
Instead of carbon dioxide, which creates carbonated drinks such as Coca-Cola, nitrogen is employed.
The nitrogen bubbles that form are tinier, creating a consistency that is velvety, luscious, and smooth. Furthermore, the nitrogen bubbles provide a slight flavor of sweetness.
Nitro coffee also offers a visual experience. It is dispensed through a faucet, similar to a draft beer at a tavern. When poured, it appears similar to a stout beer or a Guinness with a dark appearance and a full, frothy head. You can observe clouds of tiny bubbles floating downward and combining to create the foam on top of the cup.
It’s truly mesmerizing!
Be sure to utilize a glass cup while drinking to observe the visuals!
Nitro-cold brews are not usually served with ice because it can have a detrimental effect on the smooth texture of the nitrogen bubbles.
They don’t usually give milk or sugar with these drinks since the nitrogen bubbles create a creamy taste and sweetness, however if you wish to, you can add those items without spoiling the consistency of the drink.
It is significant to understand that you never combine nitro with either milk or ice – this would be an enormous faux pas and would definitely invoke surprised looks and scathing comments among the local trendy crowds. You could even get banned.
If you prefer a beverage that is potent, and has a dark color, rich texture, and cool temperature, then nitro coffee might be the ideal option for you.
And New Orleans-Style Cold Brew?
The same brewing method is employed for normal cold brew, however chicory is included in the grounds, producing a sweet taste in the completed beverage. Ingredients such as milk and sugar or artificial sweeteners can be put in to create a smooth and refreshing beverage with an ample amount of caffeine.
Now that you have the facts, let’s investigate the benefits of cold brew (and its variations).
It is believed that drinking cold brew coffee can be more advantageous than drinking a very hot cup of coffee. We removed the superfluous details and provided you with both the advantages and disadvantages of cold brew coffee.
Benefits of Cold Brew Coffee
Extra Caffeine Kick
The amount of coffee to water in cold brew is estimated to be 1:60 because of its sustained soaking period. This is in comparison to the common ratio for drip coffee which is generally around 1.20. Whoa! That’s a lot of caffeine right there.
Bear in mind that many will tend to mix cold brew coffee concentrate with either water, cream, or milk. This act of doing so will lessen the intensity of the caffeine. Also, there are several variables to consider:
- the coffee beans that you use
- the total time you steep your coffee for
- how much milk, cream, or water do you use to dilute the brew
To use an illustration, a 16-ounce cup of the Starbucks cold brew typically has an estimated 200 mg of caffeine. A sixteen-ounce cup of hot coffee will have anywhere from 260 to 375 mg of caffeine in it, depending on the type of beans and various aspects discussed before.
It is evident that cold brew coffee contains a substantial amount of caffeine, yet this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will feel particularly jittery after consuming your prepared beverage. If you want to become sharper mentally or physically, all you need is a personalized glass of cold brew designed to fit your body’s needs.
Weight Loss Assistant
Cold brew coffee, due to its high caffeine content, could be a beneficial tool when trying to shed a few pounds.
How? By having a cup of cold brew or nitro after exercising, you can enhance your body’s post-workout caloric burn. The after-burn effect is the name given to describe the body’s ongoing fat burning capability following exercise.
Drinking regular coffee is good for increasing your fat-burning, but consuming a cold brew or nitro coffee will give you a much bigger caffeine kick and help you to incinerate even more fat. And all from the comfort of your favorite armchair.
Smarticle Particles
The caffeine in a cup of coffee causes the circulation of blood to your brain to increase, which enhances your mental performance. Investigations conducted by the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging suggest that the bioactive elements present in coffee can improve motor abilities and fend off cognitive impairments.
It is speculated that the same consequences found in laboratory rodents can be observed in humans. The stronger the coffee, the more your brain will be improved.
Good for Sensitive Tummies
The temperature generated by drip brewing can create a slightly acrid taste in the final beverage.
The brewer does not apply any heat during the production of cold brew coffee, resulting in a flavor that is smoother and less acidic. People with delicate digestive systems or acid reflux often find cold brew coffee more manageable.
