America Went Crazy for Cold-Brew in 2015, Says Foursquare

2015 is the year of the sheep according to the Chinese Zodiac, but according to discovery app Foursquare it was also the year of cold-brew coffee. The app tracked a whopping 250 new places that opened in the U.S. this year serving the slow-brewed, extra-caffeinated cold coffee beverage, and compared to last year, mentions of cold-brew surged by 148 percent.

Further proof that cold-brew went mainstream this year: Coffee behemoth Starbucks couldn't ignore the trend and added cold-brew to its menu in March; it's now available year-round in limited quantities. Cold-brew's so-hot-right-now status is certainly good news for the coffee industry, as its preparation typically requires about twice as many beans as regular brewed coffee.

Another drink that surged in popularity this year: the chewy tapioca ball-loaded beverage known as bubble tea. Foursquare saw a 192 percent jump in visits to bubble tea shops compared to last year. Looking ahead to 2016 beverage trends, Foursquare predicts that the matcha craze, currently concentrated in New York and San Francisco, will spread further.

Below, the top 10 new places for cold-brew in the U.S. according to Foursquare:

1. Short Grain — Jersey City, N.J.
2. Brooklyn Roasting Company — New York, N.Y.
3. Mazarine Coffee — San Francisco, Calif.
4. Peixoto Coffee Roasters — Chandler, Ariz.
5. Gossip Coffee — Astoria, N.Y.
6. Gracenote Coffee — Boston, Mass.
7. Nine Bar Espresso — Somerville, Mass.
8. Petite Shell — New York, N.Y.
9. Goddess and the Baker — Chicago, Ill.
10. Birch Coffee — New York, N.Y.