I’ve been looking forward to telling you about Minor Figures cold brew coffee.
The biz was founded by Stuart Forsyth and underwent a fantastic redesign not so long ago. It’s a London based start-up and their cold brew coffee is brewed in East London at their micro-brewery.
Minor Figures bridge the gap between long-life iced coffee and expensive hipster cold brew. Their aim is to make the cold brew world much more accessible.
It was their delightfully fantastic branding that first caught my eye. The quirky illustrations on pastel backgrounds really make the products stand out next to the regular line-up of coffee based drinks.
I first spotted the brand in my local Sainsbury’s and was instantly intrigued. With closer inspection I was delighted to find that all of their drinks are dairy and sugar free. The sugars in the Latte and Mocha are naturally occurring in the oat milk. I gave the latte a try and loved it but as I was on the move I didn’t manage to snap a photo.
A few weeks later I was kindly sent a few cans to try out. It’s almost like they knew I’d just discovered their cold brew coffee.
There are 3 flavours to pick from;
Nitro Cold Brew Black
Nitro Cold Brew Mocha
Nitro Cold Brew Latte.
The 3 flavours are free from dairy, sugar and are suitable for vegans.
So, what is the Nitro bit about? Well, when the can is opened there’s a burst of nitrogen which is released and this gives the coffee a foamy texture. The first time I had one of the coffees I had no idea there was going to be a nitro pop when I opened up the can. It certainly made me jump. Now I look forward to it.
Here are my thoughts on each flavour:
Nitro Cold Brew Mocha
When you open up this can there’s a strong smell of chocolate. It’s lovely. Then when you knock back the drink you find that the balance of coffee and chocolate is perfect. It’s sweet but not sickly. The sugar comes from the oat milk, there’s no extra sweetness added to the mocha.
I’m not normally one to pick a mocha but I love this. It’s a real treat.
Nitro Cold Brew Black
If you like your coffee strong then this is the one for you.
There’s an ever so slight bitter aftertaste to it but it’s still very smooth to drink. All 3 of the coffees are best served cold. If you have a glass with ice to hand I’d recommend pouring this straight into it. I like this one really cold.
Nitro Cold Brew Latte
I’ve picked up several cans of this over the last few months. It’s smooth, creamy and the coffee and oat milk are perfectly balanced. You can certainly taste the flavour of the oat milk – this isn’t a bad thing. I really enjoy oat milk and this can goes down very easily.
I enjoyed all of 3 of the cold brews but I think the Nitro Cold Brew Mocha has to be my favourite. I don’t normally go for a mocha because they’re too sweet but this one is perfect. It’s creamy, slightly sweet and still holds a strong flavour of coffee.
You can grab a can in your local Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Whole Foods or lots of smaller independent businesses. If you’re in Sheffield then Gaard on Kelham Island (location: 22 Burton Rd, Sheffield S3 8BX) has them in stock.