What does cold brew taste like?
Cold brew tastes like smooth, mellow coffee: chocolatey and a little nutty, with less bitterness and acidity than regular iced coffee.
Cold brew
smooth, mellow iced coffee
Cold brew is coffee grounds steeped in cold or room-temperature water for 12 to 24 hours, then strained. Without heat, less of the bitter and sour stuff comes out, so it tastes rounder and softer than coffee brewed hot and poured over ice. Expect chocolate, toasted nuts and a little caramel, with a smooth, slightly heavier feel. It's often served black, but takes milk and sweetener well. Nitro cold brew is infused with nitrogen, which gives it a creamy, foamy head like a stout.
Where you’ll see it
At almost every coffee shop, served over ice, black or with milk, sometimes with sweet cream or foam on top. Nitro cold brew comes from a tap.
Order it if regular iced coffee tastes too bitter or sour to you.
Quick questions
- Is cold brew stronger than iced coffee?
- Often, yes. It is usually brewed as a strong concentrate, so a glass can have more caffeine, but it varies a lot by shop.
- Why is cold brew less bitter?
- Brewing without heat pulls fewer bitter and acidic compounds out of the grounds, so it tastes smoother and rounder.