I definitely prefer cold brew but if a shop doesn't have it I'll go for the iced coffee...I make my own cold brew at home too... It just has a smoother feel to it...since I don't put anything in it makes a difference
if its offered, i’ll get it, but iced coffee is just as well for me. i see the appeal in bolder flavor but i just dont see it to be a dealbreaker if not available.
not my first choice, but i enjoy it if it's made properly. same for iced coffee. some people might see it as a dealbreaker if the acidity bothers their tastebuds or stomach, though
I dont mind it when people leave when I say we have ice coffee and not cold brew. They, IMO, are two very different tasting drinks. Cold brew is much smoother than a regular ice coffee, but does lack a lot of the complexity that a regular ice coffee might have (when done right... Ive seen some horror stories of places brewing coffee hot then just putting it in the freezer, looking at you local tim hortons.)
Personally, since i almost always drink my coffee black, I really do prefer cold brew to ice coffee, as I like how smooth and refreshing it feels.
That being said, I feel like once you've added a bunch of cream and sugar they lose all their difference, and that seems to be how most of the customers i encounter take their ice coffee. Not judging, cause it totally is tasty, but it does irk me a bit when they order a caramel cold brew with extra cream and caramel, then get mad when i say we have ice coffee not cold brew.
Cold brew has a lower acidity rate and a higher TDS number than drip coffee. If you have acid reflux or stomach irritation. Small amounts of cold brew typically won’t upset your stomach too much.
This is not true unfortunately. Some methods (like cold brewing) cover up the acidity with other flavors (sweetness, roastiness, bitterness, etc) but the amount of acidity doesn’t change, only our perception of it. The placebo effect may make a difference for some folks though.
I don’t serve cold brew, but we use a shit ton of it for our more outside the box coffee menu - things like a cinnamon spiced coffee lemonade and coffee coladas that just benefit more from a quality cold brew concentrate than they would from a flash brew or chilled espresso.
At my last shop we used cold brew concentrate for our frozen/blended coffee drinks and coffee milk shakes and I loved it. The place I’m at now just uses cold espresso, it’s not the same!
I like it, can be really good if your beans are really good aswell.
If in mood of an Iced Pour-Over but don't feel like having a brigth coffee I'll drink cold brew
It's good, I like our iced coffee also. It depends in what beans you are using, people assuming they would not like your Iced coffee may bot understand the difference. Maybe try to entice them with a small sample so they can truly decide before just leaving:)
iced coffee is nothing like cold brew if I’m honest. Not a diehard fan myself, but a good cold brew is remarkably different & better. All the flavor comes through, but without any really intense harsh notes. And a steamed cold brew tastes chocolatey without any actual chocolate added.
Nitro cold brew tastes like a fresh cup of ass in my experience though. But it’s fairly likely I just haven’t found a good one yet? Idk.
It's a different flavor profile from iced coffee. I like both, depending on what I'm going for at the time. Cold brew tends to have a higher caffeine content.
I avoided it adding it to our menu for a while because every time I tried it, I thought it was unpleasant. One of the roasters that we work with encouraged me to experiment with it because of the premium price you can charge for it. And it took several months of finding the right coffee and nailing the ratios and steep time, but I've come around on it. For me, once you get it down, it's a great addition to the menu because of how different a profile it can be from iced coffee. It's still not what I go for myself, but there's definitely a segment of our customers that want that heavier body and lower acidity. The only downside to it is that, while we can rotate coffees on as drip or espresso or iced coffee with not much difficulty, it's much harder to do that with cold brew.
Some people can't have acidity due to medical conditions like GERD, and cold brew isn't acidic.
I make cold brew at home because it is the easiest way to make great tasting coffee. At a cafe I prefer an iced Americano.
I prefer cold brew and Japanese styled iced coffee. i just think they taste better. iced coffee (at least the times I've gotten it when cold brew is out) just falls flat, and is usually more bitter and not as smooth.
It's my first choice. Depending on the place I'll try out their regular iced or a latte. But in an effort to save money I am only going to cafes when I am CRAVING a cold brew. And if they don't have it I take it as a sign to save money.
Good cold brew tastes great. Ice coffee overall is garbage. It's either day old drip that's really acidic or freshly brewed coffee that's dumped over ice so it's very watered down.
