Starbucks Is Giving Out Free Cold Brew Coffee Today

After years of limited availability, Starbucks has been rapidly expanding the reach of its nitro cold brew coffee. It was first introduced in 2016 at just a handful of locations. By 2018, it was the base of some of the chain's best drinks, but was still not available everywhere. Now, the company wants to celebrate its expanded availability by offering you a free taste.

No, the deal is not one of Starbucks' Happy Hour offerings. The company is offering a free serving of Nitro Cold Brew at participating locations on Friday, August 2. You don't have to buy anything to get the free coffee. You can just stop in and get a taste of the nitrogen-infused cold brew that is served from a tap behind the counter. The freebie will be a 3.5oz serving of the Nitro Cold Brew. So, you're getting slightly more than a double shot of the drink or about half of a short coffee. Think of it as a shot. 

The giveaway is an attempt to get customers to try the nitro cold brew since it's new to many locations and has expanded so much over the last year. It's now available at 80% of company-operated locations (you probably won't find it in licensed shops in airports, book stores, etc.). That's well on the way to the promise made at the annual shareholders meeting earlier this year, when the company said nitro cold brew would be available at every company-operated location by the end of 2019. 

The half-cup freebie probably isn't enough to get you through the day, but it's an easy way to get through the mid-afternoon slump on the last day of the week.

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