Disclosure: Pull & Pour received coffee samples for this post, however, as always, all opinions are 100% my own.
Kaleidoscope Craft Brew Coffee is a new coffee company in St. Louis who I recently discovered in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was so excited to see a new coffee company pop up in St. Louis—especially one focused on flash brew-focused cold coffee. Snapchilled Coffee is a favorite of mine because of the complexity and aromatics it is able to preserve by chilling hot brewed coffee immediately. Kaleidoscope uses a similar method, so I was intrigued to see how it tasted and compared. Kaleidoscope is unique because they are truly focused on the craft side of coffee. Just like craft beer revitalized the beer industry, Kaleidoscope hopes to do the same with cold coffee. They offer a few cold coffee offerings, but also are beginning to roast their own whole bean coffee and doing some cool partnerships with local bars and other restaurants to feature coffee in unique ways. I had the opportunity to try their “flagship” canned coffee and also this natural Ethiopian coffee.
One of the reasons I prefer flash brewed cold coffee methods vs. cold brew is because of the way it can preserve the aromatics of the coffee and that was 100% the case with this one. The aroma was fruity and full of wonderful citrus. The flavor was surprisingly sweet and full of lemon citrus notes. The citrus carried over to some really nice acidity. In the aftertaste I tasted subtle notes of blueberry. The coffee was incredibly complex, especially for a canned coffee. If paired side-by-side with a flash brewed coffee made on demand, I am not sure I would have been able to tell which was which.
The Bottom Line
I have been incredibly impressed with my first tastes of Kaleidoscope and can’t wait to see what else the come out with in the coming months and years. It has joined Snapchilled and others as some of my top canned cold coffee to enjoy in the summer.
