Starbucks opens new Long Island location in Farmingville offering nitro cold brew

The intersection of Patchogue-Mt. Sinai Road and the Long Island Expressway at Exit 63 in Farmingville is a hectic place, with thousands of commuters passing in all directions. To wit, a nearby 7-Eleven does a brisk morning trade in hot coffee (and banter).

They will have some fresh, and chilled, competition. Starbucks has opened a new LI location a few blocks away, just north of the LIE interchange, on North Ocean Avenue. In addition to pouring the usual Frappuccinos and flat whites, it is one of only a handful of LI locations to offer the chain’s year-old nitro cold brew ($3.95 tall, $4.45 grande), a cold-brewed coffee that is infused with nitrogen gas via a draft tap to lend it a creamy texture.

The low-acid, full-bodied Caffe Verona blend used for the nitro cold brew has a mildly bitter flavor, with hints of chocolate; a second version is offered with a float of vanilla- and sugar-infused cream.

With the market for cold-brew coffee surging — sales grew nearly fivefold between 2015 and 2017, to $38.1 million, according to research firm Mintel — the coffee chain announced last year that it planned to roll out nitro cold brew in 1,500 U.S. locations, adopting a coffee style that was first pioneered by smaller, independent shops about three years ago.

Currently, Starbucks locations in East Hampton, Hicksville and Uniondale carry the nitro, and the Bohemia location is about to add it.

Dunkin’ Donuts is testing its own nitro cold brew in a few U.S. locations, and LI-based Sail Away Coffee Co. has announced that it will soon begin canning its signature nitro cold brew.

Starbucks, 2280 N. Ocean Ave., Farmingville, 516-427-6799. starbucks.com.