Why Cold Coffee Is Becoming a Campus Essential During Summer Sessions
It’s 8:00 A.M. on a Monday. The sun is already hammering the quad, and your students are dragging themselves across campus with backpacks full of textbooks. Everyone could do with a coffee, especially a refreshing cold coffee that cuts through the heat, sharpens focus, and shifts the day into top gear. For you and the rest of the teaching faculty, that’s not a problem; you’ve got the staff room. But for the students, there’s a cafeteria and a coffee vending machine, neither of which is stocked with cold brew or iced coffee. Instead, it’s hot coffee, hot chocolate, or nothing. Meanwhile, the nearest off-campus café is a 20-minute walk; many students don’t have a car, and the bus is definitely a no-go. Is grabbing a cold brew really worth missing the first half of a lecture? For most students, that’s not a trade-off they’re willing to make.
During the summer semester at college, students are powering through condensed coursework, working part-time jobs, and trying to stay sharp. They’re hot, they’re tired, and why is a morning cold brew or an afternoon iced coffee so much to ask? Can’t the campus offer the cold versions of caffeine, too?
Why Is Iced Coffee So Popular?
Cold coffee drinks have moved beyond ‘trend’ to a preference with staying power. According to the National Coffee Association, nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 24 consume cold coffee on any given day. Cold brews and iced coffees are now a daily habit baked into how Gen Zs fuel themselves.
Part of the appeal is flexibility. Unlike hot coffee, which signals a morning ritual, iced coffee works anytime: first thing in the morning, between back-to-back afternoon classes, during a late-night study session—you name it. It also fits into a lifestyle for a generation that’s often on the go, making it the perfect ‘grab-and-go’ convenience.
There’s also the health angle. Cold brew is naturally less acidic than hot-brewed coffee, which makes it easier on the stomach during long days. It can be nicely paired with plant-based milks and customized with syrups, honey, or agave (choices that align with health-conscious younger consumers who aren’t much for artificial sweeteners). On a college campus where F&B options are limited and schedules are busy, accessible summer cold coffee could arguably be filed under “functional necessity.”
Why Does Gen Z Prefer Cold Coffee?
Gen Z is known for doing things on their own terms. Close to 50% consume coffee daily, and cold brew and iced coffee account for roughly 45% of all Gen Z coffee orders.
For this generation, summer cold coffee is about identity, mood, and routine. Iced coffee has become part of the “little treat” culture that Gen Z has fully embraced; an affordable, customizable mood booster that also happens to photograph well. It’s social currency and a coping mechanism distilled into a giant clear cup.
Keep Students on Campus With an InReach Coffee Program
InReach provides college campuses across America with fully customized, scalable food and beverage solutions designed around what your students really want. Our campus programs are built to serve the coffees today’s students love, with custom cold-brew and iced-coffee dispensers, canned cold-brew and iced-coffee, single-serve pod systems, premium bean-to-cup brewing systems, rich espresso-based beverages, Americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, decaf coffee, and an extensive selection of teas.
Inventory is adjusted based on actual sales data, so the right products are always in stock, and mobile payments and contactless ordering make transactions effortless for a generation that uses their phones for everything.
We work with your budget, your sustainability goals with plant-based and biodegradable spoons, stir sticks, and cups, and your student population to build a program that keeps people energized, fueled, and focused.
A Campus Coffee Program for All Seasons
We’ve got coffee covered, but that’s not all. From micro markets that don’t require staffing yet are stocked with fresh meals and snacks to customized pantries, smart vending systems, touchless multifunction hydration stations that deliver everything from chilled, filtered, flat, and sparkling water, flavored water, and boiling water for teas, and more, every InReach solution is tailored to your goals.
Ready to bring a better coffee experience (and more) to your campus? Get in touch with our experts at InReach today. We put all the food and beverage options your students need, in reach.