As the Summer heat hits, many consumers are turning away from hot drinks and enjoying ice-cold drinks to cool down with. So, what does this mean for coffee? Iced coffee has been a popular hot-drink alternative for decades, but there are many more coffee drinks out there that are easy to enjoy in the Summer, with these trending drinks. Here’s how you can stay on top of the latest drinks trends.
Japanese-style Iced Coffee
While iced coffees have been big business for years now, a new trend in cold coffee is heating up in 2022. Japanese-style cold brew, also known as Flash Brew Coffee, is freshly brewed coffee that’s cooled quickly by placing ice in a drip method coffee maker, like a Chemex, and brewing coffee with boiling water as normal. But to ensure rapid chilling, around 40 per cent of the water you’d use in a standard brew is ice, with 60 per cent as hot water filtered through your coffee grounds. As the hot water hits the ice it dissolves, leaving you with the right dilution but a fresher flavour. It’s also much quicker than a cold brew, meaning your business can create chilled coffees without the wait. Not only is this the easiest way to make iced coffees, but it makes a more balanced and rounded cup of coffee, which most, if not all, customers can and will enjoy.
Dalgona Coffee
It’s coffee, but in an intensely delicious state; whipped. This drink has become a huge craze over social media thanks to its visually pleasing aesthetics, and is now an extremely sought after drink by consumers. Vanessa Lee, Café Consultant at Forbidden Bean, notes that the Dalgona is a good example of “how the market is responding to an Instagrammable drink [rather] than a well-tasting drink, which I think this is a lesson all café owners and baristas should bear in mind.” This drink has two distinct layers that make this coffee so irresistible, whipped coffee cream that sits on top of iced milk. Creating the two layers unsurprisingly involves a lot of whipping, combining a shot of espresso and sugar together to create a light and fluffy, meringue-like texture. Once the coffee is well whipped, it’s recommended to spoon this over a glass of ice with any milk of your choice. The result? A chilled, light and delicious coffee drink that not only tastes good but looks just as good, too. It’s a great summer drink that consumers can enjoy cooling down with, or just to try something new.
Coconut Mocha Frappe
During the Summer, people begin to crave those more exotic flavours that remind them of tropical countries, which is why this Summer, the Coconut Mocha Frappe is making a comeback. It’s rich, chocolaty taste combined with the flavour of sweet coconut, blended perfectly with cool, creamy milk, or opt for a dairy-free alternative with coconut milk, lots of ice and a dash of delicious coffee will have even the most discerning of customers wanting more. The exotic and fresh flavours in this drink can create a sense of escape for those consumers who crave those international taste experiences over the Summer. Enjoying these new flavours and sensations in an ice-cold drink during the Summer heat is sure to please many consumers.
Iced Coffee Cubes
Another coffee drink that we’ve noticed racking up the views across social media platforms has been making iced coffee cubes, also known as coffee pucks. It’s a new take on the iced coffee, but this version involves pouring espresso into ice cube trays and freezing them to create the frozen pucks. This way it locks in the aromatic flavours of the coffee and also keeps it fresher for longer. It can be enjoyed with any milk of your choice, hot or cold, and the lack of actual ice cubes means your coffee won’t suffer from being watered-down. Simply put, it’s a drink that gets more intense with coffee the longer it lasts. This delicious iced drink is the perfect coffee drink that consumers are looking for to cool down with this Summer, and one which could also help free up your baristas’ time thanks to the prep beforehand.
If you’re interested in any of these trending coffee drinks and want to know the best ways to add these to your coffee offering, or if you’d like to request a sample of our coffee, please feel free to get in touch with us at coffee@bridgecoffeeroasters.co.uk or call our lovely team on 0800 092 8992.