Many coffee shops in D.C. have remained open during pandemic restrictions, offering takeout service. As a sticky summer—and, for many residents, a work-from-home reality—sets in, many of them are offering up cold brew options for sale to keep their customers going strong at home. Here are a few spots around town ensuring that you don’t have to deal with thirsty crowds daily (unless you’re still on that eight-cups-a-day kick, of course).
Compass Coffee
Multiple Locations
D.C. stalwart Compass Coffee has been selling its famous nitro-infused cold brew for several years. Not only is it available in to-go cups ($4.45), Compass also sells the cold brew in 32-ounce growlers ($11.65). With that infusion of nitrogen, the Compass cold brew is rich, creamy, and strong. Seasonal flavors include vanilla and mint. Order the coffee in the shops that remain open (Shaw, The Shay, Arlington, Massachusetts Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue) with limited hours, or order online via Postmates.
Grace Street Coffee Roaster
3210 Grace Street NW
Down in Georgetown, Grace Street crafts its single-origin cold brew via an elegant three-level Yama drip tower over the course of eight hours. Partner Aaron Agre notes that the slow-brew method “yields a smooth, full extraction with the body of sweet vermouth. It also packs quite a caffeine punch.” He suggests diluting it (half water, half brew) for the consistency of a typical iced joe, or drinking it at full strength on a particularly rough Monday morning. The coffee is available in 6 ounces ($6) and 32 ounces ($20) in bottles. Order online and pick up at the door.
Harpeth Swill
1800 Wyoming Ave. NW
This new gay-owned coffeeshop, which opened in February in Adams Morgan, also uses a Yama drip setup to slowly brew coffee—a gallon takes about 12 hours. The result is “a less acidic, more caffeinated coffee, that’s perfect to-go and can last two weeks in the fridge,” says owner Kyle Johnson. The beans are fair-trade and single-origin, sourced from farms in Colombia and Ethiopia. Harpeth serves the chilled “swill” to go in three glass-jar sizes: Ziva (12 ounces, $3.75), Sasha (16 ounces, $4.50), and Karen (2 ounces, four for $4). The shop offers infusion options with home-crafted, all-natural teas and other flavors; the current popular iteration is the cocoa vanilla using real nibs. Check off that sustainability box, too: Bring back those jars next time, and get 25 cents off your next cold brew. The shop has plans to sell growlers in the summer. Jars are available to purchase in-store or online.
Junius Coffee
Multiple Locations
Junius Coffee, which has been crafting organic, fair-trade, direct-sourcing cold brew since 2013, is offering 32-ounce growlers at Toastique at the Wharf and in Alexandria, at Each Peach Market in Mt. Pleasant, and Maketto on H Street. Maketto owner Erik Bruner-Yang says the cold brew ($14) is “easy to drink, full of flavor, and can be sent directly to your house in reusable growlers.” Need a bigger refill? Coordinate a pickup directly through Junius for a contactless swap 64-ounce growlers in Northeast.
La Colombe
Online Only
The D.C. locations may be closed, but ordering cold brew is still an option online. The beans go through a light roast and then settle into steel tanks for a 16-hour brewing process, before being pressed. Available in 9-ounce cans in packs of four ($12), 12 ($36), 16 ($48) and 24 ($72). La Colombe also sells a host of canned draft lattes, including such unusual flavors as honeysuckle. And since the stores are closed, La Colombe is offering free shipping.
Little Red Fox
5035 Connecticut Ave. NW
The mom-and-pop café/bakery/market in Upper Northwest started offering bulk coffee options just last week. The shop has two options: cold-brew concentrate in 32-ounce jugs ($20) and honey oat lattes in 64-ounce jugs ($26). Each makes about six servings; the shop suggests diluting the cold brew concentrate 1:1 with water. The latte is ready to drink as is—or over ice. The items proved so popular that Little Red Fox sold out the first weekend they were offered, but they’re restocking for the warm-weather rush. Order online for curbside pickup or delivery.
Peregrine Espresso
Multiple Locations
All three Peregrine Espresso shops (14th Street NW, Eastern Market, and Union Market) are open for carryout. According to owner Ryan Jensen, they would normally encourage customers to treat the café as a gathering place, but “in the current season, we opted to craft something simple and sweet that can be enjoyed at home for a week when coming to the cafe daily maybe isn’t realistic.” The result is their Sweet Compromise, a 64-ounce concoction ($29) comprised of the Arboretum blend from Small Planes Coffee, oat milk, and maple syrup. “The result is perfectly balanced, reminiscent of something you would get at the café,” Jensen wrote in an email. It makes six to eight servings and is available via the app or in-store for pickup.
Qualia
3917 Georgia Ave. NW
The snug shop and small-batch roaster in Petworth (their Eckington cafe is temporarily closed) uses single-origin estate and micro-lot beans for all of its coffee. Qualia’s self-styled “rocket fuel” cold brew steeps for a cool 16 hours. It’s available in to-go cups ($3.25-$5.25), as well as 16-ounce jars for home sipping ($6.50). Order online or in-store for pickup.
Takoma Beverage Company
6917 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park
In the heart of downtown Takoma Park, Takoma Bev Co. is a go-to for to-go single-origin brews, and while this one isn’t technically a cold brew, it’s still a brew that’s cold. The shop’s owners use a Japanese flash-brew method, in which a barista brews a batch of coffee by setting the brewing machine to use half the amount of water that’s usual for the amount of grounds. The resulting concentrated hot coffee is cooled rapidly over ice in the carafe to balance the lack of water in the brewing process. It’s meant to preserve some hot-brew flavors that can be lost over the slower cold-brew process. Order single servings of 12 ounces ($2.25), 16 ounces ($2.75), or by the gallon ($25); the shop recommends adding milk or ice to taste.
