“Reminds me of Guinness!” exclaimed one Starbucks customer.
“Creamy,” added another man, while sipping his Nitro Cold Brew, “like beer.”
If it reminds you of beer it may be because it pours out of a tap like draught and is infused with nitrogen that has been used on certain beers to give them a creamy texture and foamy head.
It starts with the Cold Brew coffee that Starbucks introduced this past summer.
“It actually never touches heat during the brewing process," Starbucks manager Mary Lou Proudfoot explained. The added touch is a pressurized canister of nitrogen that sits under the counter.
As the Cold Nitro Brew pours from the tap you can see the nitrogen flowing through the mixture creating a wavy action that is intriguing to watch.
The Cold Brew has a natural sweetness that comes from the cold steeping process and when combined with nitrogen it takes on a unique flavor and texture. Although many specialty coffee shops first introduced nitrogen infused cold coffee to connoisseurs Starbucks is bringing it the masses.
Nitro Cold Brew has only been in 6 select Vancouver locations, like the one on Hebb Avenue in Vancouver where we tasted it, but Starbucks tells CTV that sales have already quadrupled expectations.
The first rollout of Nitro Cold Brew is occurring in Vancouver and Toronto with more cities on tap to receive it in the future.
Some still like their coffee hot but according to Starbucks cold drinks sold in their stores now make up 50 per cent of their sales and the company has more new product offerings coming next year.
If you want to try Nitro Cold Brew it’s recommended you try to order it earlier in the day. Cold brew is made in smaller batches and with demand they can run out later in the day.
