As temperatures soar, Box Coffee cools down with a unique lineup of java mocktails.
Stirred up inside a converted shipping container on a vacant lot in Wynwood, this outdoor coffee bar, which opened in May, specializes in more than a dozen variations of cold brew.
Behind the Box Coffee concept find Bec Milgrom, an Australian who recently relocated to Miami after five years as a brewer in Oregon, and Lucas Cravero, who moved to Miami from the West Coast after working for Anheuser-Busch. Together, they use 20-hour steeped cold brew to create coffee-based drinks like mojito mint and ginger mule.
"We're trying to push people to think differently about coffee," Milgrom says. "It's fun to have that bar atmosphere, but many of us don't want to always drink. We've made this place like a playground, but instead of alcohol, we use cold brew."
Instead of opening a brick-and-mortar, Milgrom and Cravero opted for a large, metal shipping container, which they transformed into an open-air bar space with an overhead awning. Located at 175 NW 27th St., most of Box Coffee's lot is filled with high-top seating and large green spaces, a setup comparable to the Wynwood Yard.
"We wanted to do something out of the norm," Milgrom says. "It allows us to stay creative and spontaneous, and also become another community gathering space for the neighborhood."
On the menu ($4 to $6), which is updated every few weeks to reflect seasonal ingredients, find black cold brew served straight over ice; a latte version blended with dairy, coconut, or almond milk; and the Rico Suave, which fuses chocolate and vanilla with cold brew and milk.
Speciality mocktails, which use cold brew coffee as a base, include the Florida orange fizz, made with muddled orange and blood orange fizz; the ginger mule, blended with muddled lime, ginger beer, and rosemary; and the mojito mint, flavored with turbinado sugar, lime, and mint.
There is also a selection of cold-brew tea-based mocktails, including the green goddess, made with green jasmine tea, fresh lime, and basil; and the pink bits, which uses a hibiscus tea with watermelon, ginger, lime, and mint.
Every drink is served over ice in a 16-ounce biodegradable cup. The bar sells 32-ounce growlers too ($15), which are filled with either straight black cold-brew coffee or cold-brew tea.
Though Box Coffee's focus is on cold-brew drinks, the bar is stocked with a selection of gluten-free and vegan treats supplied by Pamela Wasabi.
Box Coffee. 175 NW 27th Ave., Miami; 305-677-2722; boxcoffeemia.com. Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.