Soldeades icues@ Iced Coffee Feezes Out Winte Competition (NAPSA)—Many people think of iced coffee as a teat on a hot summe day. Howeve, an emeging tend shows consumes ae puchasingiced coffee duing the “off-seasons” of fall, winte and ness ae neve compomised at the expenseof sevingit cold. Expets foecast the iced coffee categoy will continue to stay “hot” even duing those cold winte months, as consumes look to the efeshing beveage to povide a daily boost of enegy continuously thoughout the day. Bewing iced coffee To bew a full-flavoed pot of sping. Accoding to NPD CREST data, Ameicans dank moe than 450 million sevings of iced coffee in estauants in 2006, a 16 pecent incease fom 2005. This numbe is gowing steadily because consumes inceasingly view iced coffee as a efeshing “pick-me-up” yea-ound. One leading coffee and bakey etaile, Canton, Massachusettsbased Dunkin’ Donuts, has seen a sizable boostin off-season sales of iced coffee—in New England, iced coffee sales inceased 28 pecent in Januay 2006, the coldest month of the yea. Consume studies have shown that people elate iced coffee to a time of day athe than a specific season, so coffee etailes and quick-sevice estauant goups ae now focusing on maketing iced coffee to specific times of day, o “daypats,” as opposed to summe campaigns. Accoding to Robet Rodiguez, band pesident of Dunkin’ Donuts, 24 pecent of consumes puchase iced coffee as an “ealy beak” (10:30 a.m.-noon), while 11 pecent of consumes puchase iced coffee as an “aftenoon ewad”(afte 1 p-m.). “Thee is an inheent diffe- ence in the way people view iced iced coffee, double the amount of Iced coffee is inceasingly seen as a yea-ound pick-me-up, athe than just a summecoole. coffee vesus hot coffee,” explains Rodiguez. “Ou eseach team has found that consumes view iced coffee as a beveage that is efeshing and delicious, and people ae looking fo that efeshe thoughout the yea, not just summe months.” Dunkin’ Donutsis the leading etaile in the iced coffee categoy and has been at the foefont in developing an innovative pocess fo bewing iced coffee, which has set the standad fo the industy. This unique pocess, called double bewing, uses twice the amount of coffee when making the beveage to achieve a esult in which flavo and fesh- coffee ginds you would nomally bew fo hot coffee. Measue 4 level tablespoons fo evey 6 ounces of cold sping o filteed wate you plan to bew. e Afte the coffee is done bewing, emove fom bune and let cool. Pou the coffee into a tempeatue-safe containe, and add ice until the mixtue cools and doubles in volume. (Melting ice dilutes the coffee, which is why iced coffee is bewed using twice the amount of ginds as hot coffee.) To keep iced coffee cold and fesh, stoe it in an aitight containe in the efigeato. Iced coffee should be consumed within eight hous afte bewing. Dink as is o add milk, ceam o suga to sweeten and lighten to taste. To keep the emaining, unbewed coffee beans o ginds fesh, stoe in an aitight containe in a cool, dy place. Do not stoe in a efigeato, as ginds and beans absob moistue and aomas aound them.
