What is Nitro Coffee?
Nitro Coffee:
We’ve all had our fair share of nitrogen-infused foods and beverages, such as ice cream, sugary drinks, and even hamburgers. The nitrogen trend has taken over the culinary world for the better, and continues to take over new foods everyday. The more we interact with others in our environment, we find that they have tried a new and exciting way to have nitrogen-infused products.
With the latest trend being nitrogen it is no surprise that coffee came to join the part as well. Coffee shops all over the country have started bringing Nitro Coffee to their menus as they look for the newest flavors.
Does this really mean that that noble gas we all learned about in chemistry class is being inserted into our coffee cups? To some extent, yes it is. The nitrogen that is being added into our most beloved products is nitrogen in the liquid form. Liquid nitrogen is kept at a temperature of −320 °F to help keep things cool. It is used as a culinary mechanism to chill glasses, to freeze foods instantly, or even to give a smoky flavor to meats. When the liquid nitrogen comes in contact with the air around it, the nitrogen begins to attach itself to other products and condense itself onto the food.
WHAT DOES NITRO DO FOR THE COFFEE?
We know that nitrogen is primarily used for ice cream and cocktails, so how can this be good for the coffee we drink? The good thing about nitrogen in coffee is that it does not ruin the taste, but rather makes the taste better, if that were even possible. By adding nitrogen to your coffee drinks (specifically your cold brew drinks), you give the brew a creamy and smooth taste; almost as if you are having a cold latte that is filled with foam.
When you add the nitrogen to the coffee, the brew forms small bubbles that have a smooth taste, balancing out the bitter taste that is typically associated with coffee. This additional flavor gives the entire coffee a velvety taste, as if you are sipping on a bed of clouds. Liquid nitrogen gives the coffee an additional foamy layer, without having to steam or froth the milk to get that consistency.
HOW IS NITRO COFFEE MADE?
Nitro Coffee sounds like the next best thing for the coffee world. How could it possibly be made without ruining the overall taste of the coffee?! Nitrogen is a gas which we all know cannot be combined with liquid. Well, in fact, it actually can! How is that so?
The liquid nitrogen is added to the coffee via a tap, that inserts tiny bubbles into each cup of coffee. Coffee experts even admit to saying that by using a tap the coffee tastes all that much better. Nitro taps have been around for a couple of years and have changed the beer, ale, and lager world for the better. The nitro gives these drinks a sweet taste, a nice change from the strong flavor that is accustomed with most beers and other drinks alike.
Since the nitro is a gas in its form it does not mix entirely with the coffee, which is why the foamy layer forms. From the tap, the nitro needs to be poured in with a certain filter that makes the air bubbles as tiny as possible. Those tiny bubbles are what make nitro coffee taste the way it does.
Nitrogen can be added to any type of coffee and is not restricted to a certain brew but is best served cold. In most cases it is best to add the nitrogen to more bitter brews as it will make the coffee sweeter and have more of a creamy consistency. For sweeter drinks, the addition of nitrogen might make the brew too sweet and not as good.
IS IT HEALTHY?
Since Nitro Coffee is primarily coffee, it serves the same health benefits that are often associated with regular coffee. Such claimed health benefits of Nitro Coffee (like those of regular coffee) include decreasing depression, weight loss, and protect against certain diseases. Another main perk of Nitro Coffee is that it is less acidic than a regular cup of coffee. The nitrogen balances out the acidic levels, causing the brew to have less acidic particles. Often people experience stomach pains after they drink a cup of coffee, with Nitro Coffee those pains are reduced since there is a smaller amount of acid in the cup.
