Grady’s Cold Brew
Let’s not pretend that New York is anything but a coffee town. Is there any other beverage more in keeping with the fast pace of this city than coffee? Maybe Four Loko? Anyway, as we ease into iced coffee season, AKA the absolute best part of the year, it’s time to give thanks to one of the best additions that the Brooklyn caffeine-loving scene has ever known—Grady’s Cold Brew.
Founded and run by Grady Laird, the company makes New Orleans-style (that means chicory) coffee concentrate that is cold-brewed and bottled in Brooklyn. Grady’s Cold Brew can be served steaming hot or over ice, but since now is the time when everyone abandons hot coffee in favor of the cooler beverage, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that Grady’s makes one of the smoothest cups of iced coffee out there. Mixed with milk, Grady’s has a velvety finish and naturally sweet taste, thanks to the chicory, which requires no addition of sugar. But what was the inspiration to start a cold brew company? Laird tells me, “The inspiration behind Grady’s was the whole B.Y.O.I.C. (bring your own iced coffee) phenomenon. People love providing free hot coffee (offices, banks, car dealerships, etc.), but when it comes to iced, you’re completely on your own…I thought, ‘Why is that? Why are we perfectly capable of brewing our own hot coffee, but rely completely on coffee shops for the cold stuff?’ That’s when I started cold brewing my own.” And we’re so glad he did. Drinking some Grady’s Cold Brew is the quickest way I know to feel transported to New Orleans—one sweet, chicory-laced sip at a time.