Sparkling cold brew coffee is the newest drink trend—and it’s an amazing pick-me-up

Have you ever stepped into a fancy coffee shop and wondered why on earth words like “nitro” and “tonic” are sprinkled throughout the menu board? It’s simple — people love the bubbly fizz of carbonated drinks mixed with the energy boost you get from coffee. Effervescent and refreshing, these types of drinks are taking over the coffee world. They’ve been doing so for the past few years.

Enter coffee soda. It’s basically the best of both worlds. Both caffeinated and carbonated, it’s part coffee and part seltzer water, often with a twist of flavor. Today, carbonated cold brews have become more popular than ever.

Oh, this isn’t a new idea. According to Extra Crispy, these drinks date back a hundred years. To 1895, in fact, when the Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda was introduced to New York by a family of Italian immigrants.

But today, it’s a bona fide trend. Companies are innovating with different flavors of coffee soda, and people are loving it.

For example, Keepers Coffee Soda makes a citrus variety with lemon, lime and tangerine juice. Below is one of Keepers’ cans of cold brew, posted on the company’s Instagram account. Looks just like a soda!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BsYQAUghpRs/

And Matchless Coffee Soda is flash chilled and lightly sweetened.

Another popular brand is Stumptown’s sparkling cold brew, which originated out of a New Orleans cafe. Made with natural ingredients, it comes in three flavors: original, ginger citrus and honey lemon.

You can even make coffee soda easily at home with this recipe from Little Bits Of, using one part cold brew and two parts sparkling water. If you want to get creative, play around with fruit flavors or simple syrups like vanilla.

And for those of you wondering if canned cold brew has hit the world of spirits, the answer is yes. Brands like Cafe Agave have definitely created spiked cold brews. Cafe Agave comes in flavors like caffe mocha, salted caramel and vanilla cinnamon. They’re mixed with creamer, all-natural fermented agave and agave nectar.

Need another way to keep your energy levels up? Try Phocus, sparkling water that gets you your caffeine fix. Even better, Phocus boasts zero calories, preservatives, sodium or sweeteners. It’s a perfect alternative for those who don’t love coffee and prefer fun flavors like yuzu and lime or grapefruit.

These beverages can be found for sale on their websites and in select stores. So, now that you know, will you join the carbonated coffee trend?