Brooklyn-based Upruit doesn’t consider themselves to be a coffee company; they are a carbonated tonic beverage company, who happens to have coffee in all their refreshing elixirs. With flavor options like Meyer Lemonade, Ginger Hibiscus, and Mint Grapefruit, Upruit offers a delicious ready-to-drink option that will be crucial in the coming summer months.

Read the full article on Upruit.

 

 

 

Founder Mache Barwinski’s eureka moment happened on a ski trip in 2015. Bored of the cold brew he would schlep up the mountain, he wanted to find a way to make coffee as refreshing as possible and for it to include electrolytes and antioxidants. Barwinski concocted a sparkling citrus coffee that he called "backcountry lemonade," and after a successful test run (he ran a makeshift lemonade stand in the Tetons), he quit his job as an architect to work on Upruit. "Backcountry lemonade" evolved into the Brooklyn-based company's flagship drink, which combines cold brew, Meyer lemon juice, organic maple syrup, and Himalayan pink salt. Barwinski says, “In essence, it's an energy drink -- it's naturally caffeinated, it's carbonated, which makes you absorb the caffeine faster, and it has electrolytes." Upruit’s second flavor adds antioxidants to the mix in the form of tart cherries -- they’re teamed with the same cold brew and salt, as well as some Fuji apple.

Read the full article on sparkling coffee.

Remember last summer when Epi's David Tamarkin broke the news about mixing iced coffee and lemonade? Of course you do, because you probably started drinking coffee-lemonades at that very moment—and didn't stop until winter settled in.

Unfortunately, coffee-lemonade isn't the easiest drink to get your hands on. My colleague Kat Sacks has gotten used to eye-rolls from snooty baristas when she orders her favorite half-lemonade half-cold brew; sometimes they flat-out tell her they won't make it, as if it's caffeine sacrilege. That leaves you with two options: make it yourself, or buy a citrus coffee soda.

Yep, I said citrus coffee soda. And it's exactly what it sounds like: a can of carbonated coffee mixed with citrus juice. Right now there's not one but two companies making killer versions of this culty drink: Keepers and Upruit, both based in Brooklyn. By adding carbonation to the mix, these companies are mixing two of last summer's biggest coffee trends (you remember sparkling coffee, right?). And they're adding other juices besides lemon; between the two companies, there's tangerine, lime, and cherry.

 

Read the full article on coffee soda.

 

The most lemonade-y [ coffee soda ] of the bunch, Upruit mixes cold-pressed fruit juice with a house-roasted cold brew. The beans are acquired through an organization that supports fair and sustainable farming practices. Himalayan pink salt and organic maple syrup are added for electrolyte restoration and a natural hit of sweetness.

Read the full article on coffee soda.

 

Tasting Notes

John Avelutto of The Owl's Head

 

Tasted in a Belgian Tulip...

Nose: Sweetened Lipton Iced Tea, Tawny Caramel, Perugia Rossata candies, Hard Italian coffee candies, Burnt Orange, Holiday/Winter Spices, Sweet Amaro.

Mouth: Sicilian Lemon, Caramel, Perugia Rossana, Deeply Steeped Tea, Cacao and Coffee.

Mouthfeel: Acidity-Medium plus, Sweetness- Medium Minus, Finish length- long.

Balance swaying more to acidity, cleaning the palate of sweetness and demanding more... this is caffeinated and dangerous because I can chug it ( physiological response to acidity is salivation)