Coffee Soda is Making a Comeback: This is Everything You Need to Know
As summer is coming along, the popular trend of coffee soda might be the new big thing in the coffee world.
The coffee industry has expanded over the recent years into creating and innovating coffee and soda concoctions. It’s no longer just a morning beverage, but a go-to drink for the avid coffee and soda drinkers!
Where it all started
Coffee soda has existed in the United States for over 100 years, as it was first introduced to Manhattan, New York by a family of Italian descent in 1895.
They called their coffee soda Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda, inspired by ways of changing up the everyday routine of drinking espresso. Now, this coffee soda combination is making its return as the current trend for coffee and soda consumers.
Caffeinated beverage businesses needed to spark a new venture into how and when people drank their coffee, since the amount of soda drinkers have decreased dramatically over past years.
The coffee soda trend
Coffee soda gives the satisfaction of providing an energy boost and expanding the mouthfeel with the carbonation in the drink. This gives avid coffee, soda, and carbonated water drinkers a run for their money. They can now add coffee soda to their list of go-to drinks when grabbing something on the way out the door.
People tend to drink coffee only in the morning, but how about switching it up? Coffee soda allows people to have their refreshing cup of coffee whenever they want without the idea that coffee is solely for the morning. You might have already noticed some coffee shops introducing this concept with words such as “tonic” or “nitro,” and this expansion in the coffee industry is only increasing with time.
Instead of coffee being the breakfast essential, caffeinated beverage companies want people to reach for coffee sodas as they would with water. As coffee shops are rapidly appearing in cities near you, they have become the new soda fountain shops.
The bitterness of the coffee and sweetness of soda is what makes this special beverage so exciting and new. Who would have thought to combine those two drinks together? The contrasting tastes and textures of both drinks is causing this craze in coffee soda. This innovative way of brewing gives coffee and soda drinkers a new experience in caffeinated drinks by meshing the two.
How is it made?
The drink is usually being made by first brewing the coffee hot, then flash-chilling (slowly pouring directly over ice) it. Then if wanted, the sugar and other flavorings are add and everything goes into a carbonation tank. Once the coffee is fully carbonated, the soda added either to the kegs or individual cans.
The soda
It’s important to recognize that coffee soda is not the combination of coffee and soda. Coffee soda is better understood as carbonated coffee, however, the appeal of the name coffee soda is that it is reassured to have the same “ahh” effect after drinking a sip of soda.
The coffee
For coffee soda, you want to be able to still taste the notes of the coffee. The “soda” part of the beverage shouldn’t overpower the overall taste of the drink. It’s important that the coffee is rich and aromatic because that’s essentially what makes the drinks fresh and delicious.
You can associate iced coffee as refreshing, but as time goes by, the ice melts which compromises the taste and texture of the drink. With carbonated coffee, the bubbles help keep the drink crisp and refreshing all while enhancing the texture and mouthfeel that comes with soda.
Not everyone is hopping on this trend so quickly. Some believe that enriching coffee with soda will not be a good replacement for a fresh cup of coffee. It’s certainly going to take a while for some to buy into this latest coffee soda innovation.
It can be easily seen that some companies are moving towards this direction because they are trying to capitalize off of the previous trend of carbonated water.
Make it at home with instant coffee
Curious about how coffee soda would taste? Try making it yourself at home. Brew our instant coffee as you would regularly do with cold water, then add sparking/tonic water and ice! You will be able to subside your lingering curiosity with this homemade refreshing coffee soda, made in an instant.
With the increased desire for health-conscious soda options that don’t sacrifice the refreshing taste and mouthfeel of carbonation, coffee soda has resurfaced with a stronger presence among brands and companies of all sizes. We surely expect more of these coffee sodas products to show up this summer.
