The word viral is overused (I’m guilty), but when it comes to the internet-iconic Rhode Island coffee shop The Nitro Bar, there’s no better way to describe the phenomenon. The Nitro Bar has three locations across the tiny state of Rhode Island, and all of them have an ever-growing line out the door at all times. Their TikTok and Instagram rack up crazy impression numbers, which has food businesses everywhere copying their marketing tactics. The genius behind it all: Audrey Finocchiaro, the co-owner and co-founder of the successful shop(s), which started as a humble little cart serving cold brew.
The videos and social media content that perform so well pretty much all showcase a Nitro Bar drink being made, with a specialty coffee syrup or some sort of flavored twist. Right now, their summer syrups include strawberry and caramelized banana (yum), while some off-season favorites include orange chocolate, black raspberry, and cherry vanilla. Customers wait in long lines year-round for anything and everything Nitro Bar— including me. When I lived in Boston a few years ago, I would hop on the commuter rail train to Providence and get their chocolate wafer iced latte and spend a rainy day sipping and snacking with friends. I’ve been a follower of Audrey and the Nitro Bar’s work for a while now, and was so happy to get her into the Food52 office.
Audrey and I made a strawberry rhubarb syrup together, from scratch, and talked about all things coffee and Nitro Bar. Here’s how we made the syrup:
This is your friendly reminder that making a syrup (which I’ve done a few times starting at Food52) is incredibly easy. All you have to remember is the 1:1 ratio that will balance flavor and sweetness, and you can customize it to be more or less sweet, flavored, etc.
First, we chopped up a whole carton of fresh and juicy strawberries. I like to cut them before adding them to the pot to release more flavor, but you don’t have to. You can also use frozen strawberries here. It was more or less a cup of strawberries. Then, we chopped up about a half cup worth of rhubarb (to make the syrup just a little extra special).
We tossed the strawberries, rhubarb, about a cup of white sugar, and a cup or so of water into a pot and set it over the heat. Bring it to a soft boil, then let it simmer—it will slowly start to thicken. If you want it even thicker, you can add a bit of cornstarch. It took about 10 minutes; we let it cool, then transferred it to a little jar. While it might make every surface of the kitchen sticky, it also makes the whole space smell delicious.
This is when the magic happens: assembling an iced latte, Nitro Bar-style. According to Audrey, the order of operations is designed to optimize the visual appearance of the iced lattes, so the videos look as pretty as possible. We filled our tall glasses with tons of ice, a generous helping of the bright red syrup, then added the milk. Audrey feels very strongly about using whole milk for the best possible flavor in an iced latte. Add milk to the cup until it feels almost too full, then top it off with a double shot of espresso. Mix, and enjoy!
While it can’t compare to a true Nitro Bar experience, it was a good latte. Strawberry and rhubarb is a seriously underrated flavor combo when added to coffee.
What other trending recipes do you want to know more about? Let me know below!
