Just in time for the hottest days of summer, Starbucks (SBUX) is rolling out Cold Brew as a core menu item in its locations in Canada and the United States, the company announced Tuesday.
The coffee drink is made without heat; instead, the coffee grounds steep in cool water for 20 hours to create a sweet and concentrated drink. Cold Brew is considered a smoother drink than hot-brewed coffees because of the long steeping process.
Since an initial launch this spring, Cold Brew was only available across the Northeast and parts of the Midwest, where iced coffee sales are strongest year-round. The new drink will cost $3.25 for 16 ounces, according to USA Today — that’s 60 cents more than the $2.65 price tag for a similarly sized iced coffee.
But you don’t have to order fancier coffee to pay more at the Starbucks counter. Prices at the chain are generally rising. On Monday, Starbucks bumped up its brewed coffee prices across the board by as much as 20 cents.
The introduction of Cold Brew in Starbucks stores follows a national trend toward the naturally sweeter iced drink. This summer, Peet’s Coffee switched to only serving cold-brewed iced coffee drinks.