Costa Coffee has followed Starbucks in launching nitro cold-brew coffee on tap in a select number of its stores.
The nitrogenisation creates tiny bubbles that cascade through the coffee as it streams from the tap – similar to beer taps – giving it an extra smooth taste and rich, silky texture, Costa said.
The new delivery format follows on from the chain’s cold-brew coffee, called Costa Cold Brew, which rolled out across selected stores earlier this year.
The nitro cold-brew will be available in 12 locations across London, four locations in Manchester, and globally in Costa stores across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia.
Costa global brand director Caroline Harris said: “As part of our mission to inspire the world to love great coffee, we are constantly working to bring new coffee experiences and innovations to our customers. Nitro Cold Brew is a new, exciting way to enjoy coffee – our smoothest ever cold coffee and the ultimate refreshment. With its nitrogen infusion, 20-hour brewing process and single-origin Colombian blend, Nitro Cold Brew coffee is our most velvety smooth drink yet.”
Costa Cold Brew is made using a single-origin Colombian blend, steeped for over 20 hours to enhance the natural coffee flavour. The cold-brew coffee is then poured through a tap that infuses the drink with nitrogen for a taste described by the company as ‘refreshing, bold and invigorating’.
As well as straight up, the coffee can be served with caramel or vanilla syrups.
It comes less than six months after rival Starbucks chose the UK as the first market in Europe to launch its nitro cold-brew coffee, available on draught at its flagship bar in London before rolling out to up to 100 further stores across the continent.
Launched two years ago, Starbucks’ nitro cold-brew concept was first debuted in the US before being brought across to Europe.
It’s the latest battleground for the UK’s high-street coffee war: despite its prominence in North America, Starbucks has less than half the number of stores in the UK as Costa Coffee, which has been consistently voted UK consumers’ coffee shop of choice. The chain is owned by foodservice and hotel operator Whitbread.
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