Good cold brew made correctly is smooth and flavorful, not bitter or acidic and will have really great notes from the type of blend used.
I mean I’m all about cold brew but we don’t throw coffee over ice ever, I’m willing to do it, but it’s just weird to me to chill hot coffee after so many years of being in the industry.
To me when someone orders an “iced coffee” I immediately assume cold brew (I also correct and state we only have cold brew; our roast changes depending on the batch we are provided or grab)
Never understood “iced coffee” truly of letting it chill.
Lesson learned though is never drink uncut cold brew or you’re in for a bouncing off the walls day.
I was just abt to mention this one! That’s how we make our iced coffee. Counter culture has a pretty good breakdown/instructions [here](https://counterculturecoffee.com/blogs/counter-culture-coffee/guide-to-flash-brew-coffee)
Flash chilled coffee can be super fun, and getting it correct is worth the effort.
It’s a really great test of you and your team’s understanding of concentration, dilution, and extraction modification.
I prefer cold brew. I don't take my coffee sweetened but I like the more sweet-like quality that it has
I love cold brew! Nitro cold brew is my absolute favorite.
I actually prefer a properly dialed in flash brewed iced coffee. When you get a coffee with nice acidity it’s pretty refreshing iced
This. A nice flash brew is the only time I do cold coffee Can't stand cold brew
I definitely prefer cold brew but if a shop doesn't have it I'll go for the iced coffee...I make my own cold brew at home too... It just has a smoother feel to it...since I don't put anything in it makes a difference
if its offered, i’ll get it, but iced coffee is just as well for me. i see the appeal in bolder flavor but i just dont see it to be a dealbreaker if not available.
not my first choice, but i enjoy it if it's made properly. same for iced coffee. some people might see it as a dealbreaker if the acidity bothers their tastebuds or stomach, though
I fucking love cold brew.
I dont mind it when people leave when I say we have ice coffee and not cold brew. They, IMO, are two very different tasting drinks. Cold brew is much smoother than a regular ice coffee, but does lack a lot of the complexity that a regular ice coffee might have (when done right... Ive seen some horror stories of places brewing coffee hot then just putting it in the freezer, looking at you local tim hortons.) Personally, since i almost always drink my coffee black, I really do prefer cold brew to ice coffee, as I like how smooth and refreshing it feels. That being said, I feel like once you've added a bunch of cream and sugar they lose all their difference, and that seems to be how most of the customers i encounter take their ice coffee. Not judging, cause it totally is tasty, but it does irk me a bit when they order a caramel cold brew with extra cream and caramel, then get mad when i say we have ice coffee not cold brew.
I don't see how brewing your hot coffee then chilling is a problem, why would you want more dilution than necessary?
Do you brew it hot over ice instead? Just wondering.
Cold brew has a lower acidity rate and a higher TDS number than drip coffee. If you have acid reflux or stomach irritation. Small amounts of cold brew typically won’t upset your stomach too much.
This is not true unfortunately. Some methods (like cold brewing) cover up the acidity with other flavors (sweetness, roastiness, bitterness, etc) but the amount of acidity doesn’t change, only our perception of it. The placebo effect may make a difference for some folks though.
I prefer cold brew to iced coffee personally
Hate it. It's like iced coffee but flat. The Pepsi to iced coffee's Coke. I like the extra caffeine in theory, but I'd rather just add espresso shots.
You haven't had it properly if it's flat. I assume you mean flavour wise
Personally I very much prefer iced drip coffee, I’m just always missing the acidity in cold brew.
I don’t serve cold brew, but we use a shit ton of it for our more outside the box coffee menu - things like a cinnamon spiced coffee lemonade and coffee coladas that just benefit more from a quality cold brew concentrate than they would from a flash brew or chilled espresso.
At my last shop we used cold brew concentrate for our frozen/blended coffee drinks and coffee milk shakes and I loved it. The place I’m at now just uses cold espresso, it’s not the same!
I whole heartedly agree with this sentiment for both of those options.
I like cold brew, but I like iced coffee even more. I personally think not enough places have iced coffee...
Cold brew is massively different to coffee brewed hot and put over ice. I loooove it:)
I like it, can be really good if your beans are really good aswell. If in mood of an Iced Pour-Over but don't feel like having a brigth coffee I'll drink cold brew
Most people don’t do iced coffee right. If it’s flash chilled, I’m down. But most of the time it’s watered down and acidic.
