Keep it local 'Camberville': barismo's founder, Jaime van Schyndel updates you on our most popular side project, Cambridge Coldbrew. As we enter iced coffee season, here's our preferred cold coffee.
Some of our local industry old timers complain about the obsession with cold brew (toddy) coffee and complain about it's many faults. They protest that cold brew is a place to hide low quality blends that are often darkly roasted. They gripe that cold brew is brewed at room temp to very strong strengths yet often tastes very under extracted. They grumble that cold brew tasted oxidized, flat, and a bit off (like a merlot left out overnight). Instead of joining the complaining about how it is, we decided to refine the method and search out what it could be. We then set out to reinvent cold brew coffee. We sought something different, possibly better, more innovative, a new idea for brewing cold coffee. We took the first step by bringing it back to the fundamental ideas of what makes quality coffee. Then we brewed it again, from the beginning.
Some of our local industry old timers complain about the obsession with cold brew (toddy) coffee and complain about it's many faults. They protest that cold brew is a place to hide low quality blends that are often darkly roasted. They gripe that cold brew is brewed at room temp to very strong strengths yet often tastes very under extracted. They grumble that cold brew tasted oxidized, flat, and a bit off (like a merlot left out overnight). Instead of joining the complaining about how it is, we decided to refine the method and search out what it could be. We then set out to reinvent cold brew coffee. We sought something different, possibly better, more innovative, a new idea for brewing cold coffee. We took the first step by bringing it back to the fundamental ideas of what makes quality coffee. Then we brewed it again, from the beginning.
Enter the Cambridge Coldbrew
After a lot of refinement and what can only be described as a few years of distilling the process, we latched onto a method that delivered the farm flavors we wanted. We began beta test serving in Cambridge where it then picked up steam and even got some national press mentions. It was not until it was on tap a few years ago at dwelltime that we started to really get some clarity to our new method. The Cambridge customers supported us and pressed us both into bottling growlers and scaling up our brewing to meet the demands. The rapid volumes from the get go kept us busy but made us fixate on how to scale up with the quality we were chasing. As of now, we have been scaling into some seriously large batch sizes we never could have imagined when this was merely a trending topic of summer coverage a few years back. It has been the big challenge refining a better idea for cold brewed coffee. Brewed cold and clean filtered, this is no longer that same old tepid toddy!
Here's what makes it Cambridge Coldbrew:
- Stored cold and brewed cold - It's the only iced coffee locally you can buy that's cold all the way through. We keep it at the best temps to preserve it's flavors.
- Clean filtered - Cambridge Coldbrew goes through a multiple pass filtration to get a crisp and full taste. Because we don't have the sediment, this allows us to avoid the under/over extraction and focus on the right extraction.
- Quality direct trade coffee - We use only quality traceable coffees from farms we have sourced directly. You will not receive a low quality over roasted blend, you will get a single coffee estate with a distinct flavor and unique story.
- A different approach - We don't updose and under extract, this is not a 'concentrate', it's ready to drink and dialed in like a great hot coffee would be.
How can you get Cambridge Coldbrew by the bottle (and by the keg)?
- We offer our single estate growlers for office and take home at dwelltime as well as our coffee bar 171 Mass ave, Arlington, MA.
- We now offer a 5 and 15 gallon keg service for offices, restaurants, and specialty stores (local delivery only).
- Join our waiting list for bottles in your store's cold case.
Why Cambridge Coldbrew?
- We want to fuel your ideas. Most of our first keg customers were amazing tech companies that already have kegerator setups for beer. Cambridge Coldbrew is innovative coffee for innovative companies.
- We hope to change restaurant coffee to be something truly special, not an afterthought. Imagine fine dining and ending the meal with a single estate Cambridge Coldbrew off a nitrogen tap. It's the exclamation point on a great meal!
- Most cold brewed blends are generic and lack identity. We want to bring it back to focusing on what makes great individual coffees by highlighting the unique farms that produced them. That means it tastes like great coffees should taste.
What's new with Cambridge Coldbrew?
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| Clypd's tap setup (art by Olya Rosenberg) |
- Our direct trade Fulu Red Tea is now available iced and by the Coldbrew keg (currently only as 5 gal kegs).
- dwelltime has Fulu Red iced tea on tap and is testing our new carbonated version! (frequently available in seasonal mocktails that pair well with an espresso)
- We have partnered to offer kegerator installations for 'Coldbrew on Tap' setups, let's talk!
We set out to make Cambridge Coldbrew a product that speaks to our values of letting the coffee be the good it can be. Transparent, directly sourced, quality brewed, and freshly roasted 'cold' coffee. It took a little help from our friends, and major support from our amazing customers for this new idea about iced coffee to become a big favorite locally but it's definitely catching on. For that, we thank the loyal support of our customers that allowed us to stay true to our brew! We look forward to bringing these farms we love to new friends, restaurants, and even those innovative companies that inspire us!
