Mybeerbuzz .com Highlights Tugboat Coffee Cold Brewed Lemon Pound Cake Tea & Cold Brewed Coffee w/Argon

I really love tasting new beverages, but I’ll admit I may be in a bit over my head on these two.  I’ve sampled thousands of beers and whiskies, but I’ll admit up front that I’ve never sampled canned coffee or tea….and definitely not with the twist (see below) that these cans have.

We have sampled Tugboat Coffee Big Red Tugboat IPA and even the Tugboat Mikerphone collaboration beer Magical Mystery Kind, but those were both beers…and these beverages are really (really) different.  Today we’re sampling two canned beverages from Tugboat Coffee in Addison, IL, and if you’re not familiar, Tugboat is a small batch coffee roaster who’s mantra is, “connecting the farmer’s passion for growing with our passion for roasting.”

Up first we decided to open Tugboat Coffee’s new Cold Brew Lemon Pound Cake Tea.  Now I know that’s a lot to take in, but this is simply a canned tea that is “brewed” with Kenyan Black tea, Chinese Green tea, hibiscus, lemon oil, lemon peel, lemon grass and other natural flavors.  The tea pours a bright hibiscus-pink color with loads of lemon and rich tea in the aromas.  Once I locked in on the “lemon pound cake” in the name, I swear my palate did the same.  There are some fresh and rich tea flavors in the background, but up front there was a pleasant lemony complexity mixed with some sugary  sweetness.  The tea finishes with some slightly bitter and earthy tea notes which seem to really balance out the sweetness very nicely. 

So here’s the twist…this tea is infused with Argon, or as Tugboat says, the tea is “argonated.”  Argon is used in place of Co2 or Nitrogen for charging, and much like nitrogen, it changes the way the tea feels in your mouth.  It wasn’t quite as creamy as a nitrogen pour, but it did have an interesting mouthfeel and one that I think fits the tea perfectly.  Argon actually seemed to make the tea even more drinkable in my opinion and I’m excited to see more details.

Up next we pulled out the Tugboat Cold Brew Coffee and once again this beverage is also infused with Argon.  This coffee was cold brewed with coffee, cocoa nibs and natural flavors and the aromas definitely lead with coffee and finish with coffee.  The color is a rich brown and the Argon really seemed to pump up the carbonation and head on our pour.  I really liked how the coffee and chocolate flavors complimented each other and how well balanced that mix was.  The Argon adds a softer mouthfeel with a really drinkable finish.

Both of these brews were packaged in 12oz cans at More Brewing Co in Villa Park, IL, and as you can see above, the packaging looks great.

We really enjoyed sampling Tugboat Coffee Cold Brewed Lemon Pound Cake Tea & Cold Brewed Coffee w/Argon and I’m really excited to see what Tugboat will come up with next for this canned Argon-charged packaging.  Both beverages were really drinkable, well-balanced and both had a unique mouthfeel that I think you’ll enjoy.

For those asking, the Cold Brewed Coffee and the Lemon Pound Cake Tea have 3 calories per 12oz serving and they are 100% pure liquid argon dosed at -303 degrees.  The Cold Brew Coffee has 425mg of caffeine per 12oz serving and the Lemon Pound Cake Tea has 150mg caffeine per 12oz serving.  Be sure to try both of these beverages for yourself, and when you do, be sure to let us know what YOU think.