[2] Most sparkling coffee is sold in cans, following the trend in the craft beer industry (photo courtesy Keepers).

[3] Sparkling coffee with lemonade, one of three fruit flavors from Upruit.

[4] Elegant drinking (photo courtesy North St.).

[5] Nitro cold brew coffee, a.k.a. NCB, a.k.a. nitro. It’s available on tap and in cans (photo courtesy Rise)

With the continued growth of coffee culture in the U.S., it’s no surprise that carbonated coffee beverages have been finding their way onto store shelves.

For National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day, let’s explore two trends: coffee soda, a.k.a. sparkling coffee (bottled with or without sugar) and nitro coffee.

We don’t recall seeing a national-brand coffee soda; the new sparkling coffees tend to be entrepreneurial efforts in their local markets.

New York City may lay claim to the oldest sparkling coffee, although the brand is so old that they call it coffee soda.

Manhattan Special, a bottled espresso soda invented in New York City in 1895, is so strong that it has long been a niche product (we love espresso, but it’s too strong for us!)

It’s brewed espresso, sweetened and carbonated, and very strong. They also make a diet version.

Coffee soft drinks that followed used the soda formula: carbonated water with espresso syrup.
 
 
THE NEW SPARKLING COFFEE

But now, there’s a sea change: Coffee cafes are making their own sparklers from brewed coffee, which they then carbonate. Some serve it only in-house, others also bottle/can them.

Matchless Coffee Soda in Nashville makes sparkling coffee from flash-chilled ice coffee sweetened with demerara sugar. (Here’s how to flash-chill, which is delicious iced coffee).

Coffer, from Austin, Texas, is a naturally-fermented carbonated coffee soda. Fermentation adds days to the production process, but results in a greater depth of flavor and mouthfeel.

Two start-ups in Brooklyn, Keepers and Upruit, sparkling coffee.

Keepers offers:

 
Upruit makes only fruit flavors:

 
 
North St. sparkling coffee (photo #1), available in Australia, uses citrus essential oils and a touch of coconut blossom sugar. They have cocktail recipes made with carbonated coffee, that include Coffee [Old] Fashioned, Coffee Margarita, Coffee Mojitto, Coffee Spritz and Coffee Sour.

If these sound bizarre, they grew out of a local trend for what we like to call the “Coffee Arnold Palmer”: half lemonade, half coffee. Sounds strange, but it works—and works so well that Upfruit is staking its success on it.

You can create your own at home, by blending, say, lemon sparkling water or lemon soda, depending on your desire for sweetness, with brewed coffee.

Or, stir lemon (or other) juice into brewed coffee, with simple syrup if you want sweetener, and top it off with plain or lemon club soda.

You can simply top coffee with club soda, but the latter has a flat affect: You need more carbonation. Try it by creating more carbonation with a SodaStream.

Or, carbonate coffee directly with a DrinkMate.
 
 
NITRO COLD BREW COFFEE

Nitro cold brew coffee, “NCB” for short, is cold brew coffee that is charged with nitrogen that creates a rich, creamy head, like a beer (photo #5). Like beer, it is served without ice.

Nitrogen bubbles are smaller in size than those of carbon dioxide, so it isn’t as easy for the bubbles to dissolve. This creates a thicker body and better mouthfeel.

According to Wikipedia, the process originated in 2013 at Cuvee Coffee in Austin, Texas and Stumptown Coffee in Portland, Oregon. Both companies sold the coffee in cans, by 2015.

Its predecessor was the coffee on draft at The Queens Kickshaw in Astoria, Queens, New York: a grilled cheesery with craft beers (alas, now closed). It was created in 2011.

NCB was showcased at a craft beer industry event, the Brewers Association Conference, in 2014. Then came two chains: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Starbucks, which began nitro sales in 2016.

Now, even DD has it.

If you haven’t tried it yet, today’s the day!
 
