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Best Cold Brew Brand 2026

By Readers' Choice On 6/17/26 at 12:00 PM EDT

Smooth, bold and brilliantly refreshing, cold brew has completely redefined iced coffee culture. Crafting a stellar ready-to-drink cold brew takes patience, precision and the right slow-steeping process to eliminate bitterness while unlocking natural sweetness.

These convenient options deliver an incredibly smooth flavor profile and an invigorating caffeine kick, proving that exceptional chilled coffee no longer requires a trip to the local coffeehouse.

Newsweek is proud to recognize this year's 10 standout cold brew brands—selected by our expert panelists and contributors and voted on by readers for their exceptional quality and distinctive excellence. Each has been officially recognized by Newsweek as one of the Best Cold Brew Brands of 2026.

1. STōK Cold Brew

Stok

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Available nationwide, STŌK Cold Brew is brewed low and slow by expert brewmasters for a bold, smooth taste without bitterness. With a wide portfolio of light roasts, dark roasts, seasonal favorites and decaf, every bottle is smooth, consistent, and ready to go- no barista needed.

2. Bizzy Organic Cold Brew

Bizzy

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With a massive presence across online marketplaces and nationwide grocery shelves, Bizzy makes strong, smooth cold brew for everyday coffee drinkers seeking café-quality coffee at home. Crafted with 100% USDA Certified Organic, ethically sourced Arabica beans, Bizzy's coffee is slow-steeped for 18 hours to deliver a bold yet remarkably smooth flavor profile with notes of caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut. Focused on consistency, convenience, and everyday drinkability, the brand offers everything from multi-serve cold brew bottles and ready-to-drink options to espresso-style formats and eco-friendly brew bags—making flavorful, accessible coffee easy to enjoy every day.

3. NOBL Beverages

NOBL Beverages

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Founded in 2014 by Connor Roelke, NOBL Beverages has built its reputation on innovation, quality, and customer service. Rooted in New England, NOBL specializes in small-batch, cold-processed beverages that preserve freshness, flavor, and consistency. Their proprietary nitrogen draft system supports packaging across cans, growlers, and bag-in-box formats, serving both wholesale and retail customers. Through a low-acidity extraction process, NOBL delivers exceptionally smooth beverages with natural sweetness and no bitter aftertaste. Committed to sustainability, integrity, and craftsmanship, NOBL continues to elevate the cold brew experience across the region.

4. Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown

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Since 1999, Stumptown Coffee has been committed to delivering exceptional coffee quality from source to cup. Through its industry-leading Direct Trade sourcing model, established in 2002, the company cultivates long-term relationships with small-scale coffee producers around the world, ensuring a thoughtful approach to every product it creates. Stumptown's Cold Brew lineup brings that same dedication to quality into a convenient ready-to-drink format, available in cafes, restaurants, grocery stores nationwide, and online. Known for its rich, smooth profile and carefully sourced coffee, Stumptown Cold Brew has helped establish the brand as a leader in the category.

5. Chameleon Cold-Brew

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As an early champion of the organic coffee movement, Chameleon Cold-Brew is sold extensively across national grocery retailers. They utilize sustainably sourced, organic beans steeped in specialized, eco-friendly filtered water for a precise twelve hours. Their diverse product lineup includes highly customizable, extra-strong multi-serve concentrates, ready-to-drink flavored bottles, and nitrogen-infused cans. Chameleon is celebrated for its highly concentrated caffeine kick and an ultra-smooth, intensely chocolate-forward flavor profile.

6. Starbucks

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Available at tens of thousands of global cafes and everywhere grocery items are sold, Starbucks cold brew is a massive commercial staple. Handcrafted in small batches daily, their signature blend of Latin American and African beans is slow-steeped in cool water for 20 hours. The result is a concentrated, velvety coffee featuring deep cocoa and subtle citrus notes, serving as the rich foundation for their viral, flavored cold foam beverages.

7. Blue Bottle Coffee

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Found at high-end grocery outlets and their own minimalist cafes internationally, Blue Bottle Coffee brings third-wave precision to the ready-to-drink market. Their canned cold brew features sustainably sourced, organic single-origin and blended beans roasted in small batches. The lineup showcases their famous New Orleans-style cold brew—infused with roasted chicory and organic milk—alongside clean, bright black variations. The result is an incredibly crisp, fruit-forward beverage boasting delicate, floral clarity.

