Blue Bottle Coffee reimagines iced espresso with Kyoto-style espresso

Blue Bottle Coffee today introduces Kyoto-style Espresso, applying a Kyoto-inspired approach to extraction that replaces heat with time and uses cold water to prepare espresso specifically for iced drinks. Rolling out across cafes globally, it establishes a new foundation for iced espresso drinks, resulting in a smoother, more composed cup that holds its character over ice. This approach reflects a broader effort to rethink iced espresso at scale and creates a platform for continued innovation in cold coffee. 

For decades, iced espresso has largely been an adaptation – brewed hot, then cooled over ice. While widely used, it was never designed specifically for ice, often losing balance and structure as temperature shifts and dilution set in. This gap between how iced espresso is made and how it’s experienced has remained largely unaddressed. With Kyoto-style Espresso, Blue Bottle takes a different approach, preparing espresso cold from the start so it remains smooth, composed, structured and expressive as it evolves in the cup. Rather than adapting iced espresso from a hot process, it is designed specifically for how it is consumed. 

Drawing inspiration from Kyoto’s slow, deliberate approach to coffee, the method replaces heat with time. Cold water moves gradually through a bed of finely tuned coffee grounds, gently drawing out sweetness and depth without the sharpness that can emerge as hot espresso cools. This approach reflects Blue Bottle’s East–Meets–West perspective on coffee, bridging principles seen in Kyoto-style slow extraction with the company’s approach to craft.

“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.”

Blue Bottle has long explored how iced coffee can better meet its standards for flavour and balance – from New Orleans-Style Iced Coffee, originally developed in response to early guest demand for iced lattes, to its continued work in instant coffee – consistently refining these formats in pursuit of a better coffee experience. Kyoto-style Espresso continues that pursuit, revisiting iced espresso directly and refining how it is prepared for one of coffee’s most widely consumed formats, setting a higher standard for how iced espresso drinks should taste.

Because Kyoto-style Espresso is prepared through a controlled, time-based extraction process, it creates a more stable foundation for iced espresso beverages, allowing us to deliver them with greater speed while maintaining the quality and balance we expect in the cup. It also enables baristas to focus more fully on the final drink and the guest.

The launch introduces a dedicated Kyoto-style Espresso menu across Blue Bottle cafes globally. Guests will find iced espresso drinks such as iced lattes and mochas, alongside offerings like cold-shaken espresso, shakerato and espresso tonic. This expanded menu reflects a step forward in Blue Bottle’s approach to cold coffee, with shaken preparations in particular building on familiar formats to further explore how iced espresso can be expressed across a broader range of beverages.

“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 Kyoto-style Espresso menu will begin rolling out across Blue Bottle cafes globally starting 16 June 2026.