The Best Store-Bought Cold Brew Is From A Familiar Brand

Cold brew coffee is made by soaking coffee grounds in cold water for an extended period of time, which results in a mellow and rounded sip of brew. Fortunately, if you don't have the time to make it like barista do at home, you can grab an individual serving straight from a store's refrigerated section. In our recent store-bought cold brew ranking of 11 different brands, we found that the retail product of a giant coffee chain handily beat the rest, and it's from a company you're well-familiar with.

Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew took first place due to multiple reasons. Our taste tester wrote, "The coffee fizzes gently as it rolls over the tongue, bringing with it understated and undercut coffee, as smooth as it is creamy, and that's even in the varieties where no milk has been added."

Not only does the texture of the coffee help propel Starbucks Cold Brew to the top, but our taster also noted that all of Starbucks' cold brews were equally enjoyable. "Whatever science they're doing at Starbucks with nitrogen works, because the company's various cold brews taste like ice cold cups of strong coffee where all unnecessary water has been somehow removed and all of the rough edges have been sanded off," wrote our reviewer.

Though the ranking didn't specifically address nitrogen-infused cold brews, that process likely gave Starbucks the edge in this competition. When nitrogen (or nitro for short) is added to coffee, the diminutive bubbles add a creamy, velvety mouthfeel to each sip without the addition of cream or stabilizer. Guinness stout is actually infused with nitrogen, which is why it has that appealing cold foam-like top to it when it's poured. 

One side effect of using nitrogen in coffee is that it replaces any potential oxygen in the container, which could eventually result in off-flavors occurring inside the can. So Starbucks' version could very well have had a fresher flavor when compared to the other cold brew products in our ranking. Notably, the second place cold brew was also a nitro coffee (the rest were standard canned cold brews), so it clearly must make a difference.

If you want to try Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew for yourself, it's easy to find; this is a brand you'll see almost everywhere in convenience stores, gas stations, and supermarkets. It has 155 mg of caffeine per can, so keep that tidbit in mind in case you get the jitters easily. Otherwise, it was our winner in a tough but cool category of drinks.