It’s a growing trend alarming good-natured, java drinkers across the nation: kids consuming coffee at a precipitous rate, prepared at completely unacceptable temperatures.

PERQ

CALLED ’COLD BREW,’ THIS NEWFANGLED METHOD OF CAFFEINE INJECTION eschews the tried-and-true tradition of high-heat creation that powered America through two world wars and a generation of excellence, favoring a process where patience becomes the name of the game. Gone is the jolting kick to start the day, replaced with a pleasant and smooth sensation coddling the taste buds. Forgotten is the risk of third-degree burns before second shift, a smiling barista and cool glass taking its place. But don’t be bitter; the coffee sure isn’t. Rather than extracting flavor from beans with brute force like a conquering horde, i.e. scalding the taste out of those poor, innocent grounds with boiling water, the cold brew method embraces the bean like an old friend wanting money, moseying up close and playing it cool until they get exactly what they want. Like any long con, patience is the key, and the talented cold brewer must be willing to wait to coax all that sweet flavor from the beans. Whereas any Joe with a Mr. Coffee can whip up a hot pot in a matter of minutes, a quality cold brew can take anywhere from 12 to 24 hours to prepare.

PERQ

Beans are first ground, but instead of channeling heated water through the resulting particles, those little flavor savers are left to steep in cold or room temperature water, typically with little motion. Over the course of many hours, those rich coffee flavors leech into the water on their own. It may take longer, but with this patient approach comes many benefits, and as the doctor once said, “If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” The primary difference comes in flavor, which is markedly sweeter and smoother, and conversely less bitter and acidic. Through the slow brew process, much of the bean’s flavor compounds are lured out, along with some of the caffeine, but the many bitter oils and fatty acids are left behind, only water-soluble at high temperatures. A boiled brew kicks the door down and drags the taste out kicking and screaming, bringing all those ketones and amides with it, giving the final taste a comparably violent experience. For this selfsame reason, many purveyors advertise the cold brew as being kinder to the average digestive process.

PANGEA.

THREE CUPS

PERQ
Prepared in the Kyoto style—a 10-hour, double-strength, slow drip—the cold brew apparatus
installed above the bar leisurely fills a series of glass jugs dangling aloft throughout the day. Constantly rotating an array of single-origin coffees in the cold brew, “part of the fun is that you never quite know what’s going to be on tap,” says PERQ owner Keith Zolner. And the cold brew makes sure he gets the most out of his beans. “It lets all of the unique flavors of each single-origin coffee shine through.” Kegged and pressurized, Zolner likes to serve it chilled, but not
on ice, like a Guinness.

Pangea
The colorful Main Street lounge wades into the cold brew tide with a selection from its non-alcoholic Designated Drivers menu. Inspired by Jazz Age icon turned French Resistance fighter Josephine Baker and named after her sobriquet, The Black Pearl is a delightful combination of foodie form and function. “Cold brew has less of the acidity and bite, but all of the flavor,” says Brad Coburn, and so the cold brew base offers a hint of bitter to play off the sweet counterpoint of a Cassis berry simple syrup, while the house-made whipped cream atop and sprinkled with cardamom gives the whole affair a gilded air. 

BLACK GOLD COFFEE
Anyone looking to score some crack? Then head on down to
Black Gold Coffee Roasters. Labeled Liquid Crack because it flies off the shelves by the half-gallon, the cold brew up at Black Gold comes from owner Gary Lauters’ proprietary blend of beans and he gives the operation a full 24 hours to complete. Having been hip to the cold brew for the last 20 years, he has his reasons. “I’ve been doing this pretty much my whole life and that’s the way it’s done,” he says. Anything else is cutting corners. “Strong, super-smooth, super-balanced and with a nice sweetness in the finish,” he says. Add a little extra kick to your morning Crack fix and try Winter Crack, made with peppermint and cream, or Island Crack, made with coconut and cream.