Cold Brew on Tap is Your Wine Nook's New Best Friend
For many of us, iced coffee is the quintessential coffee drink. It’s more than a preference, it’s the standard. With over $10.4bn sales at US branded coffee shops in 2020 alone — and the growth now outpacing hot coffee sales — it’s safe to say “iced coffee season” is forever. Yet, no iced coffee drink has been able to eclipse Gen Z’s love of Cold Brew. Starbucks reported this past summer that “cold beverages accounted for 74% of total domestic beverage sales,” in their third fiscal quarter.
As a Gen Z-er myself, I can attest to the love of iced coffee in many forms. For me, getting a hot coffee is something I do on special occasions; iced coffee is simply my go-to. So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that Cold Brew was now available in Bag-in-Box form. Perfect for serving up coffee from your Wine Nook all-day on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Your guests will thank you.
Wine is the name of the game for us, but we will always celebrate any additions to the BIB world. This is why today I will be reviewing a few different Cold Brew on tap coffee options that we have accumulated over the past couple of months!
Wandering Bear Cold Brew
First up is the Wandering Bear Cold Brew.
This Cold Brew is described as a ready-to-drink, cold brew on tap. This brew comes in six different flavors, including Decaf, Straight Black, and Vanilla. We tried the Straight Black. I tasted it first straight from the tap with nothing added, and then in true Gen Z form, I added some oat milk for my subsequent sippin’.
This was probably my favorite of the ones we’ve tried. It was smooth, rich, and non-acidic. Side note: a good cold brew should have noticeably less acidity than a regular coffee, owing to it’s long and slow brewing process.
I am someone that doesn’t normally drink black coffee, but I could definitely see myself enjoying this one straight. Though, I did love it even more with the oat milk. It cuts through the bitterness that I personally am not a huge fan of, but that naturally comes with coffees that are “extra strong.”
Yes, I am a medium to light roast person. Don’t come for me.
The Original Mugshots Cold Brew
We also tried The Original Mugshots Cold Brew, available in BIB form. This brew has flavors of caramel, vanilla, and coffee liqueur blended with their coffee! This is a cold brew concentrate, so it must be diluted with milk, water, or a combination of your choice. It’s important to note that this brew is flavored, not sweetened.
This cold brew has more acidity than the Wandering Bear one, and it has a noticeably stronger flavor. Since I previously mentioned that I am a medium to light roast person, you can imagine I was a bit more out of my element here. If you do like strong cold brews though, this concentrate may be for you! Also, the notes of caramel and vanilla were a nice touch that were not overpowering in the slightest.
Jot
Finally, I tried the Jot coffee concentrate. While this is not available in BIB form, you could easily use one of our fillable bags if you were planning on serving coffee for your next event or family gathering. One bottle of Jot plus the necessary water would yield about 3L of coffee, the perfect amount for our fillable bags!
As the name suggests, this stuff is concentrated. One tablespoon is all you need for a cup of coffee.
I quite liked this iced coffee. It was smooth and rich, and not too strong. There was a slight aftertaste that I couldn’t place, but it wasn’t something I was mad about.
This was the perfect strength for me, and I almost didn’t want to add anything. In fact, I noted that with oat milk it was almost too weak. So, if you’re the type to enjoy a rich brew, definitely get the dark option!
In Conclusion
The moral of the story is that iced coffee is here to stay. It’s the perfect mix of refreshing and energizing, and it is infinitely customizable. There’s even more BIB options than I mentioned, so keep an eye on our blog in case we review more!
If you have any qualms about serving Cold Brew as part of your Thanksgiving beverage offerings, let it all go! Help your family through the post-meal, post-turkey slump. Cold Brew on tap is the ready-to-serve crowd pleaser that will have you back to normal in no time.
