If you like coffee at all, you’ve probably tried a Nitro Cold Brew by now. Since about 2015, they’ve been one of the hottest drinks on the market. Well, not literally, because they’re cold brew, but they have become quite trendy. Since the market has caught wind of just how tasty and refreshing these cold treats can be, more and more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon and offering their own version of Nitro Cold Brews. Today we’re going to show you what to look for before you order your next one.
What Is Nitro Cold Brew?
Nitro Cold Brew is exactly what it sounds like it might be - it’s a type of cold brew coffee that’s been infused with nitrogen. The nitrogen is introduced to the coffee through a pressurized valve with a certain level of force. As long as it’s injected at the proper rate, the drink will have a creamy, stout-like feel about it.
The whole point of getting a Nitro Cold Brew instead of a regular cold brew is the way drinking it feels. If the infusion process isn’t executed well, the whole drink is a waste. But that’s just one of several factors that separate truly great Nitro Cold Brews from overpriced gimmicky cold coffee.
What To Looks For In A Great Nitro Cold Brew
Now that you have a better understanding of what makes a Nitro Cold Brew special, let’s take a look at some of the more specific factors that can determine just how good an NCB can be.
#1. Coffee Beans: As a fourth wave coffee roaster, you might say we’re picky about starting everything we do by finding great beans. We take this pretty seriously and would advise that you shouldn’t get your hopes up for a great drink from someone who uses substandard coffee beans.
#2. Roasting Profile: Because we are a coffee roaster we have total control over the roasting profile of each coffee bean that comes into or leaves our facility. Talk about quality control!
#3. The Aging Process: Just like with developing roasting profiles, by cutting out the middleman and eliminating unreliable suppliers, we are able to have full control over how long our roasted coffee beans are aged before they’re used.
#4. The Grind: The consistency of ground coffee beans has a huge influence over how that coffee can be used and what the results will be when you try.
#5. The Soak: Cold brew coffee is made from a steeping process. That means that ground coffee beans are steeped in cold water for an extended period to extract all the flavorful oils from the coffee beans that give the final product its taste.
At DISTRICT Roasters, we are meticulous about the way we execute each of these steps to create a fine cold brew beverage. However, that doesn’t mean we’re done. What comes next is the actual nitrogen infusion. As we described above, this part is crucial to the development of a good Nitro Cold Brew. That’s why we’ve worked painstakingly to figure out exactly how much nitrogen to use and how to get it into the coffee. We believe it’s a difference you’ll recognize and love with every sip.
Pro-Tip: Don’t underestimate the value of good packaging. We bottle our Nitro Cold Brew in glass because, unlike some of our biggest competitors, we don’t believe that plastic or aluminum maintains the integrity of the drink nearly as well.
What Are You Really Buying?
When we set out to craft the best Nitro Cold Brew the world had yet seen, we did a lot of research. What we found was that because NCB’s had become so trendy, many companies are compromising quality just for the sake of having something on the market. Nitro Cold Brews have become a place of refuge for less than great beans and roasts.
Many coffee connoisseurs will shy away from Nitro Cold Brews because they recognize that so many sellers are using less expensive, lesser quality beans in a lackluster production process just to rush something onto the shelves. The attitude seems to be that because the coffee is already cold, being careful to use the best beans and employ the right process is no longer important.
What We’ve Learned
After months of research and experimentation, what we’ve learned is that the very best Nitro Cold Brews start with great beans and a reliable process. No matter how great your beans may be, they’re worthless if not properly processed to create delicious coffee. The same is true of a great roasting and delivery process - without quality beans it’s all for nothing.
We believe that our beans and our processes are what make DISTRICT unique in the marketplace. Not only with our Nitro Cold Brew but with all our products. We work directly with elite farmers around the world to source the absolute highest quality coffee beans you’re going to find anywhere and we have developed processes that are designed to make the most of these stellar beans.
If you’re looking for a delicious cold coffee drink that you can enjoy all year long, check out our Nitro Cold Brew. We think you’ll experience a difference and we hope it helps make sense of everything we’ve described here. Try DISTRICT Roasters and join the mission.