Blue Bottle Reinvents Iced Espresso—Cold from the First Drop
June 19 - 2026
Coffee Geography Magazine
Blue Bottle Coffee is rewriting the rules of iced espresso. The specialty coffee roaster and retailer launches the Kyoto-Style Espresso, a new extraction method that swaps heat for time, using cold water to prepare espresso specifically for iced drinks. The result, the company says, is a smoother, more composed cup that maintains its character even as the ice melts.
For decades, iced espresso has been a workaround: hot espresso pulled and poured over ice, a process that often leads to sharp, unbalanced flavors as the drink cools and dilutes. Blue Bottle’s Kyoto-Style Espresso, inspired by the slow, deliberate approach to coffee long practiced in Kyoto, aims to close that gap by designing iced espresso from the ground up for cold consumption.
“Iced espresso has always been an adaptation, something the industry worked around rather than designed for,” said Karl Strovink, CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee. “What’s significant here is building a new foundation for iced espresso that’s designed for ice from the start and implemented consistently across our cafes. For us, this is about moving iced espresso from an adapted process to one that sets a higher standard for how it should taste.”
Karl Strovink, CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee
The method passes cold water gradually through a bed of finely tuned coffee grounds, gently drawing out sweetness and depth without the harsh edges that can surface when hot espresso cools. The new extraction process also streamlines café workflow. Because the espresso is prepared in advance through a controlled, time-based method, baristas can build iced beverages more quickly while maintaining consistency—allowing them to focus more on the final drink and the guest experience, the company said.
Kyoto-Style Espresso arrives with a dedicated menu now available across Blue Bottle cafés worldwide. Guests will find iced lattes and mochas alongside offerings like cold-shaken espresso, shakerato, and espresso tonic, all built on the new cold-extracted base.
“Kyoto-Style Espresso allows us to approach iced drinks with greater intention,” said Kevin Thaxton, Director of Global Product Development at Blue Bottle Coffee. “Because it’s prepared cold from the start, the espresso comes across noticeably smoother, without the sharpness you can get from hot espresso poured over ice. It’s a difference you can taste immediately in the cup.”
The innovation continues a years-long pursuit of better iced coffee at Blue Bottle, which was founded by James Freeman in Oakland in 2002. The company previously developed the popular New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee in response to early customer demand for iced lattes and has long worked to refine cold coffee formats, including instant coffee. Blue Bottle was majority-acquired by Nestlé in 2017; earlier this year, Centurium Capital purchased Blue Bottle’s global retail operations for approximately $400 million.
With Kyoto-Style Espresso, the company positions itself to set a new baseline for iced espresso beverages, turning a once-adapted experience into one that is intentionally designed—from extraction to final sip.