Cold Brew Coffee

By Caitlin Cunningham

Cold brew coffee is the process of steeping coarsely ground coffee beans in water for long periods of time – usually 12 hours or more. This generates a stronger, more concentrated brew that has the tendency to taste a bit sweeter, due to the resulting lower acidity. It’s delicious and definitely increasing in popularity!

Here at Snackbox, we decided to host a taste test in order to examine and compare the cold brew brands carried by Whole Foods in Austin, Texas. Take a look at the results:

 

Kohana

1)   Smell: sweetest of the bunch

2)   Taste: surprisingly bitter, strong

3)   Packaging: blue. Flowery. Feminine, attractive

4)   Cost Value: $12.99 for 32 fl oz ($0.40 per oz)

5)   Overall Impression: ★★★★★

 

Chameleon Cold-Brew

1)   Smell: watery

2)   Taste: watered down, weaker than the other brews

3)   Packaging: more masculine, use of browns and tans

4)   Cost Value: $5.99 for 16 fl oz ($0.37 per oz)

5)   Overall Impression: ★★★

 

N.O. Brew

1)   Smell: bland

2)   Taste: generic, reminiscent of Folgers

3)   Packaging: red & white block type, uninteresting, outdated

4)   Cost Value: $6.99 for 34 fl oz ($0.21 per oz)

5)   Overall Impression: ★

 

Frios Mio

1)   Smell: none

2)   Taste: sweet, tangy, lasting after taste

3)   Packaging: black & brown & yellow, features a pelican, good use of white space,

4)   Cost Value: $4.99 for 16 fl oz ($0.31 per oz)

5)   Overall Impression: ★★