--- title: You Can Grab Cold-Brew Coffee at Starbucks This Summer description: No, it's not the same as traditional iced coffee canonical: https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-24T13:30:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:17:56.837Z og:title: Cold-Brew Coffee at a Starbucks Near You This Summer og:description: No, it's not the same as traditional iced coffee og:url: https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8cb522ea14bc8c3/698784e6cd68489cf009a4af/cold_brew_4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Cold_Brew_(4) og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cold-Brew Coffee at a Starbucks Near You This Summer twitter:description: No, it's not the same as traditional iced coffee twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8cb522ea14bc8c3/698784e6cd68489cf009a4af/cold_brew_4.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Can Grab Cold-Brew Coffee at Starbucks This Summer by [Morgan Gibson / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Morgan Gibson / People Mar 24, 2015 1:30 PM UTC  Starbucks Cold Brew Starbucks Cold BrewStarbucks by [Morgan Gibson / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Morgan Gibson / People Mar 24, 2015 1:30 PM UTC [Starbucks](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/02/09/kenny-g-starbucks-frappuccino-truth/) — the same company that brought us a neon-green, [chocolate-drizzled Franken Frappuccino](http://greatideas.people.com/2014/10/29/starbucks-launches-franken-frappuccino/) for Halloween — is rolling out something slightly more subtle for summer. The [coffee chain](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/01/30/starbucks-vs-dunkin-donuts-seattle-new-england-superbowl/) announced Thursday that cold-brew coffee will be available at more than 2,800 stores across the U.S. (the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest) and Canada (Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary). Not to be confused with traditional iced coffee — which is hot-brewed, chilled and served over ice — cold-brew coffee gets its name from its specific brewing [process](http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/sep/09/coffee-cold-brew-hot-new-thing): Coffee grounds are steeped in cool water for an extended period of time (Starbucks’ magic number is 20 hours) to produce a concentrated coffee flavor, which is then diluted with water (usually by 50%) and served chilled. So what makes this high-maintenance coffee so popular? The lack of heat in the brewing process gives the brew a less bitter flavor. “Iced coffee and espresso beverages have a stronger, roastier flavor with a bit of nuttiness that comes from brewing with hot water,” Michelle Sundquist, of Starbucks’ research and development team, said in a statement. This announcement comes just two months after the company [added the Flat White](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/01/06/starbucks-new-espresso-drink-flat-white/) to its permanent menu — an Australian espresso beverage that was previously dubbed (a.k.a. before Starbucks got a hold of it) the “[hipster drink of choice](http://time.com/3652676/starbucks-flat-white/).” _This_ [_article_](http://greatideas.people.com/2015/03/13/starbucks-cold-brew-iced-coffee/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/"},"headline":"You Can Grab Cold-Brew Coffee at Starbucks This Summer","datePublished":"2015-03-24T13:30:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:17:56.837Z","description":"No, it's not the same as traditional iced coffee","url":"https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Living","Food & Drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8cb522ea14bc8c3/698784e6cd68489cf009a4af/cold_brew_4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Morgan Gibson / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8cb522ea14bc8c3/698784e6cd68489cf009a4af/cold_brew_4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cold_Brew_(4)","caption":"Cold_Brew_(4)","creditText":"Starbucks","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3755897/starbucks-cold-brew/","name":"You Can Grab Cold-Brew Coffee at Starbucks This Summer"}}]}] ```