Sump Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster located in St. Louis, Missouri. They recently entered the canned cold brew market with their first offering in the spring of 2019. They plan to change the canned coffee seasonly as you would with other specialty coffee selections. The first review below is for their first cold brew, which features coffee from Huila, Colombia.
Flavor
The coffee is incredibly smooth. Unlike many pre-packaged coffees that can be flat without much personality, this coffee has a lot going on. It has some wonderful flavor notes. I tasted some subtle berry fruit notes with a tomato acidity and some floral notes in the finish. It is so good and delicious that you could drink it really quickly if you don’t pace yourself—which could be a problem given it’s price point.
Price
This is the most expensive can of cold brew I’ve ever purchased. At $6/can ($20/4-pack), you’d have to have some deep pockets to drink this one regularly.
Quality of Ingredients
As expensive as it is, the price starts to make more sense when you understand the coffee within the can. It is the same coffee they’d use in their store for cold brew and is equivalent in quality to any pour over coffee you’d purchase. It is currently a single-origin from Huila, Colombia (though it will likely be rotating seasonly). There are no added ingredients or preservatives. It is simply coffee and water—as it should be.
Complexity
The complexity of the coffee is truly impressive. The canned coffee has the complexity you would expect from a pour over cup of coffee—not your standard pre-packaged cold brew. It has layers of flavor that evolve throughout each drink. My favorite way to make cold brew at home is Japanese iced coffee. Sump’s cold brew tastes the most like Japanese iced coffee in regards to body, complexity and overall personality than any other cold brew I’ve tried.
The Bottom Line
This is one of the best pre-packaged cold brews I’ve ever had. At a price point of $6 per can though, it’s not one my wallet could handle too often.
