Cold Brew Coffee
London: Not to be confused with iced coffee (in which espresso-based coffees are served over ice, usually with milk and syrup), cold brew coffee is simply coffee, brewed cold.
The coffee grounds are steeped in water for up to 24 hours to produce a concentrated coffee essence, which is then diluted to taste and served chilled.
Cold brew coffee is mellow, and sweeter than a conventional Americano or filter coffee, with a lower acidity. It's also a greener option, as it doesn't require heat or electricity.
Starbucks recently added a vanilla-flavoured cold brew to its menu as well as a spiced festive offering, and yesterday announced that it would soon be rolling out its new Nitro coffee, currently in London and Manchester. Nitro coffee is already big in the US, and is created by adding nitrogen to cold brew coffee. The cold brew coffee is stored in kegs, then infused with nitrogen gas as it’s released through a pressurised valve with very small holes, which produces a cold, silky drink with a creamy head that is drunk black (it bears an uncanny resemblance to Guinness).