Hitting the road: Cold brew culture goes national
BKON, Enhanced Beverage Solutions and Alto Cold Brew have teamed up on a cross-country ‘roadshow’ event that will take place throughout 2020. It plans to hit Los Angeles, New York City, Austin, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Nashville and San Francisco.
Attendees will learn tips from all three brands about creating successful cold brew and enhancing their own cold brew programs. Cold drinks are expected to make up more than 50% of coffee shop revenue over the next year, according to Enhanced Beverage Solutions.
Making cold brew accessible
The three brands came together to support the smaller players in the industry and further the conversation about cold coffee. Each event will include interactive learning and beverage innovation labs, covering brewing techniques, outsource manufacturing, and shelf-stable cold brew advances, like nitro infusion and dispensing equipment.
Jim Lewis, president of Enhanced Beverage Solutions, said “We felt it was important to make cold brew education more accessible. The explosion of cold brew popularity has made the category a winning opportunity for brands. It’s important for companies to stay on top of the trends and new advances that will set their product apart.”
The Cold Brew Roadshow was at Klatch Coffee Roastery & Training Lab in LA last week. Next it will hit Coffee Fest New York from March 8-10, at the Javits Center in New York City. Then on March 24 it will be at Greater Goods Coffee Co. in Austin.
Later this year, the roadshow comes to Workbench Coffee Labs in Kansas City (May 19) and BKON’s Philadelphia location (June 17). They expect to stop in Nashville and San Francisco this fall, but exact dates and locations have not been set.
Beverage tech joining forces
Beverage technology company BKON uses its patented RAIN (Reverse Atmospheric Infusion) technology to keep packaged cold supply chain drinks fresh up to four months, and drinkable for longer. The company also works with applications beyond canned cold brew and like shelf-stable Bag In Box products.
Last summer it partnered with One Village Coffee for distribution in the northeast. The RAIN tech is available through two systems--the smaller, individual Craft Brewer and the industrial Storm for co-manufacturing partners.
Enhanced Beverage Solutions specializes in nitro infusion in coffee and beyond. Tea, wine and cocktails all get the nitro treatment that gives drinks a creamy, velvety texture. The process brings forward different tasting notes and is gaining popularity as a customer experience attraction.
The company’s Nitro Infuser incorporates into a kegerator, performing the process on demand when drawing from a tap. Enhanced Beverage Solutions works with cafes, bars restaurants and offices in the US to infuse a variety of drinks, including cold brew coffee.
Alto Cold Brew produces specialty cold brew coffee filters that are sold on Amazon. They’re disposable and designed to give cafes and at-home coffee lovers an easier solution to cold brewing.
Based out of California, Alto believes specialty cold brew is the future of coffee and that their unique filter material is the key to furthering the industry. It’s described as stronger than nylon mesh and able to filter better than paper.
