Is coffee from a concentrate still cold brew at chain stores?

A customer at a Tims store watched an employee pour a black liquid from a refrigerator bottle directly into a cup and questioned whether the cold brew was made fresh. Cold brew is normally steeped in cold water for more than eight hours, so shops routinely sell liquid that was soaked and filtered in advance rather than brewed to order.

Commenters noted that the bottle appeared to be frozen espresso concentrate supplied from a factory rather than in-store steeped coffee. Supporters say this keeps quality consistent across locations, while critics argue it resembles a convenience store drink. The debate has renewed attention on cold brew production standards, where control of ingredients and craftsmanship still decides the cup.

Recently, a post about Tims stores using pre-made espresso concentrate to make cold brew coffee sparked heated discussion on social media. A customer witnessed an employee taking a black liquid out of the refrigerator and pouring it directly into a cup, questioning whether it was really freshly made. However, cold brew coffee itself requires soaking for more than 8 hours in advance—so does this really count as "pre-made"? And does a store using frozen concentrate uniformly delivered from a factory meet consumers' expectations for cold brew? Supporters believe this approach ensures consistent quality, while opponents feel it is no different from a convenience store beverage. This article will review the course of the incident, netizens' opinions, and explore the production standards and industry status of cold brew coffee. Front Street Coffee reminds us that no matter the method, the key to a good cup of coffee lies in the control of ingredients and craftsmanship.

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Recently, a netizen posted on social media with the title "I Didn't Expect to Encounter 'Pre-made Food' When Drinking Coffee," which quickly attracted a large crowd of onlookers and discussion.

According to the post, this customer bought a cup of cold brew coffee at a Tims store. While waiting to pick up the order, they saw an employee take a bottle of black liquid out of the refrigerator and pour it directly into the cup. So they suspected that this cup of cold brew was "pre-made food" and not freshly made.

After the post was published, many coffee lovers left comments explaining that "cold brew has to be made in advance anyway." Many people explained to the poster that the conventional way to make cold brew coffee is to soak coffee grounds in cold water and extract at low temperature for more than 8 hours, so most coffee shops sell coffee liquid that has been soaked and filtered in advance, rather than what the customer assumed was made fresh to order.

Just as kind-hearted netizens were answering the poster's questions, some sharp-eyed people checked the images attached to the post and found that the cold brew coffee liquid used by the Tims store was not quite the same as what they had imagined. They pointed out that because cold brew takes a long time to make, stores usually make it a day in advance, and the brewed coffee liquid can only be sold within the specified shelf life. Once it is sold out or expires, employees need to make it again.

However, judging from the photos taken by the poster, the cold brew raw material used by this store was not the "store-brewed coffee liquid poured from a cold brew bucket" that users remembered.

Based on the plastic bottle's outer packaging and label, sharp-eyed users speculated that this coffee liquid used by the store may be uniformly produced by a factory and delivered to stores in frozen form. Employees thaw it in advance according to sales conditions and process it into cold brew coffee for sale within the specified shelf life after opening.

This discovery surprised many people. After all, in most people's impression, whether at chain brands or independent cafes, the cold brew coffee sold is basically made in-store, and it is rare to see merchants use this kind of commercial espresso concentrate to make cold brew.

Regarding the way Tims makes cold brew, onlookers had different views. Some complained: "What's the difference between this and me buying various concentrates at home and mixing them with milk?", "Selling this cold brew concentrate diluted into cold brew is like selling espresso plus hot water as hot Americano," "It's the same as drinks sold in convenience stores," "Frozen long-shelf-life espresso concentrate doesn't really meet expectations for cold brew."

However, after learning what happened, some people felt that netizens were worrying unnecessarily. They pointed out that such uniformly produced and delivered ingredients can ensure consistent taste and quality of drinks. Moreover, in terms of production methods, cold brew really cannot be made on the spot, so it can be considered a kind of "pre-made coffee." There is no need for everyone to feel worried as soon as "pre-made" is mentioned or a long shelf life is seen.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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