Many people thought, and continue to think, that cold brewed coffee is simply a fad. They may think that it is riding the coattails of iced coffee, which is riding the coattails of virtually every over-sugared milkshakey coffee out there.
is cold brewed coffee riding the coattails of the sugary iced coffees out there?
But, coffee sales would beg to differ.
See, traditionally coffee sales would plummet during hotter months forcing stores to get creative. Generally this is where smoothies, milkshakes and the like would step up to bat a little bit more.
But, ever since iced coffee and cold brewing became more popular, things have changed.
During regular times of the year hot coffee became roughly 75% of the total coffee sales, with cold options taking the other 25%. But, now when it gets hot, the numbers almost completely reverse, according to coffee store owners interviewed by the New York Times.
This does cause an issue for coffee store owners who cold brew, however. A traditional cold brew means a roughly 12 hour brewing process. This means that you brew your coffee for the entire day the night before and hope for the best.
Cold brewing is almost like an art form (and you can read more about that and the new alternative, “flash brew” here). In a world of random weather, coffee store profits can be hit or miss with cold brewed coffee. If hot weather hits out of nowhere customers do not care about your brewing process. They want a smooth and cold coffee. And many will not settle for just adding ice for fear of watering down the coffee.
The New York Times article goes on to state that the cold brewed coffee was originally simply a regional curiosity in New Orleans, but now we can assure you that it is definitely nationwide.
But what do you guys think? Does having a limited daily supply make cold brewed coffees something always wanted and not always delivered, and therefore valuable? Or do you think that will spell its doom by turning customers off?
Or, in a plot twist, will coffee brewers just make a ton and toss the rest out at night?
Let us know here or on Facebook.
And, of course, if you guys take your coffee from our subscription boxes and cold brew them the long way, or just even create your own iced coffees, we’d love to hear from you as well.
Or do you prefer hot coffee all day everyday? I personally tend to fall into that category.
