Beat the summer heat with Barnie’s Cold Brew. Chilled and smooth, cold coffee drinks are the number one hit when temperatures rise. Cold Brew is a process of brewing coffee that offers a smoother, more balanced flavor. It tastes naturally sweeter and bolder than the traditional hot-brewed counterpart. It also gives you twice as much caffeine with less acidity, so it’s perfect for a refreshing morning jolt, or sweet afternoon treat to cool you off anytime.
Barnie’s Cold Brew typically tastes like chocolate and caramel. Unlike iced coffee, cold brew will maintain its flavor long after it’s in your cup, while iced coffee tends to get sour quickly. Cold Brew tends to be more caffeinated than traditional iced coffee because of the brew method and high extraction.
Now, let’s find out the person behind making this fantastic cold brew for Barnie's. Let us introduce to you Kai Chang, our Cold Brew Specialist.
Nice to meet you, Kai, please tell us a little about yourself and how you got into the world of coffee and Barnie's?
Hi, my name is Kai and I am the cold brew specialist at Barnie’s. You might have seen me driving our van around town making deliveries. My roles include handling production, quality control, product creation, and making deliveries. I first started working at Barnie’s as a part-time driver and I admit I didn’t know much about coffee. But after working for years for them, I grew to embrace coffee and took on bigger roles within the company.
When did you start working for Barnie’s?
2020 marks my 6th year working at Barnie’s. I started during the holiday season of 2014 as a part-time employee. Later, I got rehired as a full-time employee. I’ve been here ever since!
What is your favorite part about working at Barnie’s?
My favorite part of working here is the work environment. I have an opportunity to learn more and more about coffee as well as work with wonderful people. I get excited just to come to work. I feel blessed to be here at Barnie’s.
Outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?
I like to shop at thrift shops and collect vinyl records. I also like to go out to restaurants and explore different ethnic foods when possible.
Tell us a day in the life of working at Barnie’s?
Most of my days are spent at the warehouse working on production and ensuring quality control. Usually, our delivery orders are in the morning and during the afternoon is when we start batching up our cold brew.
What is your favorite coffee or tea product from Barnie’s?
My favorite tea at the moment is the nitro hibiscus. Perfect for the summer.
Describe your passion for making coffee?
My passion for making coffee started when Barnie’s expanded their cold brew operations. At the time I saw the demand for cold brew rising. So I got an opportunity to learn how to manufacture cold brew using different methods, roasts, and blends. From there we expanded further in our scale of production, obtaining wholesale accounts and more. Many of them are schools, hospitals, and small retail shops. My department itself is growing so I’m very excited to see what the future holds here at Barnie’s for me and the company.
What is Barnie's Cold Brew exactly?
Barnie’s Cold Brew is a brew method that uses an extended extraction time (8-16 hours) and room temperature water to create a coffee beverage. It differs from iced coffee in both brew method, taste, and chemical composition, so it’s an entirely different way to drink coffee.
What coffees do you use to make Barnie’s Cold Brew?
Barnie’s Cold Brew is a blend of our Brazil and Papua New Guinea premium coffees. It is a medium-dark roast from our Crop•Ex collection. It provides nice notes of caramel and chocolate.
Does it really have twice the caffeine?
Without measuring the caffeine content, it’s impossible to say, but the total dissolved solvents (TDS) of the coffee are almost twice as high and it contains the same amount of water when compared to a traditional brewed dripped coffee.
Can you give us a hint at the next flavor of coffee coming out? or any new products coming down the line?
Somewhere in the near future, I can see us having flavored cold brew coffee. Maybe like a Santa’s White Christmas or Cool Cafe Blues cold brew coffee? Doesn’t that sound tasty?