 
MORE COFFEE

Increase your knowledge of coffee terms in our:

If you’re cooking Thanksgiving Dinner, The American Red Cross wants you to know that the number-one day for kitchen fires is…Thanksgiving.

They ask all cooks to follow these simple steps to ensure a fire-free day of thanks.

1. Smoke alarm. Install a smoke alarm near your kitchen, or check the batteries on your current alarm. Use the test button to check, and repeat the check each month. Replace the batteries once a year.

For safety year-round, The Red Cross also recommends smoke alarms on each level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.

2. Fire extinguisher. Consider purchasing a fire extinguisher to keep in your kitchen. Contact your local fire department to take training on the proper use of extinguishers.

THE NIBBLE uses the easy-to-use aerosol Tundra Fire Suppressant.

3. Clothing. While cooking, don’t wear loose clothing or sleeves that dangle.

4. Don’t leave. If you are frying, grilling or broiling food, never leave it unattended: Stay in the kitchen. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

5. Check during cooking. If you’re simmering, baking, roasting or broiling food, check it regularly. Use a timer.

Cooking with safety is the first step (photo courtesy Fairmont Hotel | Chicago).

7. Move accessories. Keep anything that can catch fire—pot holders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags, food packaging, towels or curtains—away from your stove, oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.

8. Clean before and during. Clean cooking surfaces on a regular basis to prevent grease buildup.

9. Night check. Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving home, to make sure all stoves, ovens, and small appliances are turned off.

A final safety-related tip:

10. Refrigerate leftovers. No matter how tired you are, don’t leave the turkey and other perishables on the counter or table. If you don’t have the energy to transfer the contents to containers, or to wrap the turkey, just shove everything in the fridge as is. The food will be fine until morning.
 
 
For additional resources, check The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.

One of three tea advent calendars from David’s Tea: 24 Days Of Tea.

Last week we recommended a gourmet chocolate advent calendar. Today, it’s a collection of tea advent calendars from David’s Teas.

For the most serious lover, there’s 24 Days Of Tea, boxes of loose teas including these:

Apple Cider, Buddha’s Blend, Candy Cane Crush, Caramel Shortbread, Chocolate Orange, Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, Cream of Earl Grey, Fireside Mocha, Forever Nuts, Ginger Turmeric Tonic, Gingerbread, Let It Snow, Mother’s Little Helper, Mulled Wine, Nutty & Spice, Red Velvet Cake, S’mores Chai, Santa’s Secret, Sleigh Ride, Snow Day, Sweet Almond Green, Tulsi Tranquility, White Cranberry Bark and Zest Wishes.

The collection includes a Perfect Spoon to measure the tea. Each box holds two portions of tea.

For those who prefer organic foods, there’s 24 Teas To Love, a calendar with 24 sachets (tea bags):

Blueberry Jam, Calming Chamomile, Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, Cold 911, Cream of Earl Grey, Detox, Dream On, Goji Green, Japanese Sencha, Le Digestif, Mother’s Little Helper, North African Mint, Peppermint Amour, Queen of Tarts, Saigon Chai, Serenity Now, Silk Dragon Jasmine, Super Ginger, Sweet Almond Green, The Big Chill, The Glow, The Skinny, The Spice is Right and Vanilla Chai.

For people who prefer low caffeine, there’s the 24 More Sleeps collection of sachets:

Alpine Punch, Apple Cider, Bear Trap, Blackberry Blizzard, Blueberry Muffin, Caramel Shortbread, Caribbean Crush, Carrot Cupcake, Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, Coco Chai Rooibos, Cotton Candy, Fireside Mocha, Frozen Raspberry, Gingerbread, Just Peachy, Magic Potion, Peppermint Amour, Rainbow Sherbet, Raspberry Cream Pie, Sleigh Ride, Snow Day, Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, Sunny C and White Cranberry Bark.

Advent calendars begin on December 1st, so don’t tarry. Send your gifts today!