Review: Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate

(2022) It is possible I survived a near death experience. Let me backup a bit and tell you how I came in possession of a bottle of New York-based Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate. It was a beautiful August day in the Catskills, and I was in a traditional general store called Circle W. Having just completed the fifteenth running of the Tour of the Catskills, I was clearing the shelves of hydration in anticipation for a long drive home. I swiped the attractive bottle of Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate and settled my tab.

It was a struggle the night before to get to sleep on time. To get to the Tour of the Catskills from the Philadelphia area, departure time was shortly after 5am. With beautiful weather, there was a deception hydration wasn’t a priority, but I kept the bottles full of water until past the finish line. Late bedtime, early rise, strenuous event, and a long drive home all equaled a recipe for drowsiness. Until Grady’s Cold Brew was added to the grocery purchase.

The exact moment I realized I made a grave error.

Desperate times call for strong measures. With the windows down and exiting the Catskills towns, the Grady’s bottle was unsealed, the cap twisted off. How magical the aroma of the cold brew coffee. How satisfying the demand of the packaging that the product be kept cold. Swig after swig brought renewed firepower to the body. Within minutes I felt charged and ready to go. The taste was incredible. This was some of the most satisfying cold brew coffee- its flavor intense and syrupy. Euphoria can only explain the feeling until a quick visit to the gas station and a closer inspection of the product.

I’d like to think my copious coffee consumption is the reason I didn’t blow up figuratively right then and there at pump four of the Sunoco station. The label stated Grady’s likes their coffee strong and that the bottle was a vessel for four cups of coffee. I had consumed sixteen fluid ounces of what could only be explained as distilled jet fuel. A text back home was met with a suggestion to be on the lookout for a panic attack. Still, if these were my final moments, if my fatigued heart recovering from 75 miles of cycling the Catskills were to speed up until exploding, Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate would give me satisfaction in those final moments.

Perhaps it was the hectic schedule. Maybe it was the taxing event. The possibility of being dehydrated was considered. All in all, I still went to bed at the regular time that night and fell asleep directly despite having consumed coffee concentrate only a few hours prior. I’d like to think I dreamed of an endless fountain of Grady’s Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate. Truth be told, if there were a second bottle in the car’s cup holder, I would have drank that too despite learning just how fiery the New Orleans style liquid was. It was that enjoyable on such a beautiful day.