It’s officially summer, even here in oft-drizzly Portland, Ore., and that means one of my favorite coffee beverages is in heavy rotation again: iced coffee. I just had a slammin’ cup at a new Portland cafe the other day ”Red E in North Portland is serving up single origins they feel are best suited for iced, using new local roaster, Coava Coffee.
photo by James Holk
And nuthin’ says summer to me like going to the Division Street Stumptown for a glass of iced coffee.
Some folks make it with hot shots of espresso; some make it using the delightful Toddy, a contraption I am convinced we need here in Barista Magazine’s offices..
But my message to you here today is this: however you make iced coffee, just make it. Iced coffee has gotten so popular in the past year that it’s actually passed iced tea sales as a drink folks buy in the morning hours, according to NPD Group. Morning iced coffee sales have more than doubled in the past five years, from 2 percent in 2004 to 4.6 percent through February.
And the biggest consumers of it? That’s right ”the ladies. NPD Group reports that teen girls are 84 percent more likely to have iced coffee than the average American. And women ages 18 to 34 are 68 percent more likely.
See? If Nicole Richie’s drinking iced coffee, then females everywhere will be eventually. I’m kidding. The point is, iced coffee can be a great way to both boost your summer profits and introduce your customers to some of your best coffees. No one ever said iced had to mean frappe, right?
Great idea… it’s something we have to do at The Coffee Store on Maui, Hawaii. It’s pretty warm here all the time, so iced coffee is a big seller! Just pour the coffee straight over ice, no need to add anything else — and a great way to show people some Hawaiian coffees they might not have heard of (i.e. ones from places other than Kona).
love that bar!!