The Toddy Alternative

Just yesterday, I visited a Phoenix Coffee cafe in Cleveland, OH. Ordering a Cafe Mocha, I was shocked by the smoothness of the drink relative to Mochas I had tried at other coffee shops. Exploring the ingredients, I found the drink to consist of Phoenix's own house mocha sauce and a coffee concentrate that I'd never heard of called, 'Toddy.'

Research was in order. While 'hot toddy' is a term for a hot alcoholic beverage once believed to cure colds, the 'Toddy' that is used in Phoenix's mochas is something completely different. Patented in 1964 by inventor Todd Simpson, 'Toddy' is a really simply a coffee concentrate derived from a method of cold brewed coffee. This brewing method is achieved by steeping heavily proportioned course grounds in water for about twelve hours and then filtering them to produce a thick substance that can provide the base for blended coffee drinks, hot coffee drinks, or coffee drinks 'on the rocks.'

Today, Toddy is a trademarked business endeavor serving over 6,000 cafes in the United States--including those of Seattle's Best and Gloria Jeans. The key marketing stance of Toddy is its ability to remove one-third of the acidity in coffee through its cold brewing method. It claims to take the edge off of coffee and produce a smoother cup than conventional brewing methods. Clearly, from my own experience, the use of Toddy does take the 'bite' out of coffee drinks that traditionally use espresso. Some companies even use instant coffee for blended drinks because its solvent quality, but Toddy undoubtedly provides a better alternative. Look out for cafes that use Toddy and give it a try. You may be surprised.