Welcome back,
Today, we’re going to discuss something I’ve seen a really big trend of over the last year or so, frozen coffee menus and how they’re changing the way we drink our everyday cups.
So let’s get started
When you think “frozen coffee,” you might picture an oat iced latte or an iced long black on a hot summer’s day. But, there’s a whole different world behind the bar in speciality cafés right now — one that’s quietly redefining how we enjoy the best coffees in the world.
We’re talking about pre-dosed frozen coffee beans. And honestly, it’s one of the most exciting shifts in coffee service we’ve seen in a long time.
Why Freeze Coffee Beans?
The idea is simple but spectacular: once coffee is roasted and hits its ideal resting time, it’s at peak freshness for a very short window. Oxygen, moisture, and time immediately start chipping away at all those bright acids, juicy fruits, delicate florals, and deep sweetness that make speciality coffees so magical.
By freezing roasted coffee beans — right at their prime — coffee shops can pause that aging process almost completely. Stored properly at ultra-cold temperatures (standard freezers work, but some cafés use specialised ultra-low freezers), the beans lock in their original vibrancy and complexity.
Grinding frozen also has major benefits. When coffee is ground, it releases aromatic compounds almost instantly. Grinding frozen beans reduces the amount of volatile compounds lost in the process, keeping more of those delicate flavour notes in your beautiful cup of coffee, whether that’s red fruit juiciness, ripe berry acidity, or velvety dark chocolate finishes.
Freezing doesn’t just preserve freshness — it preserves the full story of the coffee, allowing it to thrive when it’s brewed.
How It’s Being Served
Frozen beans aren’t just a behind-the-scenes secret anymore — they’re front and centre on menus for anyone to experience in a lot of modern-day speciality coffee shops.
Higher-quality, more expensive lots — rare Geishas, exotic anaerobic ferments, heirloom varietals from Ethiopia, or experimental processes like a thermal shock or a yeast inoculated ferments— are dosed out, frozen and served to order. It’s giving customers access to rare, world class coffees that might otherwise be too volatile or too limited to stay on a menu for long.
You’ll find frozen beans used across a variety of different brew methods:
- Pour Overs — Origami, V60, Orea, UFO, whatever fits the profile best. a clean, complex and smooth filter.
- Aeropress — Rich, heavy-bodied and syrupy extractions with insane sweetness.
- Espresso — Tight, punchy shots with explosive aromatics. A lot of the time, you can see these extracted over frozen balls, like a nucleus coffee tools frozen ball, which helps create a smoother and creamier shot.
The cool part? Freezing opens up a “time capsule” experience — you could enjoy a harvest’s peak expression months after it would have normally faded.
Freeze-Distilled Flat Whites: Another dose of perfection
As if frozen coffee alone wasn’t exciting enough, cafés are also elevating the milk side of the menu with freeze-distilled milk.
The concept is beautifully simple: freezing good quality dairy milk, defrosting and decanting into another container and, and what’s left behind is a richer, creamier, more naturally sweet liquid. No added sugar, no weird thickeners — just intensified milk.
Pair that freeze-distilled milk with a micro-lot espresso from Burundi pulled from frozen coffee beans, and you’ve got a flat white that’s next-level indulgent. Think ultra-silky mouthfeel, amplified sweetness, and coffee flavours that shine through without being drowned by milk.
It’s like tasting your favourite coffee in 8K Quality.
Why It Matters for Cafés and Consumers
For cafés, freezing unlocks major advantages:
- Preserve rare micro lots longer — No need to rush through small, precious harvests.
- More consistent service — No “off” cups when a bag is on its last days.
- Lower waste — Nothing gets stale sitting in bins.
For consumers, the experience is pure heaven:
- Access to rare, micro-lot coffees you might have otherwise missed.
- Fresh-tasting cups, even from harvests months ago.
- A deeper appreciation for how careful sourcing, roasting, and service come together.
Frozen coffee isn’t a compromise — it’s a guarantee that what you’re tasting is as close as possible to the roaster’s and farmer’s original vision.
Frozen Is the New Fresh
Freezing coffee isn’t about changing what coffee tastes like — it’s about protecting the most exciting, perfect moments of a coffee’s life, and sharing them with drinkers in their purest form.
It invites cafés to offer better coffee, more consistently, without pressure to race against the clock. It lets baristas create jaw-dropping experiences with every brew method. And for us, the drinkers? It means we get to experience coffee at its absolute best, every single time.
So next time you spot a “Frozen Coffee” or a “Freeze-Distilled Flat White” on the menu, don’t hesitate. Ask questions, dive in, and get ready to taste coffee the way it was truly meant to be enjoyed: alive, electric, and unforgettable.
Is freezing roasted coffee safe?
Absolutely! As long as the beans are sealed well (vacuum-sealed or stored airtight), freezing roasted coffee is completely safe and keeps them fresher for way longer than room-temperature storage.
Does frozen coffee taste different?
In the best way. Freezing preserves the delicate aromatics and flavour compounds that would normally degrade over time. When you brew coffee from frozen-ground beans, the flavours are often brighter, sweeter, and well-rounded.
How do baristas brew with frozen beans?
Simple: they dose the beans straight from the freezer, grind them while still frozen, and brew as usual. No defrosting needed. In fact, grinding frozen can even improve grind consistency!
Can you freeze coffee at home?
Yes! Just store your beans in airtight bags or containers, portioned if possible. Only take out what you need right before brewing. It’s a great way to make your favourite coffees last longer without sacrificing quality.
Why isn’t every café doing this yet?
Freezing and grinding frozen beans takes a little extra care, equipment, and workflow adjustment. But more speciality cafés are joining in this amazing venture every year — and as demand grows, it’s quickly becoming the new standard for premium lots.
A couple of places we visited last month that had frozen coffee menus available were:
Nostos Coffee, Battersea Park and St James’ Park, London
Special Guests Coffee, Marylebone, London
We will be sure to add to this list when we visit more cafes doing this.
But for now, check them out, go search for a frozen menu next time you’re on a coffee shop searching adventure.
until next time,
I hope you’ve enjoyed this read.
Catch you on the next one!
