Coffee guide, updated 2026
You might not have seen nitro coffee on your local menu yet, but you will. It is cold brew with a twist, and once you have had a good one, regular iced coffee feels a little flat. Here is what it is, what the research says about the health claims, and where to pour one.
Nitro coffee is cold brew infused with nitrogen and poured from a tap, like a stout. The gas gives it a creamy body and a cascading pour, so most people drink it black with no sugar. It tastes smoother than hot coffee, though the lab says its pH is about the same. It usually carries more caffeine per serve than a standard cup. We keep rotating nitro and cold brew on tap at our Hurstville roastery.
So what is nitro coffee?
Cold brew coffee charged with nitrogen. Carbon dioxide is what makes soft drink fizzy; nitrogen does something different. Its bubbles are far smaller and do not dissolve the same way, which is why a nitro pour cascades and settles into a creamy head rather than sharp fizz. It is the same gas behind a pint of Guinness. Because of how it is made, nitro only comes on tap: a keg of cold brew, a nitrogen cylinder, and a restrictor plate in the tap with tiny holes that whip the texture into the liquid on the way out.
What does it taste like?
Smooth, silky and soft, with a natural sweetness and almost no bite. The bubbles are so fine the drink feels creamy without a drop of milk, which is why most people take it black. A little vanilla or sweet cream works if you want it, but it rarely needs anything.
Nitro, cold brew or hot?
Same beans, three very different cups.
| How it is made | Taste | Served | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot brewed | 90 to 96 degrees, seconds to minutes | Brightest, most aromatic | Hot, often with milk |
| Cold brew | Room temperature or fridge, 12 to 24 hours | Rounder, chocolatey, less bite | Cold, over ice |
| Nitro cold brew | Cold brew kegged and pushed with nitrogen | Creamiest, naturally sweet | Cold, on tap, usually black |
Is nitro healthier? What the research says
Nitro is often sold as "low acid" and "easier on the stomach". The evidence is more interesting than the marketing.
- pH is about the same as hot coffee. Chemists at Thomas Jefferson University measured hot and cold brews of the same beans and found both sat between pH 4.85 and 5.13 (Rao and Fuller, Scientific Reports, 2018). Cold brew is not meaningfully less acidic by that measure.
- It tastes less acidic because of what is extracted. Cold water pulls fewer of the compounds that read as sharp or sour, so the cup is smoother even at the same pH. If hot coffee bothers your stomach, cold brew may still feel gentler, but that is taste and total acids, not pH.
- Hot brew has more antioxidants. The same study found hot-brewed coffee carried higher antioxidant levels than cold brew. The "healthier" claim for cold brew does not hold on that measure.
- More caffeine, usually. Nitro is brewed at a higher coffee-to-water ratio and served undiluted, so a serve typically carries more caffeine than a drip coffee of the same size. Exact numbers vary with the recipe; there is no fixed figure.
- No sugar is the real win. The creamy texture and natural sweetness mean most people skip the sugar and milk they would add to a hot coffee. For someone who takes two sugars in a latte, that is the health change that matters.
Nitro itself has not been studied much. Its ingredients are the same as any coffee, so it is reasonable to assume the same profile: the general coffee research on heart health, liver health and type 2 diabetes risk applies, and so do the caffeine cautions.
Try it on tap in Hurstville
The easiest way to get it is to come and pour one. We run rotating nitro and cold brew on tap at our Hurstville roastery, alongside the espresso bar and fresh beans off the roaster.
Cold brew at home
You cannot make true nitro without a keg and a nitrogen setup, but cold brew is easy. 60 g of coarsely ground coffee to 1 litre of cold filtered water, steep 16 hours in the fridge, strain through a paper filter. Keeps a week refrigerated. Our fuller single origins and the blends work best; see the current range.
FAQs
Does nitro coffee have alcohol?
No. It pours like a stout because of the nitrogen, but it is coffee and water, nothing else.
Is nitro coffee healthy?
As healthy as any black coffee. Its pH is about the same as hot coffee, hot brew has slightly more antioxidants, and nitro usually carries more caffeine. Its advantage is that most people drink it without sugar or milk.
Do you put milk in nitro cold brew?
Usually not. The nitrogen gives it a creamy texture on its own. Try it black first.
Is cold brew less acidic than hot coffee?
By pH, no: both measure around 4.85 to 5.13. By taste, yes, because cold water extracts fewer of the sharp-tasting compounds.
Come pour one on tap
Rotating nitro and cold brew at the Hurstville roastery. Drop in, watch the roaster, take beans home.
Visit the roasteryWant it at home instead? Shop the beans. Run a cafe or club thinking about nitro on tap? See the wholesale coffee supply page.
Source: Rao NZ, Fuller M, "Acidity and antioxidant activity of cold brew coffee", Scientific Reports 8, 2018.
