P
plantyoulater
6d
Where should I try black cold brew next in NJ?
I’ve been on a mission to find a really solid black cold brew/iced coffee around Central Jersey (and beyond), and I started tracking both taste *and* price per ounce because… well I have a problem and love coffee.
Here’s where I’m at so far:
Favorites (would actually go back for black cold brew):
- Playa Bowls – solid, smooth black cold brew. ($7.50 / 20 oz = $0.375/oz)
- Hey Peach Bakery in Bradley Beach– really good, balanced. ($5 / 16 oz = $0.313/oz)
- Aux Merveilleux de Fred (not NJ, but worth mentioning) (~$4.50 / ~16 oz?)
- Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew – consistent, easy win. ($5.75 / 16 oz = $0.359/oz)
**Decent / situational (better with milk):**
- Perfect Perk in Bradley Beach - Black cold brew – okay at first, better with milk. ($5.50 / 32 oz = $0.172/oz)
- Offshore (Long Branch) – had it with milk, decent. ($5.50 / 24 oz)
- Ambee – cold brew with milk is solid, black is rough
- Rook Coffee - plain cold brew with milk – fine, not amazing
Meh to straight-up bad (for black cold brew):
- Asbury Park Roastery – meh black, still meh with milk, also gave me brutal reflux
- Gold Rush Coffee (AP) nitro – genuinely awful
- Ambee black iced coffee – bad without milk
- Trader Joe’s canned cold brew – rough (drinkable if diluted + milk)
- Rook gingerbread, New Orleans) – too artificial/sweet
- Dunkin (store + grocery versions) – consistently bad
- Cafe Bustelo bottled espresso – nope
- Art of the Bean and Leaf in AP – iced coffee w/ syrup, not great
- Trader Joe’s glass bottle cold brew – mid, but better than most store options
What I’m looking for:
- Good black cold brew (not something that needs milk to be saved). Smooth, not acidic.
- Bonus if it’s reasonably priced per oz, but taste > price
Where should I go next?