Cold coffee beverages are now a staple on café menus the world over. In fact, in its 2023 third quarter financial report, Starbucks stated that cold drinks now represent an impressive 75% of sales in the US alone.

Specialty coffee has followed in the chain’s footsteps, and is leading the way with innovative cold coffee technology. Today, with new machines that can extract concentrates in just a few hours, preparing cold brew no longer requires a 12-hour steep time.

So how has this changed the coffee industry, and what can we expect in the future? To find out more, I spoke to Maciej Duszak, head of sales and co-founder of Hardtank, and Suhas Dwarkanath, founder of Benki Brewing Tools.

You may also like our article on whether high-scoring coffees are wasted on cold brew.

How has cold brew technology changed?

The cold coffee market has boomed in recent years. Recent estimates expect the market to grow annually by more than 22% over the next three years, bringing its total value to US $1.35 billion by 2027.

Cold brew has been a huge catalyst for this explosive growth. According to the National Coffee Association’s fall 2023 National Coffee Data Trends report, consumption of cold brew in the US alone has increased by a staggering 300% over the past seven years. 

Beloved for its smooth and less acidic flavour profile, cold brew is traditionally prepared by steeping ground coffee in a large container for anywhere between 12 and 24 hours.

With recent advancements in cold brew technology, however, extraction times have been significantly reduced – which has revolutionised the cold coffee sector.

Maciej Duszak is the head of sales and co-founder of Hard Beans Coffee Roasters in Opole, Poland and Hardtank – an automated, countertop cold brew system that won the Specialty Coffee Association’s Best New Product award in 2021 and 2022.

He explains some of the innovative technologies that are now used to reduce extraction time.

“Hardtank uses a patented process that recirculates water and coffee grounds in an automatic closed system,” he says. “The entire process takes between 20 and 45 minutes, and results in a cleaner flavour profile.”

Vacuum brewers (such as Ground Control, for example) speed up the extraction process by lowering the pressure and temperature to preserve flavour as much as possible.

Brewers which rely on vibration, meanwhile, agitate the coffee grounds to speed up and increase extraction. 

“New technologies work by changing brewing conditions to increase extraction efficiency, which allows for shorter brewing times,” Maciej explains. “Modern automated technologies also affect the final flavour profile, potentially extracting different flavour compounds compared to traditional cold brewing methods.”

Adapting to new cold brew innovation

For baristas and coffee shop operators, new cold brew technology certainly helps to improve workflow and consistency. Moreover, these advanced systems usually require less storage and counter space.

However, using these machines means changing several key variables, such as grind size, water-to-coffee ratio, and, of course, total brew time. Baristas also need to experiment with different recipes to optimise extraction and customise flavour profiles.

Suhas Dwarkanath is the founder of coffee equipment distributor Benki Brewing Tools and the Specialty Coffee Academy of India. 

“People want convenience in every part of their lives, and one of the best ways to achieve this is through automation,” Suhas says. “More advanced technologies have also made that happen for cold brew, too.

“Cold brew is fairly new to the Indian market, but elsewhere around the world, more and more consumers want their cold coffee to be fresh, simply because it tastes better,” he adds.

More advanced cold brew equipment can certainly accommodate this demand – producing larger batches in a much shorter time frame.

Are there limitations to these new brewers?

Innovative new ways to produce cold brew and coffee concentrate offer a number of benefits. But considering the technology is still relatively new, these systems also pose some challenges. 

“The main limitation is the cost,” Suhas says. “In time, however, I’m sure these machines will become cheaper and the main barrier to entry will no longer exist.”

Training is another key consideration when using these new machines to get the best results.

“As with any new coffee shop equipment, you need to implement training and proper procedures,” Maciej tells me. “However, manuals and apps can assist with this, and many new cold brew machines don’t require specialist knowledge and expertise to operate them.”

What could the future hold?

As cold coffee continues to remain a staple on café menus, the market is sure to keep growing. Simultaneously, as consumers become more familiar with advanced cold brew technology that drastically reduces extraction time, customers’ expectations of quality are likely to increase.

“In a tropical country like India, cold coffee has always been very, very popular,” Suhas says. “Considering this, we’re assured that the country’s cold brew market will grow significantly. 

“Ready-to-drink cold brew is already gaining a lot of traction, and this trend will continue upwards,” he adds.

In line with continued market growth and rising quality standards, cold brew technology will only become more and more advanced. While this may not necessarily mean even shorter extraction times, it certainly indicates that the potential of cold brew is endless.

Ultimately, education will play an important role. As technology evolves, both baristas and customers will continue to learn more about how new machines extract coffee and impact flavour.

But more importantly, these advanced systems will help to improve standards for cold brew safety – an increasingly prominent conversation in the coffee industry.

It’s fair to say that new and more advanced systems have changed cold coffee extraction times forever. So with further innovation to come in the future, it will be interesting to see how cold coffee could continue to evolve.

The focus on quality and freshness will only become more important – driving the specialty coffee sector forward.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why the coffee industry needs to take cold brew food safety seriously.

Photo credits: Hardtank

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