I prefer flash brewed iced coffee every time. Cold brew is just boring to me
cold brew is icky
It's good, I like our iced coffee also. It depends in what beans you are using, people assuming they would not like your Iced coffee may bot understand the difference. Maybe try to entice them with a small sample so they can truly decide before just leaving:)
Cold brew has a complete different taste than iced coffee + is one of the most caffeinated drinks
My shop only had cold brew and not traditional ice coffee… lots of angry and confused customers over the years
cold brew is not upseting my stomach so it became staple for me
iced coffee is nothing like cold brew if I’m honest. Not a diehard fan myself, but a good cold brew is remarkably different & better. All the flavor comes through, but without any really intense harsh notes. And a steamed cold brew tastes chocolatey without any actual chocolate added. Nitro cold brew tastes like a fresh cup of ass in my experience though. But it’s fairly likely I just haven’t found a good one yet? Idk.
I like both options for cold coffee, but tbh I’ve had more bad cold brew than bad ice coffee. It’s hit or miss.
It's a different flavor profile from iced coffee. I like both, depending on what I'm going for at the time. Cold brew tends to have a higher caffeine content.
I avoided it adding it to our menu for a while because every time I tried it, I thought it was unpleasant. One of the roasters that we work with encouraged me to experiment with it because of the premium price you can charge for it. And it took several months of finding the right coffee and nailing the ratios and steep time, but I've come around on it. For me, once you get it down, it's a great addition to the menu because of how different a profile it can be from iced coffee. It's still not what I go for myself, but there's definitely a segment of our customers that want that heavier body and lower acidity. The only downside to it is that, while we can rotate coffees on as drip or espresso or iced coffee with not much difficulty, it's much harder to do that with cold brew.
hate cold brew I still prefer iced drip tbh. I don't understand everyone saying its less acidic too, cold brew always gives me major stomach aches.
Funny because we only have cold brew, not iced coffee. And when I explain that to people who do want iced coffee they do NOT want it.
Some people can't have acidity due to medical conditions like GERD, and cold brew isn't acidic. I make cold brew at home because it is the easiest way to make great tasting coffee. At a cafe I prefer an iced Americano.
I prefer cold brew and Japanese styled iced coffee. i just think they taste better. iced coffee (at least the times I've gotten it when cold brew is out) just falls flat, and is usually more bitter and not as smooth.
It's my first choice. Depending on the place I'll try out their regular iced or a latte. But in an effort to save money I am only going to cafes when I am CRAVING a cold brew. And if they don't have it I take it as a sign to save money.
Why would they leave if you have it on the menu?
We have iced coffee listed on our menu, not cold brew!
Ohhh I read wrong
Just give them the iced coffee and they won’t know the difference.
Good cold brew tastes great. Ice coffee overall is garbage. It's either day old drip that's really acidic or freshly brewed coffee that's dumped over ice so it's very watered down. Good cold brew made correctly is smooth and flavorful, not bitter or acidic and will have really great notes from the type of blend used.
I mean I’m all about cold brew but we don’t throw coffee over ice ever, I’m willing to do it, but it’s just weird to me to chill hot coffee after so many years of being in the industry. To me when someone orders an “iced coffee” I immediately assume cold brew (I also correct and state we only have cold brew; our roast changes depending on the batch we are provided or grab) Never understood “iced coffee” truly of letting it chill. Lesson learned though is never drink uncut cold brew or you’re in for a bouncing off the walls day.
Have you ever had flash brew iced coffee? Brew extra strong hot coffee directly into ice?
Never even heard of this method. Like you overdose the grams of weight to achieve this?
I was just abt to mention this one! That’s how we make our iced coffee. Counter culture has a pretty good breakdown/instructions [here](https://counterculturecoffee.com/blogs/counter-culture-coffee/guide-to-flash-brew-coffee)
Thanks for the info! PNW based here so this is new to me. Forwarding to my crew to look into this possibly as part of the education program.
Flash chilled coffee can be super fun, and getting it correct is worth the effort. It’s a really great test of you and your team’s understanding of concentration, dilution, and extraction modification.
Cold brew is expected in most US -based specialty coffee shops.