The Summer Coffee Trends That Everyone's Frothing About
Nitro Cold Brew Coffee
A trend that’s been present in many independent coffee shops for some time, cold brew coffee is exactly as it sounds – coffee that has been steeped in cold or room-temperature water in a large cafetiere or coffee pot for an extended period of time, usually up to 24 hours. This produces a highly concentrated coffee essence which can then be diluted with water, or blended with milk.
But as with all trends, cold brew coffee has been taken to the extreme – this summer your customers could be sipping on ‘nitro cold brew’ coffee, which is coffee that’s been infused with nitrogen, and forced through a draft system to produce a drink that looks, behaves and even has a similar mouth-feel and texture to Guinness. American coffee roasters Stumptown started selling nitro cold brew coffee by the can last year which was an instant runaway hit, so it was only a matter of time before it arrived on our shores.
Cold brew coffee is viewed by many coffee connoisseurs to be superior to regular brewed coffee as it produces a sweeter, less acidic flavour, which lends itself very well to being enjoyed cold. This makes it appealing to those who enjoy cold coffee, but don’t want to mask the bitter flavours with sweet syrups or spoon-loads of sugar.
Cascara Coffee
One of the more creative coffee trends, cascara coffee is made using the dried outer skin of the coffee cherry (the ‘cascara’), which gives it a fruity, light and refreshing taste and a deep red colour. Although it comes from the coffee plant, many would argue that it’s more of a tea than a coffee, as it’s infused with water and doesn’t actually taste anything like coffee, but however you classify it it’s certainly an interesting beverage to try.
Another part of cascara coffee, or coffee cherry tea’s appeal is that it makes use of part of the coffee plant that would typically be discarded – perfect for any café or coffee shop that’s always looking for new ways to improve their environmental consciousness or sustainability efforts.
Rainbow Coffee
Nobody could have missed the excitement over rainbow bagels that swept social media earlier this year, but the technicolour trend has now crossed over into coffee. First brewed up by talented barista and coffee artist Mason Salisbury, everyone’s clamouring to get their hands around a cup of rainbow coffee, but of course it takes a steady hand (and an array of food colouring) to recreate it.
One thing’s for sure, though – mastering the rainbow coffee trend is guaranteed to make your coffee shop or café take Instagram by storm.
Joffee
The thought of coffee mixed with fruit juice won’t appeal to everyone, but over in Texas ‘joffee’ has proved to be a summer hit; pioneered by Coffee Juice who first blended their Fair Trade coffee with blueberry juice and cane sugar, they’ve introduced a range of new flavours and have been selling them by the bottle-load.
While joffee might not quite have enjoyed the same level as success over in the UK just yet, it’s sure to pique the interest of flavoured and super-sweet coffee lovers. We just don’t recommend trying it with orange juice – yuck.
What the experts say
Embracing the latest food and drinks trends helps to keep your menu up-to-date, fresh and interesting, but as with cold coffee drinks, can also be a crucial way to drive sales if your usual offering might not be suitable for all seasons.
We asked Dave Olejnik, founder of independent Leeds coffee shops Laynes Espresso for his thoughts on the latest summer coffee trends, and to tell us how Laynes has ensured that they keep their coffee loving customers satisfied all year long:
“Maintaining sales in a coffee shop through the warmer summer months is the annual challenge we've previously come to dread, especially with somewhere like Laynes that concentrates solely on the coffee itself; no juice or smoothies here. “So, in recent years, we’ve turned to cold brew coffee to keep people coming back for the flavours and caffeine, albeit in a cooler format. People have practised ensuring consistency with cold brewed coffee so we’ve seen businesses being made out of that alone - we serve Artemis at Laynes, a young local company, and our customers are lapping it up. I can only assume we’ll see more branded cold brew bottles on the shelves and in the fridges of coffee shops both large and small, local and international.”
What are your thoughts on this summer’s coffee trends, and have you tried them for yourself? Will any be making it onto your menu, or do you prefer to keep your menu classic? We’d love to hear your views so leave us a comment below, and take a look at our full range of Cafetieres and Coffee Making Accessories to help bring all of your coffee creations to life.
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