The trend of cold brew coffee is showing no signs of cooling off.

According to Google Trends data, searches for “cold brew” in Canada increased by 200 per cent from 2014 to 2015, and the searches were almost non-existent in 2013. The data also shows British Columbia is the province with the highest interest in the specialty coffee beverage.

“As we grow in coffee education, the popularity grows as well,” said Starbucks Canada barista Merry Lou Proudfoot.

The rising popularity of the cold beverage comes as new research from the World Health Organization’s cancer agency warns that drinking any type of hot beverage, including coffee and tea, can potentially be carcinogenic -- and increase your risk of cancer. The agency said there isn’t enough conclusive evidence to show that drinking coffee causes cancer.

Coffee lovers who are concerned about the new WHO research may be looking for cold options to get their daily dose of caffeine.

Cold brew is made by steeping grinds in cold water for about 20 hours to create a cold concentrate. After the steeping process, water is added to the concentrate, and the beverage is served on ice. Coffee giant Starbucks uses freshly ground Starbucks Cold Brew Blend beans for its version of the drink.

“It’s the way that we brew them that makes the taste so incredibly different,” said Proudfoot. “Good things take time.”

The process for making cold brew is different from iced coffee since the latter is brewed with double the strength using hot water and then poured over ice.

“With cold brew coffee, we rely on time rather than heat for extraction of flavor. That’s the difference,” said Proudfoot.

A grande cup of iced coffee at Starbucks costs $2.95 versus $3.45 for the same size cup of cold brew. The drink is also available at specialty coffee shops throughout the Lower Mainland.