You also have the option of brewing cold coffee, allowing you to select the type of beans you like best based on your personal preference. You may want to consider sampling some of the beans with a stronger taste profile, although they may not be as bitter in taste.
Nitro Cold Brew Vs Cold Brew
Cold coffee drinks have reached new heights of popularity.
Retail sales of cold brew skyrocketed by 460% and there are predictions that nitro cold brew will double in the next 5 years.
Differences in Taste
The taste of cold brew is distinguished by subtle hints of coffee. In comparison to coffees that are brewed with heat, cold brew has a taste that is milder and doesn’t have the same level of acidity as the flavor is not aired out by the warmth of the heat.
Cold brew coffee can be served with ice, and some people find it tasty to put in sugar and milk. The consistency is straightforward without much of a luxurious feeling or crispness. It’s like drinking water.
Nitro cold brew has a thicker and creamier consistency because of its component of nitrogen bubbles. The nitrogen bubbles bring a consistency to the libation comparable to that of steamed milk (micro-foam).
Cold brew made with nitrogren has a slightly sugary taste compared to regular cold brew.
Rather than being something that can be tasted, the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) suggests that the sweetness of this drink comes from the feeling caused by its countless tiny nitrogen bubbles.
Nitro cold brew can be consumed without the addition of any ice, milk, or other sweeteners, although sometimes it may be augmented with a hint of vanilla.
If you don’t enjoy plain coffee, you should give nitro cold brew a shot. It might become your new obsession!
The Preparation Process
The procedure for making cold brew and nitro cold brew beverages is mostly the same.
A coarsely ground coffee needs to be steeped in cold water for between 18 and 24 hours in order to make both types of coffee drinks.
We have witnessed that cold brew can either already be made to be consumed right away or in a concentrated form, which would require a larger amount of beans than water during brewing. Afterward, the mixture must be mixed with water and ice before drinking.
Once the brewing process is complete, you will be able to enjoy your cold brew. Brewing coffee is an uncomplicated process that needs only water, coffee, and some patience.
Creating nitro cold brew is not a simple task; however.
Nitro cold brew contains a high concentration of gas, which is the result of using cold brew concentrate to compensate for the oxygen pushed out by the nitrogen infusion.
To incorporate nitrogen bubbles, one needs a pressurised cask and apparatus like what a bar would use.
To sum it up, you can easily create a tasty cold brew coffee beverage in your own home with just water, coffee, a receptacle, and a refrigerator.
It’s not possible to create nitro cold brew coffee at your own home, unless you are a serious enthusiast and are ready to invest a lot of cash into specific tools.
You would have to visit coffee shops if you wanted to try a nitro cold brew.
The Caffeine Levels
A typical cup of nitro cold brew contains more caffeine than a typical cup of cold brew.
As previously noted, a higher quantity of coffee beans are used in nitro cold brew because of the reduction in concentration due to the introducing of nitrogen bubbles.
An 8-ounce serving of cold brew coffee typically contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine, whereas a nitro cold brew often has around 140 mg.
The amount of caffeine present depends on the kind of coffee beans that are utilized. Robusta coffee beans have a significantly higher caffeine content compared to Arabica beans, with roughly twice the amount.
Thus, a cup of cold coffee brewed from 100% robusta beans could potentially have more caffeine than a nitro cold coffee made out of 100% arabica beans!
The Health Benefits
Cold brew and nitro cold brew coffees both offer potential health benefits that may not be found in a regular cup of coffee.
Due to the method of cold brewing, both cold brew and nitro cold brew coffee have less acidic levels than regular coffee.
In addition, both drinks offer the same health benefits as regular coffee:
- Coffee is linked to a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Coffee may aid with weight loss by potentially increasing the metabolism.
- Drinking coffee regularly may lower the risk of depression.
Nevertheless, a paper issued in Scientific Reports indicated that cold brew coffee may possess fewer antioxidants. When coffee is heated and brewed, it tends to pull out acids that are not protonated more so than the cold brewing process.
The increased levels of antioxidants in hot coffee could possibly be caused by these acids.
Cold brew may not have as strong of a chemoprotective benefit as other sources, since antioxidants are one of the main ways to reduce the risk of cancer.