Nitro Coffee | Best Cold Brew Coffee

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The name itself explains what the beverage is all about. Nitro coffee was introduced back in 2012 when innovation in terms of coffee beverages was common with shops such as Starbucks coming into the market.

What is Nitro Coffee

nitro-coffee

Nitro coffee is a cold brew coffee, which contains nitrogen, which is colorless and odorless. it is common that most beverages contain guess such as cold beverages such as carbon dioxide, which gives the soda or them popping nature and is mostly known as carbonated drinks. Same as carbonated drinks nitrogen has also been making entrances to certain beverages, such as beer, mostly known as nitrogenated beer.

How to make Nitro Coffee

To brew nitro coffee mainly dark flavors are used, and there are many ways that baristas are brewing nitro coffee. These can be varying from one barista to another. The most common method of brewing is infusing nitrogen into already prepared cold brew coffee. 

Cold brew can be easily prepared by selecting cold brew grounds and mixing them with water to cool it for around 22 hours in the refrigerator. Then a simple strainer can be used to strain the grinds and after the first straining is done the second step is to use the pour-over method to drain further and remove the grounds. Then the process of introducing the nitrogen can be done by buying nitrogen.

The drink is popular because of the appearance that it takes when brewed. The cascading shades of coffee will give a sweet output. The taste of the coffee remains intact but there is a slight shift of flavor. This can also be enjoyed by the crowd who prefers milk-based drinks. The silky feeling in the mouth and the foam that is created at the top will continue to give a creamy feeling.  

The beverage is picking up pace among coffee lovers and fitness enthusiasts as a healthy beverage as an alternative to regular coffee. This trend is in place because of the nitrogen in the drink which gives a small alternative to sugar covering the tastebuds giving a sweet taste while being able to consume the coffee.

The most popular nitro coffee that made headlines is the Starbucks nitro coffee. This was the main reason why nitro cold brew rose to popularity therefore, in this article we explain how you can prepare your own nitro cold brew coffee.

What you need to prepare Nitro Coffee

Ingredients

  • 150g of coffee ground from fresh coffee (Motly fruitier or nutty flavors are considered best)
  • Filtered Water (900ml)
  • Nitrogen

Apparatus need for the perfect Nitro Coffee

  • 1L glass carafe / Cold brew coffee apparatus
  • Strainer (may not require with cold brew apparatus)
  • Hario paper filter (may not require with cold brew apparatus)
  • Good grinder to achieve the desired coarse grind settings
  • Nitrogen infuser (Whipper/Keg style)
  • Nitrogen charge bottles

Preparing steps

Cold brew concentrate

cold-brew-coffee

The important ingredient is the cold brew concentrate that needs to be made. To prepare cold brew concentrate at your home the below ingredients will assist you. A brew ratio of 1:6 can be used or maintained when preparing cold brew concentrate as a general guideline, as there are many ratio proportions on the internet to test from.  

When preparing the cold brew concentrate which then necessarily translates to 150 g of coffee, coffee, and 900 mL of cold water in our case. The most important factor in preparing the concentrate is the brew time and it is most efficient when the coffee is steep for 12 to 24 hours. We advise you to go the full 24 hours if you are preparing the concentrate without any apparatus, as it may turn lighter with less time. The timing of coffee steeping can be different from one consumer to another, therefore experimenting with the steep time must be done progressively. 

A coarse grind size is necessary for the cold brew concentrate. You need a glass carafe in order to prepare the brew concentrate at home or else a cold brew apparatus. A strainer can be used to separate ground coffee from the liquid and you can straight away start by putting the ground coffee into the glass carafe and then pouring cold water according to the mentioned ratio onto the coffee grounds into the glass carafe. After 16 to 24 hours you can check on the coffee.

A Hario paper filter can be used as the method to further strain the coffee free from grounds. Then you can put the cold brew concentration onto the refrigerator for a total amount of 1 to 2 hours which is also a consumer preference according to how cold your refrigerator gets. If you’re not using any coffee apparatus or machine for cold brew. 

Then you do not need any diluting. But in case the coffee is denser than you’d hope then adding around 50-100ml water can be good. But this is not essentially recommended in this style of brew as homemade methods such as this may produce lighter concentrate.

Infusing Nitrogen

nitro-coffee

When infusing nitrogen into the cold coffee concentrate, you need a whipper-style or a keg-style infuser in order to prepare the best nitrogen-infused coffee. We are using the whipper infuser for infusing nitrogen. You can use the whipper that comes from Hatfields London, or in this case, we went with isi nitro whip.

The cold brew coffee concentrate is poured into the infuser flask. Then load it with nitrogen with the nitrogen charges that can be bought separately. Give a good shake a few times, and take a glass, which is transparent and start pouring by pressing the whipper gradually, pour it to the top of the glass where the foam creates around the edge.

Nitro Coffee Caffeine

However, mind that if you are worried about the level of caffeine then nitro coffee will have plenty as this beverage requires only a little water. In terms of acidity, nitro coffee lacks it compared to traditional coffee. At high temperatures, the acidity of the coffee can blend into the beverage but with low-temperature coffee, brew acidity will not interfere with the beverage.

If you are planning to make your own nitro coffee, then this process requires a complex procedure with some limited tools that are required to gain the perfect nitro coffee.

Nitro Cold Brew vs. Regular Cold Brew

The difference between regular cold brew and nitro coffee is simple as it is mainly how the two beverages are served. Mostly regular cold brew is served without any alterations to the beverage where cold coffee grounds are filtered and poured to ice.

Nitro cold brew contains the element of nitrogen-infused into the beverage after the regular cold brew process. This gives a lighter effect and has a soothing taste to the coffee, which also creates a foam on top of the coffee. You can also customize the drink using flavors, Nitro coffee also allows flavors to be added by shots, and also simple flavored coffee.

Summary

Nitro coffee can be defined as a sweet beverage that gives a balance test to people who love cold brew, coffee, and milk-based coffee drinks. Nitro has become one of the most popular coffee beverages with time since it started in 2012. It has the sense of achieving a state of thickness the same as a milk-based drink to a black coffee which is interesting to any coffee fanatic.

Preparing a proper Nitro coffee at home can be expensive given the element of nitrogen making it complicated. But with the availability of many cheaper infusers and access to nitrogen chargers, it is cost-effective for a person who loves cold brew and Nitro coffee.

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