Starbucks Has Good News For Fans Of Its Cold Pressed Espresso
What's better than a fresh, hot espresso drink to start your day? Apparently, a fresh, cold espresso drink. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC on March 17 that cold beverages now account for more than half the sales at the coffee chain. Younger customers, it turns out, generally like their coffee cold. Shortly after satisfying customers' cravings for cold by introducing the Iced Shaken Espresso in early March (via Elite Daily), the CEO announced that Starbucks is bringing its innovative Cold Press Espresso to some U.S. locations later this year.
The Iced Shaken Espresso is just a new twist on a familiar drink: an iced espresso with milk added, then shaken to add froth. Cold Pressed Espresso is a whole new coffee ballgame. Starbucks developed its own method for fast-brewing cold espresso that results in a uniquely smooth, sweet, and highly concentrated flavor. While the traditional cold brew takes 20 hours to steep, Cold Press Espresso can be made within an hour, Starbucks said in 2017 when it debuted the drink (via Starbucks Stories & News).
Cold beverages are outselling hot at Starbucks faster than expected
When Cold Press Espresso first came out, you could only get it at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle, which is hardly convenient for most people. This year, Starbucks is sending this new kind of cold brew, which it invented, into the wider world. Because the flavor of Cold Press Espresso is so highly concentrated, it works well when mixed with other cold beverages. When the newfangled espresso appeared at the roastery in Seattle, it came mixed with sparkling water, called a Sparkling Cold Press Americano, and as a Ginger Fizz: ginger ale, vanilla syrup aged in a whiskey barrel, a dash of grapefruit bitters, and of course the Cold Press Espresso. That second one sounds a little fancy for your regular-old corner Starbucks, but we'll see what drink options show up later this year.
It was only a matter of time before Cold Press Espresso went from Seattle roastery experiment to the mainstream. Starbucks saw it coming back in 2017. At the time, Starbucks predicted cold beverages would jump from a little more than 35 percent of its business in 2013 to "nearly 50 percent" this year (via Starbucks Stories & News). It turns out cold brews at Starbucks are ahead of schedule.