Add Lemonade To Your Cold Brew For The Perfect Summer Sip

Drinking coffee during a hot summer can be a mixed bag. When you're sweating and desperate to throw back a cold drink to feel like yourself again, a hot coffee isn't exactly refreshing. Cold brew, be it store-bought or freshly brewed, does a much better job of cooling you down, but chugging a cold brew too fast can make you feel terrible (I speak from experience). Thankfully, there's a Goldilocks, middle-ground solution to this problem: you can add lemonade to cold brew to dilute it and add flavor, so you're still staying cool while getting your caffeine boost.

We spoke to Matt Woodburn-Simmonds, a former barista and co-owner of Home Coffee Expert, who offered a little more on why a lemonade cold brew can be a great combo. He explained, "Cold brew coffee is often quite sweet and mild in flavor. Adding some acid to it, like in fresh lemonade, can brighten ... those flavors for a more rounded drink. Adding acid to something bitter can help balance the flavors, especially if there is some sugar in there." He also noted that some people try Sprite instead of lemonade, which doesn't have the same effect. Lemon-flavored soda isn't as acidic as genuine citrus, and won't balance those flavors nearly as well. 

This combination isn't a new idea. Iced coffee or cold brew mixed with lemonade is often called a shandy, although this term can also refer to a beer and lemonade mixture (so be careful what you order at a place serving both beer and coffee). In Algeria and elsewhere around Europe, mixing lemonade and iced coffee gets you a drink that tastes like summer, called mazagran. At The Takeout, we added lemonade to cold brew because Starbucks told us to — with much skepticism at the time. Still, it works, as long as you don't overdo it with the lemonade.

To that end, Matt Woodburn-Simmonds recommended two parts cold brew for every one part of lemonade. "This results in a sweet and rich coffee with an undertone of sweet citrus. Too much lemonade gives a drink that just tastes like slightly off juice," he warned. If you're particular about your coffee roasts, Woodburn-Simmonds noted that a darker roast works best. Ideally, you're using dark roast coffee to make cold brew anyway, because its low acidity and rich flavor ensures that the cold brew retains its original taste while you're steeping it for long periods. That deep, chocolate flavor found in lots of dark roasts will mix perfectly with the sharp, citrus tang of the lemon. For extra points, go with a dark roast which specifically includes fruity flavors.