If you follow us on Snapchat then you probably are already aware that we have a cold brew coffee obsession. If a coffee shop has cold brew coffee on the menu, there is a 95% chance that’s what I’m ordering, especially during the warmer months. Cold brew coffee has become more and more popular over the past couple of years. You may be asking, “what exactly is cold brew coffee?”. Cold brew coffee is NOT to be confused with iced coffee. Iced coffee is generally brewed hot and then served over ice. Cold brewed coffee is made by steeping coffee in cold water for an extended period of time (typically about 12 hours). It is less acidic than traditional brewed coffee and therefore it does not have a bitter taste. If you usually take milk and sugar in your coffee, you’d likely be able to take your cold brewed coffee black.
I’ve tried cold brewed coffee at a lot of coffee shops, but hadn’t tried that many varieties of cold brewed coffee that you can purchase at the grocery store. I love Stumptown’s cold brew and buy it almost every time I make a Whole Foods run. But lately I’ve noticed a lot more brands of cold brew coffee on offer, and I found myself curious about them. So I decided to do a cold brew coffee taste test, and I rounded up a variety of different ones from my local grocery stores to try.
This one has a smooth taste with a subtle chocolate flavor. It’s very creamy and not bitter at all. I poured the bottle over ice and added a splash of unsweetened almond milk and it was fantastic.
This one doesn’t have a strong coffee taste at all. To me, it’s way more milk than coffee. It is very creamy though.
Perhaps I overlooked it in the name, but this one was very watery. There was a nice hint of sweetness from the maple, but i got almost no coffee flavor. In fact, it tasted more like iced tea. It tastes good, just not the cold brew coffee flavor I was looking for.
This one had a really good flavor. It had no bitterness and just a little hint of sweetness. I usually take a little milk in my cold brew, but this one was really easy to drink on its own.
I bought this for two reasons, the name (sic’em bears!) and the packaging. This is a great no nonsense with great flavor packed into the box. I really enjoyed it over ice with a splash of almond milk.
This is cold brew, New Orleans style. It blends cold brew coffee with chicory for a very unique flavor that is not for everyone. I happen to really enjoy this one, but it’s not as smooth of a flavor as others I tried.
I really wanted to like this tiny little cold brew packed in the cutest little can ever, but it was just ehh. Again, it isn’t bad, just nothing special.
Ah Stumptown. Still my favorite. From the packaging, to the flavor, to the fact that even though it comes with milk but still tastes like coffee, there is nothing about this one I dislike.
So, other than my go to Stumptown coffee, I’m happy to have discovered a few more cold brew coffees to add to my rotation. Do you have a favorite cold brew coffee? What should we taste test next?
-Ash xx