Cold Brew Reviews

A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Crisp, rich, caramel-toned. Caramel, lemon zest, date, hazelnut, oak. Balanced structure with briskly sweet acidity; feathery-smooth mouthfeel. The finish is deeply sweet, richly caramelly, with hints of lemon zest and hazelnut. The addition of whole milk elevates caramel, already front and center, to dessert-like dominance.

A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Brisk, bittersweet, lively. Apricot, roasted cacao nib, walnut, blood orange zest, a hint of tea rose. Tart-sweet in structure with a bracing bitter edge; satiny in mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates around hints of apricot and walnut in a drying finish. Stands up to added whole milk with very little change in its defiantly brisk character and zesty array of flavor notes.

Crisp, richly sweet-savory. Maple syrup, gardenia-like flowers, fresh humus, pomegranate, baker’s chocolate in aroma and cup. Deeply sweet in structure, with savory undertones; delicate, silky mouthfeel. The finish is driven by gardenia-like florals and sweet earth tones in the short, baker’s chocolate and tart fruit in the long.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Bright, crisply sweet acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Violet, grapefruit zest, lemon verbena, sandalwood, roasted cacao nib in flavor. The deeply sweet finish is animated by cocoa and violet with lemony undertones; with the addition of cold whole milk, those core notes round and blossom without losing their clarity.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Crisp, juicy acidity; satiny mouthfeel. Lemon zest, jasmine, roasted cocoa nib, vanilla, raspberry in the flavor, all carrying into a long, resonant finish. Adding cold whole milk rounds and harmonizes the primary flavor sensations.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Crisp, sweetly roast-toned. Sweet, lightly juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Caramel, cedar, chocolate-covered cherry, magnolia in the flavor, consolidating to cocoa-toned cedar in the gently drying finish. Adding cold whole milk brings up the aromatic wood tones and chocolate, while quieting the fruit and flower notes.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Bright, sweet, refreshing. The acidity is crisply sweet and fruit-toned; the mouthfeel smooth, satiny. Caramel, roasted cacao nib, layered fruit – lemon, grape, peach – and a hint of flowers in the flavor, with the lemon note in particular carrying into a clean, sweet, slightly drying finish. Adding whole milk pleasantly develops the chocolate and rounds the fruit.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Balanced, sweetly bright, complex. Juicy, fruit-toned acidity; round, plush mouthfeel. Sweet cocoa, peach, ripe orange, a hint of flowers in flavor and finish. The addition of cold milk rounds flavor notes without dampening them.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Pleasingly deep, bittersweet, complex. The acidity is juicy and tart, the mouthfeel full and syrupy. In the flavor dark chocolate, lush flowers, papaya-like fruit. Rich fruit- and chocolate-toned finish. The addition of cold milk intensifies both the intensity of the flavors and the bittersweetness of the structure.

A pure coffee concentrate. Tested over ice in proportions of two parts concentrate to one part water. Sweet, crisp, pungent. Delicately bright acidity; light, silky mouthfeel. In the flavor caramel, hazelnut, black currant, pear, ripe orange, a hint of flowers. Hazelnut and citrus carry into a pleasing though rather short finish. The addition of cold milk paradoxically seems to intensify both fruit-toned acidity and floral sweetness.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Bright, dry, nutty. Brisk, nut-toned acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. Walnut, roasted cacao nib, lemon, a sweetening hint of honeysuckle in flavor; tartly lemony in the finish. A small volume of cold milk develops sweetness and chocolaty depth.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. A sweetly tart structure dominates quiet, layered flavors: lavender-like flowers, milk chocolate, orangy citrus. Richly tart, drying acidity; round, syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates with the addition of cold milk; the orange, lavender and chocolate notes mute but pleasingly survive.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Bittersweet, roast-toned. Round but slightly bitterish acidity; full mouthfeel. In the flavor prune, apricot, scorched wood, dark chocolate, with a hint of citrus. In the finish sweetens and softens with a clearer expression of chocolate. The addition of cold milk surprisingly emphasizes the roasty tones and reasserts the bittersweet edge of the chocolate.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Round, gentle, softly crisp. Gentle acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. In the flavor caramel, apple, malty chocolate. Clean, rather dry finish. The addition of a small quantity of cold milk develops the chocolate tendency and sweetens the apple-like note.