If you’ve ever put a mug filled with ice under your office’s Keurig machine — guilty!– you’ll appreciate this.
Wandering Bear Coffee, a New York City based brand, is now selling refrigerator-friendly cold brew by the box.
Founders Matt Bachmann and Ben Gordon met at Columbia Business School in 2013, noticing each other by the Mason jars of cold brew so often attached to their hands.
Both long-term cold brewers — “Before it was cool” Bachmann said — the two shared an enthusiasm for cold caffeinated beverages for months before deciding to pursue a coffee company.
As business students, they could both see there was a huge gap in the market for Ready-to-Drink iced coffes. You could buy manufactured products with coffee extract and milk powder, concentrated cold brew, but really nothing that tasted like it came from a cafè.
Wandering Bear Coffee started on the premise that most New Yorkers drink their coffee outside of the home, with offices and cafés being the most popular spots. Why settle for weak, bland office brew?
Working backwards from their favorite cafè’s cold brew, the two worked on a standardized recipe for their brand, trying over 70 different roasts and beans and eventually landing on a dark, earthy, chocolatey brew.
“We eventually landed on a Colombian bean beause we wanted it to taste old and rich. We work with a roaster in Brooklyn for a medium, not burnt-tasting roast,” explained Bachmann.
From there, they developed a packaging for their cold brew not undifferent from boxed wine: a cardboard container holds a sealed plastic container of the beverage and coffee is released from a spout for each pour.
A box of Wandering Bear Coffee serves 12 cups and lasts for (at least) a month in the fridge!
While many aren’t lucky enough to enjoy cold brew on tap at home or at work, Wandering Bear solves a problem too many have oft complained about: bad coffee.
Cold brew addicts, take note. Wandering Bear can be delivered by Fresh Direct — yes, that’s a box of iced coffee delivered practically straight to your mouth — or picked up at local retailers including Murray’s Cheese Shop and Barry’s Boot Camp.
We’re not saying goodbye to boxed wine just yet, but it’s nice to see another tasty beverage box to accompany it in the fridge.
