What Is Nitro Coffee?

If you have been to a local coffee shop lately, you might have noticed something new on their menu. While new menu items in the coffee industry aren’t usually surprising, this one came out of nowhere and is now trending all over the world. This is similar to the compostable coffee pods trend which is still growing to this day and making it easier for retailers to grow their business and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time.

I am talking about nitro coffee, of course. What began as a method to serve the growing fans of iced coffee their beverages faster, has turned into one of coffee’s biggest trends. You can find nitro coffee just about everywhere including cafes, grocery stores, even convenience stores. Nitro coffee is sold by the cup, can or growler making it similar to speciality, small batch beers.

What Is Nitro Coffee?

Nitro coffee is a cold brew coffee which has been infused with nitrogen gas through a pressurized valve. Serious coffee aficionados tout nitro brewed coffee as having a much smoother flavour and providing them with an increased boost of caffeine although nitro coffee doesn’t contain additional caffeine. Perhaps it’s the novelty or the delivery, but coffee lovers swear by it.

To make nitro coffee, café owners need an elabourate system of faucets, tubes, hoses, gas tanks and keg connectors, all of which can be expensive. For a small café, the initial cost might be too much, but with the growing popularity of nitro coffee, many café owners say that they are making up the expense within the first month of nitro coffee sales.

How It’s Made

Nitro coffee takes a multi-step process to make. First, coffee is brewed with cold water for 12-24 hours. Then it is infused with nitrogen gas through a pressurized valve. This is what gives nitro coffee its signature velvety texture, while the tiny nitrogen bubbles give the coffee a satiny thickness. The initial cold brewing process increases the sweetness of the coffee beans while reducing their acidity. The nitrogen also adds a frothy, milky layer that sinks from top to bottom.

Will nitro coffee replace the coffee your customers drink on a daily basis? Chances are, it won’t. Nitro coffee is expensive and, unlike organic coffee capsules, it isn’t environmentally friendly.

Contact Novell Coffee Trade

To learn more about the newest trends in coffee and café service and how some companies are recycling coffee grounds, contact Novell Coffee Trade and shop a wide selection of specialty coffees today!

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