Cold Brew coffee and tea were the new stars at the London Coffee Festival, held at the Truman Brewery in London earlier this month.

Cold Brew is a style of coffee that is doing very well in the US at the moment which means it is very likely to become popular here, especially as the high street coffe shops such as Starbucks are getting in on the act already.

The team from Matthew Algie expolained to GTN Food Xtra: "Cold Brew is produced by steeping ground coffee in cold water for an extensive period of time – between 8 and 18 hours depending upon which method you decide to go with.  The result is you get a liquid that has been brewed of infused cold, not through hot water, and it imparts a much softer characteristic from the coffee, gives you less acidity in your coffee, enhances certain flavour profiles, it’s a very well balanced coffee and seasonally because its served cold, with ice, it’s a super drink for the summer time.  You still get your caffeine hit but with cold refreshment of coffee."

This method of brewing coffee and tea could be a much better sales option for the summer than bottled and canned soft drinks they explained:  “As a retailer what you’re trying to do is keep your till ring level.  If somebody doesn’t buy a £2.50 latte and all of a sudden trades down to a can of soft drink at £1.20 or so, you’re losing turnover and margin."

“With cold brew coffee you should be able to charge the same, or even a more premium price (because the coffee used is single origin coffee rather than blends – brewing them cold and serving without milk allows for the pure taste of the coffees to come through) - African coffees are renowned for being very acidic they’re very fruity, ripe plum, damson flavours whereas Sumatran coffees are very earthy and smoky with a much fuller body.  Because of the cold infusion method used it softens a lot of the high peaks you get from an espresso machine. Cold brew gives a smoother, less acidic, less bitter drink."

Matthew Algie also supply Suki Teas and Cold Brew tea is high on the drinks menu for the summer too.  "A cold infusion of Suki loose leaf fruit teas gies you a drink tasting like a refreshing cordial.  Leave to infuse for 12 to 18 hours in cold water the dilute with a bit of apple juice to add a touch of sweetness.  It's ideal for the yummy mummy audience. If you serve a small jug of the brightly coloured cold brew fruit tea with a couple of glasses all of a sudden you’ve got some great theatre to get more customer interest. It will be great for your sales and great for your margin."

Starbucks are already serving cold brew coffee and with the roll out of Teavanna – cold brew tea could become a very popular option this summer.

See GTN Food Xtras pictures from the London Coffee Festival - it's well worth a visit next year if you want great ideas for jazzing up your coffee and tea offering.