Bevanda N°124: Let’s talked about something different
Thanks to the guys at Café 124, a specialty coffee place based in Milan (whose name comes from the historical Fiat 124 produced in 1983, that they use to deliver in town), we were able to try this “Bevanda N°124” (Beverage N°124), a coffee beverage similar to a cold brew, that comes in cute glass bottles. After reading about it while writing our website, we were really curious about it, and the team at Café 124 was kind enough to send a box full of bottles.
But what is it? Because is not a cold brew (is not written anywhere) and for sure is not a crappy soft drink made by coffee… so, what is it?
In the beginning, Bevanda N°124 was supposed to be a “regular” cold brew, but while brewing it, the team at Café 124 understood that for them brewing a normal cold brew was not economically sustainable. They had to wait 8-9 hours to get 20-30 liters of cold brew… not really what they were looking for.
That’s why they decided to do something different, something faster and more sustainable. They choose to reduce the extraction times by adding kinetic energy to the drink via a platform, and from there they were able to improve the extraction times from 8 hours to exactly 15 minutes. Subsequently the drink is microfiltered with natural cartons (the same ones used in wine) which help to eliminate all the remains of the coffee, and give a final product amber-colored, almost like a natural wine. Pros and Cons of Bevanda N°124?
Pros: It has no added sugars or gasses, it’s diuretic because it’s made for the 95% of water, it can be drink cold (directly from the fridge but also on ice) and hot up to 70°C, it’s super nice to use (even at home) to prepare cocktails or soft drinks.
Cons: for sure it’s more delicate that a regular cold brew, but this can really help customers that usually drink just “commercial” coffee to appreciate something different, approaching the world of specialty coffee.
They produce Bevanda N°124 with different kind of specialty coffee beans: the one we tried was made with NDaroini AB from Kenya, roasted by Friedhats (Amsterdam), and was really sweet and balanced.
You can order it online from their website, or in Milano not only at the Café 124, but also at Tipografia Alimentare and Tondo Forno Artigiano.
