What Exactly Is Nitro Brew Coffee?

Coffee lovers are a tribe like no other. They have devout loyalty to their much-loved beverage of choice (the darker, the better), can drink it at absolutely any time of the day and come up with the zaniest of coffee trends. Glitter coffee (Yes, actual edible glitter inside coffee) was one such trend and another one on the block is nitro brew coffee.

It is known by many names like nitrogen coffee, nitro cold brew coffee or even NCB. But what really differentiates it from an ordinary cup of jo is that it is charged with nitrogen which gives it a creamy head on top. It sounds like the product of a laboratory and this is what makes the coffee much smoother when consuming, along with the rich foam to boot.

Cold brews have grown in popularity in the recent past. Not only are coffee specialists like Starbucks and Blue Tokai serving it, you can purchase packaged cold brew drinks or even powder to make it right at home. A cold brew with nitrogen however, is quite a different process. After grinding and processing, coffee is stored in kegs and infused with the nitrogen. When it is served from the tap, the result is a dark concentrated glass of coffee with a creamy head of foam, even without any added milk.

The process is akin to beer, which also makes nitro coffee similar to it in some ways, especially in the foam. It can be drunk plain for the purists or with a splash of milk and sugar for a milder flavour. In India, you can get your fix of nitro coffee from Blue Tokai, Svami or The Grid.