I got the great pleasure of judging the Cold Brew Championships at Coffe Fest 2022 in New York City. Not only did I get to taste some of the best cold brews in the world, I got the meet the people behind them. This is inspiration for my company Charlie Royal, to be even more innovating in the coffee space.
Yes. I had the arduous task of tasting copious amounts of cold brew coffee and deciding what is the best within the competition. I’ve been fortunate & grateful enough to judge in this championship twice now and I must say, it’s way too much fun. But, it’s inspiring to me in regards to Charlie Royal and what we can be doing as a company to stand out & be special in a world full of incredible people and coffee companies.
I tasted so many incredible cold brews. The 1st place winner was from an individual named, Macarena, from Tio Conejo coffee based in Colombia. Specifically, it was a Colombian Geisha varietal coffee that made my head spin! The taste of this cold brew changes with each sip as the coffee expands in your palette. It was floral-like, it was chocolatey, and it was refreshing all at once. So much passion coming from this coffee farm and making coffee that any kind of coffee drinker would enjoy. Something that Charlie Royal also keeps in mind with every coffee we release. Taking into account everything that is judged – from color & texture, to scent, to process, to approachability – I give every competitor so much respect for being involved in the championship.
It’s exciting to hear & learn about other peoples’ processes in creating cold brew coffee. Their extraction techniques, steep times, specific regional coffees chosen, how it blends with other ingredients in specialty cold brew concoctions – it’s eye-opening for us at Charlie Royal and inspires us for future products, recipes, & content.
Being a part of the cold brew community is important to us. Talking with others within the industry and sharing our journeys. Judging cold brew is such a subjective thing. What tastes great to me, might not be what’s necessarily very tasty to someone else. But, this is what makes what we do fun & exciting.
Which brings me to what makes Charlie Royal fun & exciting. We strive to make cold brew & coffee, in general, as approachable as possible. Finding new, fun flavors to enjoy at home. Making the cold brew making process a breeze. Fun packaging & branding that makes Charlie Royal standout in the crowd. Most importantly, a community of like-minded folks that just enjoy great cold brew.
Thank you to Alto Cold Brew for having us at Coffee Fest 2022 in NYC. And also having us on display at their table! Maybe we’ll enter Charlie Royal into the competition at some point.
~ Nick Martin
Co-Founder of Charlie Royal
