Hosts making sparkling coffee
If guests want bubbles, make individual drinks with cold-brew concentrate, ice and sparkling water. The Starbucks Coffee At Home recipe also suggests an orange or lemon twist.
Who is each option for?
Friends wanting a quick oat-based coffee
A ready-to-drink cold-brew oat latte avoids mixing, but it is a still coffee. Check the pack for each guest: Marks & Spencer says its 250ml Oat Latte Cold Brew Coffee is not suitable for coeliacs or people with a wheat allergy.
Hosts planning an adult coffee cocktail
A cold-brew coffee liqueur belongs to an alcoholic cocktail occasion, not a round of non-alcoholic sparkling coffees. Check the bottle label before serving.
What should you check before buying?
Mix a sparkling cold brew
Choose when: Guests want fizzy black coffee that you can dilute separately in each glass.
Allow for: Preparation, ice and separate sparkling water; the concentrate itself is not carbonated.
Serve a chilled oat latte
Choose when: A ready-to-drink, oat-based coffee matters more than a fizzy texture.
Bear in mind: The M&S cold-brew oat lattes are still drinks, and their suitability statements differ by product.
Plan an alcoholic coffee serve
Choose when: The occasion explicitly calls for an adult coffee cocktail.
Keep separate: Coffee liqueur is alcoholic and cannot take the place of a non-alcoholic sparkling cold brew.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Actual fizz | Look for sparkling water in the finished serve or check that a ready-made drink is described as carbonated. Add sparkling water to concentrate over ice rather than assuming chilled coffee has bubbles. | I want guests to get a fizzy coffee, not just a cold one. |
| Serving format | Compare individual ready-to-drink containers with concentrate that needs diluting. Tesco Groceries instructs users to mix 100ml of its Finest concentrate with 100ml of cold water; sparkling water provides the fizz for that style of serve. | Will I be making each glass, or would it be easier to hand out chilled drinks? |
| Guest suitability | Read each pack’s allergen and caffeine statements. Marks & Spencer says its 250ml oat latte is unsuitable for coeliacs and people with a wheat allergy; its 750ml Plant Kitchen oat latte carries a high-caffeine warning. | Some guests may need a different coffee, so I need to check the particular drink before serving it. |
| Alcohol | Distinguish non-alcoholic cold brew from coffee liqueur. Sainsbury’s describes Tia Maria Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur as an alcoholic cocktail ingredient; check the physical bottle for its ABV. | For a general coffee round, I want to keep an alcoholic option clearly separate. |
Common buying mistakes
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Assuming every cold brew is sparkling
A chilled oat latte does not meet a request for fizzy coffee simply because it is served cold.
Choose concentrate to mix with sparkling water, or check that a finished drink is specifically described as carbonated.
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Putting coffee into a standard water-only carbonator
SodaStream says carbonating liquids other than plain water in its standard machines can cause rapid foam expansion.
Carbonate plain water first, then add the cold-brew concentrate. For any machine intended for other liquids, follow its model-specific instructions.
Foaming can leave a spilled drink and clean-up.
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Assuming every oat coffee suits every guest
Marks & Spencer states that its 250ml cold-brew oat latte is not suitable for coeliacs or people with a wheat allergy.
Check the current allergen statement on each drink and choose a separately checked alternative where needed.
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Serving every cold coffee as though it were the same drink
Marks & Spencer’s 750ml Plant Kitchen cold-brew oat latte carries a high-caffeine warning, while Tia Maria Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur is alcoholic.
Keep alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks distinct. Read the caffeine warning on the M&S bottle before offering it to guests; its label says it is not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.
Relevant brand references
Tesco Finest
Tesco Groceries lists an unsweetened cold-brew concentrate for mixing into individual drinks.
- Its stated preparation mixes 100ml concentrate with 100ml cold water; sparkling water can be used to make a fizzy serve.
- The concentrate is not itself a carbonated drink, so sparkling water is needed for bubbles.
M&S Food
Marks & Spencer lists chilled cold-brew oat lattes in 250ml and 750ml formats for a still, ready-to-drink option.
- The two formats give hosts a choice between an individual drink and a larger bottle.
- The 250ml drink is labelled unsuitable for coeliacs and people with a wheat allergy. The 750ml Plant Kitchen drink carries a high-caffeine warning.
Tia Maria at Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s describes Tia Maria Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur as an alcoholic option for coffee cocktails.
- It is relevant when the planned serve is explicitly an adult coffee cocktail.
- It is not a non-alcoholic sparkling cold brew. Check the bottle’s ABV label: the Sainsbury’s listing gives inconsistent figures.
Joybuy cold-brew option
This concentrate is an option for making individual sparkling cold-brew drinks with separately added sparkling water.
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J.ZAO Extra-Strong Americano Cold Brew Coffee Liquid, 10 × 25ml pouches
Make drinks individually by mixing the concentrate with sparkling water and adjusting the dilution to taste. The pack contains 10 × 25ml pouches of dark-roast coffee liquid, labelled zero sugar and zero fat. Add sparkling water for fizz; check the pack’s caffeine information when that matters for a guest.
Questions about serving cold brew
How can I make sparkling cold brew?
Pour cold-brew concentrate over ice and top it with sparkling water. The Starbucks Coffee At Home recipe suggests an orange or lemon twist if you want one. If you use a standard SodaStream machine, carbonate the plain water before adding coffee.
Can I carbonate cold brew directly in any SodaStream machine?
No. SodaStream instructs users of its standard machines to carbonate plain water before adding flavourings; it identifies the MIX as a model intended to carbonate other drinks. Follow the instructions for the particular machine.
Will a ready-to-drink cold-brew oat latte be fizzy?
The M&S cold-brew oat lattes described here are still, chilled coffees rather than sparkling drinks. Choose one for a ready-to-drink oat-based coffee; for fizz, mix concentrate with sparkling water or check that another finished drink is specifically described as carbonated.
What should I check on a larger cold-brew bottle?
Read its caffeine and suitability statements before serving it. Marks & Spencer states that its 750ml Plant Kitchen Chilled Cold Brew Oat Latte contains 34.6mg caffeine per 100ml and is not recommended for children or pregnant or breast-feeding women.
Can coffee liqueur replace a non-alcoholic sparkling cold brew?
No. Tia Maria Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur is alcoholic, while the sparkling cold-brew serve described here combines coffee concentrate with carbonated water. Keep the liqueur for an explicitly adult occasion and check its ABV on the bottle before serving.