8. Califia Farms

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Widely recognized on refrigerated grocery shelves globally, Califia Farms specializes in blending premium, direct-trade cold brew with their famous plant-based milks. Sourced from 100% Arabica beans steeped at low temperatures for a smooth extract, their product line features multi-serve carafes of pre-blended Almondmilk and Oatmilk lattes. Free from dairy, soy, and carrageenan, Califia's cold brew offers a beautifully balanced, velvety texture with subtle, naturally sweet vanilla and caramel notes.

9. La Colombe Coffee Roasters

La Colombe Coffee Workshop

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Distributed widely across supermarkets and boutique cafes internationally, La Colombe Coffee Roasters offers an elevated canned cold brew experience. Their signature Draft Latte line utilizes a patented, integrated valve system that infuses liquid with nitrous oxide upon cracking the tab. This revolutionary process produces a beautifully frothy texture, delivering the silky mouthfeel of an iced cafe latte. Made with nutrient-rich milk and premium espresso, it provides a clean, naturally sweet finish.

10. Onyx Coffee Lab

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Shipped worldwide from their specialized Arkansas headquarters and available at elite boutique grocers, Onyx Coffee Lab delivers an ultra-premium, science-backed cold brew experience. Utilizing exceptionally rare, direct-trade seasonal beans, their cold brew is meticulously extracted to preserve complex terroir characteristics. Available in sleek, modern cans and wholesale kegs, Onyx breaks the traditional mold by offering an incredibly vibrant, complex beverage bursting with bright berry notes and a clean finish.

FINALISTS

Bare Brew Dunkin' Grady's Cold Brew Javy Coffee JOLENE Nguyen Coffee Supply, Inc. Rise Brewing Co. Slingshot Coffee Co. Trident Coffee Wandering Bear Coffee

About Newsweek Readers' Choice™ Awards

Our nominees are editorially driven with contributions from a panel of travel experts. The final list is determined by Newsweek editors. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions, please see our FAQs or email us at readers.choice@newsweek.com.

Our Featured Panelists

Julie Bielenberg

Julie Bielenberg is a Colorado-based writer producing over 75 pieces a year for outlets such as AAA, Family Vacationist, Rachel Ray in Season, Spoke + Blossom, USA Today, Vail Daily and numerous others. She has been the State's #1 agritourism for ten consecutive years and is always in search of field, farm, forest and forage. Julie has three children and two pandemic pooches and is married to an avid outdoorsman. Follow her on Instagram.

Jacky Runice

When Jacky took her first flight at age 17 to Spain, she hadn't stepped a foot outside of Chicago. As a broadcast journalist for 20 years, she always managed to bring her travels back to her Chicago audience with radio documentaries about the culture and characters of places she visited. She transitioned to print journalism (syndicated travel column via Tribune Media Services and Travel Columnist for the Daily Herald Chicago) and then to the web where she has written for numerous outlets such as CBS, LuxuryHotels.com, Examiner.com, AOL, USA Today and others. Follow her on Facebook.

Jamie Davis Smith - headshot-Newsweek Fans Choice

Jamie Davis Smith

Jamie Davis Smith is a writer and attorney from Philadelphia who now calls Washington, D.C. home. She's traveled to more than 90 countries, often bringing her children along on her adventures. Her work can be found in The Washington Post, National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Afar, The Huffington Post, USA Today and many other publications. Jamie can be contacted at byjamiesmith@gmail.com, and posts about her travels on Instagram.

Aly Walansky

Aly Walansky writes regularly about food news and trends. She has been a food journalist for over twenty years and has covered everything from budget shopping to recipes to culinary travel content for national publications that include the Food Network, Southern Living, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, The Kitchn and more. She was ranked among top 10 journalists of 2023 and top 10 freelance journalists in 2024, as well as #1 food journalist of 2022, by Muck Rack. Follow her at alywalansky.substack.com.

Nancy Zaffaro headshot

Nancy Zaffaro

Nancy Zaffaro is a writer, editor and photographer. She covers arts, culture, travel and the outdoors and also writes fiction. She is the Editor of ConfettiTravelCafe.com, and her work has appeared in print and online for numerous publications and media outlets. She travels locally throughout the Pacific Northwest, nationally and to far-flung international locales. When not traveling, she's active in her community and enjoys hiking, kayaking, yoga and spending time with friends and family. Originally from Chicago, she's also lived in Vancouver, British Columbia and Bellingham, Washington. She's currently based in Portland, Oregon.