Trendy Toddies: Cold brew makes a splash among coffee drinkers

Iced coffee is in the middle of a revolution. You may wonder how something seemingly so simple can undergo a change of any consequence but across the country, iced coffee as you know it is gradually changing.

Most retailers create iced coffee by slowly cooling hot brewed coffee and serving it over ice. Another method - called cold brew - is gaining in popularity to create a drink that is lower in acidity and higher

in caffeine and many think a superior flavor. This method involves steeping coarse ground coffee in cold water for at least 12 hours before letting the brew slowly drip through a filter. While this style of

brewing (also known as Toddy) may be new to many, the process is actually traced back to 17th century Japan.

'What comes out is something that is so robust in flavor and tastes nothing like hot coffee,” says Jenny Henningsen, owner of Waterstreet Coffee Bar in Coralville, who has served cold brew since she opened 18 months ago.

Michelle O'Neal, barista at Brewhemia in Cedar Rapids, says that the biggest difference in iced coffee made with hot brewed coffee is the level of acidity, which gives it that 'sour punch.” 'The biggest part is that the oils that are heat soluble are going to cause that acidity after it is brewed hot and you don't get that with cold brew,” O'Neal says. She also notes that low acidity means it is much easier on the stomach and the teeth.

Brewhemia, which is located in the New Bohemian District in Cedar Rapids, has gone full throttle into the cold brew movement. Owner Steve Shriver says he currently offers four styles of cold brew - Japanese tower slow drip, Nitro cold brew on tap, small batch dry hopped cold brew in bottles, and the traditional Toddy method.

O'Neal says each style brings its own nuance to the cup: Toddy has a bit more acidity and therefore has a heavier mouth feel; the tower produces a thinner drink with a lighter mouth feel and more flavor punch; the bottled cold brew is toddy that is brewed with Citra whole leaf hops and contains more citrus and floral notes; and nitro coffee, which is Brewhemia's toddy infused with nitrogen, produces a frothy, creamy cold coffee with chocolate undertones reminiscent in look and taste of stout beer.

Waterstreet's cold brew has chocolaty and dark cherry notes but the flavor profile is something Henningsen is always experimenting with.

'We are trying to control each batch and get the best possible flavor out of it,” Henningsen says.

Every time she makes a batch of cold brew, which is brewed before customer's eyes in a large Filtron cold brew brewer, she writes down how much was put in, how long it was steeped for and what grind of coffee was used.

Both Henningsen and Shriver have noticed an increase in cold brew sales since last summer. Shriver has seen his cold brew sales double - no doubt in part to the introduction of the in-high-demand Nitro Cold Brew in January.

'We started with (Nitro) as a complete experiment just to see what it would taste like,” Shriver says. 'Once we discovered how it positively affected the coffee experience, we scaled up the production and started kegging our various roasts to work out the kinks before the busy summer season. I'm not aware of anyone else in Iowa doing this but I'm sure it will be catching on.”

With the demand and rise in popularity, more and more customers are looking for a way to bring cold brew home with them. In this vein, Henningsen started bottling her cold brew in May in 12-ounce beer bottles hoping to soon sell them in four-packs. Brewhemia also has been selling growlers of both their toddy and tower cold brews.

Even the father of the coffeehouse movement, Starbucks, is getting into the small-batch cold brew business recently introducing cold brew coffee to its menu. Caribou Coffee also serves its version of cold brew.

Henningsen and Shriver both believe that further awareness of cold brew is only positive for smaller cafes and coffeehouses.

'We think our product is better and we can grab that customer because of it,” Henningsen says.

Shriver encourages people to experience the differences in available cold brew coffees.

'Whether or not the cold brew trend sticks, we just love seeing our customers getting excited about what we are doing,” Shriver says.