Starbucks runs out of cold brew is a day that is ruined somewhere in America. We know, because every day a plaintive soul cries out into the wilderness on Twitter:
"The Starbucks is out of cold brew excuse me while the basic white girl in me dies."
"One of the Starbucks on campus ran out of cold brew I'm transferring."
"Starbucks: we're out of cold brew *metaphorically stabs me in the heart*"
We are too fancy for iced coffee anymore. Now we drink cold brew, the magical caffeinated elixir that is suddenly everywhere, from your fussy, independent coffeeshop to the most proletarian of Dunkin' Donuts. It's the drink of young people. It's the drink of summer.
"It's iced coffee taken seriously, rather than iced coffee as an afterthought," said Peter Giuliano, senior director of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
If only everyone who was ordering it actually knew what it is.
"It's like when people ask for a Kleenex when they want a tissue," said Josh Brodey, a manager at Slipstream, a Washington coffeeshop. "The word's just floating around. I think about 50 percent of our customers that use the words 'cold brew' don't think of it any differently than iced coffee."
But it is different. A traditional iced coffee is made with hot-brewed coffee that has been cooled down. But cold brew is steeped in room-temperature or chilled water, allowing the coffee to slowly infuse over time. Fans say the method results in a mellower, less acidic coffee. People who get heartburn from coffee tend to find cold brew a little easier to digest.
It has to do with chemistry: Mixing hot water with coffee grounds is the most efficient way to extract its oils, acids and fragrance, all of which contribute to its flavor. Coffee brewed hot will have a stronger flavor and smell. But according to the UCLA Science and Food blog, heat can also cause coffee oils to oxidize, and its acids to degrade, which can give it a sour, bitter flavor.