Anyone who knows my husband or me knows that we really like our cold brew, and they also know that we make our own at home. Nitro cold brew has become a bit of a trend. I had some for the first time in months last week, and I decided to see what is involved in making my own at home. It turns it, not a lot. You just need a mini-keg, some nitrogen canisters, and some regular cold brew to infuse with Nitrogen.
I decided to try this kit from Amazon: NutriChef NCNTROCB10. I’ll need to raise the bottom shelf of the refrigerator a peg to get it to mostly fit there, but I should be able to convince my husband to let me do that. 🤞 (Anyone who knows us knows that he’s in charge of the kitchen. I can make a basic meal, but he gets fancy.)
On Friday, the kit arrived. It included the keg and all the associated plumbing. I just needed the cold brew and the gas. After some very quick cursory research, I got a box of 8g N2O cartridges (more on those later).
I definitely got a good frothy head on the cold brew. It had some of the texture that you’d expect from a Starbucks nitro cold brew, but it tasted mostly the same as a regular cup of cold brew. The gas dissipated faster than I’d expect. It wasn’t exactly disappointing, but it wasn’t quite as amazing as I’d hoped.
This morning I was telling a coworker about the rig and sending him the links. In the process, I went on a little tangent and found that it’s actually better to use N2 (nitrogen) instead of N2O (nitrous oxide). Turns out for N2, I need 2g cartridges, which are easier to find. This must be the key! I’ve ordered those, and I’ll be posting a follow-up and links to the cartridges after they arrive.